Fungal Communities of Eucalyptus grandis Leaves Are Influenced by the Insect Pest Leptocybe invasa.

ABSTRACT: Fungal communities in above-ground tree tissues are hyperdiverse and are influenced by biotic interactions with other organisms living in or on these tissues. These biotic interactions are, however, still poorly understood. In this study, we aimed to understand how insect-associated gall formation on Eucalyptus foliage correlates with the diversity of foliar fungal communities in surrounding healthy leaf tissue, as well as the co-occurrence patterns among the members of the fungal community. We used ITS metabarcoding to characterise the foliar fungal communities of 179 individual E. grandis trees. These trees were assigned to infestation levels of the wasp Leptocybe invasa (Eulophidae: Hymenoptera), which causes gall formation on shoot tips and leaves of its host. Fung

SUBMITTER: Messal M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9009095 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature