Adults of Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (Olivier, 1790) (Coleoptera Curculonidae) usually carry several associate or symbiotic organisms. We present evidences of Bacteria, Fungi (both yeast and hyphal) and Acari regularly found on the weevil while they actively disperse. In this contribution we consider the presence of: Bacteria belonging to the species marcescens or nematodiphila of the Genus Serratia (Enterobacteriaceae); the yeast Candida tropicalis (Berkhout, 1923, Fungi Saccharomycetaceae) and Hyphopichia burtonii (Boidin, Pignal, Lehodey, Vey & Abadie) Arx & Van der Walt (Fungi Incertae sedis); Acari Uropodina belonging to the species Uroobovella marginata Koch, 1839 and Centrouropoda almerodai Hiramatsu & Hirschmann, 1992 and a species of Pleosporaceae tentatively identified as component the Genus Curvularia Boedijn, 1933. The scrutiny of wild and reared material made clear that during oviposition the RPW infects the eggs and the egg chamber walls with Serratia and yeasts, while the egg chamber plug with C. tropicalis and H. burtonii, mostly. Both sexes of the weevil airborne the Acari as hypopi that are exposed for U. marginata and hidden underside the elytra for C. almerodai. Both Uropodina species bring conidia firmly and partially melted into their cuticle but the viability of the fungus is still to be demonstrated. The given evidences suggest to consider the story of RPW not the introduction and subsequent invasion of a single species, but the biologically coordinated actions of a guild of symbionts.
The RPW as vector of Bacteria, Fungi and Acari
PORCELLI, Francesco;SCRASCIA, MARIA;PAZZANI, Carlo;POLLASTRO, Stefania;ROBERTO, ROBERTA;
2017-01-01
Abstract
Adults of Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (Olivier, 1790) (Coleoptera Curculonidae) usually carry several associate or symbiotic organisms. We present evidences of Bacteria, Fungi (both yeast and hyphal) and Acari regularly found on the weevil while they actively disperse. In this contribution we consider the presence of: Bacteria belonging to the species marcescens or nematodiphila of the Genus Serratia (Enterobacteriaceae); the yeast Candida tropicalis (Berkhout, 1923, Fungi Saccharomycetaceae) and Hyphopichia burtonii (Boidin, Pignal, Lehodey, Vey & Abadie) Arx & Van der Walt (Fungi Incertae sedis); Acari Uropodina belonging to the species Uroobovella marginata Koch, 1839 and Centrouropoda almerodai Hiramatsu & Hirschmann, 1992 and a species of Pleosporaceae tentatively identified as component the Genus Curvularia Boedijn, 1933. The scrutiny of wild and reared material made clear that during oviposition the RPW infects the eggs and the egg chamber walls with Serratia and yeasts, while the egg chamber plug with C. tropicalis and H. burtonii, mostly. Both sexes of the weevil airborne the Acari as hypopi that are exposed for U. marginata and hidden underside the elytra for C. almerodai. Both Uropodina species bring conidia firmly and partially melted into their cuticle but the viability of the fungus is still to be demonstrated. The given evidences suggest to consider the story of RPW not the introduction and subsequent invasion of a single species, but the biologically coordinated actions of a guild of symbionts.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
