When Two Species Meet: A Potential Beetle-Yeast Facultative Mutualism.

ABSTRACT: Facultative mutualisms, such as some insect-yeast interactions, can be established between partners that only interact in certain stages of their life cycles. While exploring yeasts associated with Brazilian beetles, we found a particular Cyberlindnera yeast associated with Spermophthorus apuleiae. This yeast was found within the beetles' galleries, which are excavated in fruits of Libidibia ferrea, a native Brazilian tree. We isolated a total of 15 yeast and yeast-like species associated with the fruits and beetles, mostly from the orders Phaffomycetales and Serinales, and explored their role in yeast-beetle interactions. Cyberlindnera is the most recurrent yeast, found in 90% of the fruit samples infested with beetles and representing 79% of the total isolates. Results from bioassays sup

SUBMITTER: Bizarria R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12259496 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature