Sources of Fungal Symbionts in the Microbiome of a Mobile Insect Host, Spodoptera frugiperda.

ABSTRACT: The sources of fungal symbionts of insects are not well understood, yet the acquisition and assembly of fungal communities in mobile insect hosts have important implications for the ecology of migratory insects and their plant hosts. To determine potential sources of fungi associated with the fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda), we characterized the fungal communities associated with four different ecological compartments (insects, infested leaves, uninfested leaves, and soil) and estimated the contributions of each of these potential sources to the insect's fungal microbiome. Results show that insect fungal community composition was distinct from and more varied than the composition of fungal communities in the environment of those insects (plants and soil). Among the sources evaluated,

SUBMITTER: Watson M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10335968 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature