Insectos de importancia económica y sanitaria : Taladrillo de los forestales, Megaplatypus mutatus

El taladrillo de los forestales es una especie de escarabajo de ambrosía nativa de Sudamérica, distribuida desde Venezuela hasta el norte de la Patagonia Argentina. Ataca una gran diversidad de especies de árboles, causando importantes daños sobre la actividad forestal, particularmente en plantaciones de álamos.Estación Experimental Agropecuaria BarilocheFil: Lantschner, Maria Victoria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones Forestales y Agropecuarias Bariloche; ArgentinaFil: Lantschner, Maria Victoria. Instituto Nacional de Tecnologia Agropecuaria (INTA). Estacion Experimental Agropecuaria Bariloche. Area Forestal. Grupo de Ecologia de Poblaciones de Insectos; ArgentinaFil: Ceriani Nakamurakare, Esteban. Universidad Nacional de Lujan; ArgentinaFil: Ceriani Nakamurakare, Esteban. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Laboratorio de Fitopatología; ArgentinaFil: Corley, Juan Carlos. Instituto Nacional de Tecnologia Agropecuaria (INTA). Estacion Experimental Agropecuaria Bariloche; ArgentinaFil: Corley, Juan Carlos. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones Forestales y Agropecuarias Bariloche; Argentin

Clave para la identificación de especies de la familia Diatrypaceae (Xylariales, Ascomycota)

Clave para la identificación de especies en la familia Diatrypaceae Xylariales, Ascomycota). El presente trabajo brinda una clave para la identificación de las especies y/o complejo de especies, octosporados de la familia Diatrypaceae sobre la base de caracteres morfológicos. Adicionalmente se propone dos nuevos sinónimos para Diatrype chilensis Henn y Eutypella murrayae Syd.A dichotomous key for 74 species and/or species complex of Diatrypaceae is presented based on morphological characters. Additionally, two new synonyms are proposed to Diatrype chilensis Henn y Eutypella murrayae SydFil: Carmaran, Cecilia Cristina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Micología y Botanica. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Micología y Botanica; ArgentinaFil: Robles, Carolina Analía. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Micología y Botanica. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Micología y Botanica; ArgentinaFil: D'Jonsiles, María Fernanda. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Micología y Botanica. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Micología y Botanica; ArgentinaFil: Ceriani Nakamurakare, Esteban Daniel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Micología y Botanica. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Micología y Botanica; ArgentinaFil: Español, Esteban. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Micología y Botanica. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Micología y Botanica; ArgentinaFil: Lopez, Silvia Edith. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Micología y Botanica. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Micología y Botanica; ArgentinaFil: Novas, María Victoria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Micología y Botanica. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Micología y Botanica; Argentin

Granulobasidium vellereum (Ellis &Cragin) Jülich, a promising biological control agent

Studies involving biological control of wood decay fungi and pests in forest areas are scarce. The basidiomycete Granulobasidium vellereum (Ellis & Cragin) Jülich has been isolated as wood endophyte from London Plane trees (Platanus acerifolia (Ait.) Willd). This basidiomycete produces a variety of sesquiterpenes with antifungal activity. In this study we evaluated the potential activity of G. vellereum against wood decay fungi and fungi associated with the ambrosia beetle Megaplatypus mutatus Chapuis, an important forest pest in Populus sp. A combination of in vitro assays was made, in cultures and on wood blocks. Granulobasidium vellereum’s Volatile Organic Compounds (FVOCs) were characterized and their potential role in biocontrol was assessed. Granulobasidium vellereum did not cause a significant loss of weight on P. acerifolia and Populus wood and inhibited the growth of the target fungi, mainly when inoculated first. Up to nineteen volatile compounds were determined in G. vellereum strains. The growth of all target fungi was inhibited by FVOCs and in some cases the morphology of the fungi was altered. These results indicate that G. vellereum can be used as a Biological Control Agent (BCA) of xylophagous fungi and fungi related to forest pests. Further investigations should focus on developing application strategies for M. mutatus management.Fil: Robles, Carolina Analía. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Micología y Botánica. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Micología y Botánica; ArgentinaFil: Ceriani Nakamurakare, Esteban Daniel. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental. Laboratorio de Micología Experimental; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Slodowicz, Mariel Pamela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas para la Defensa. Centro de Investigación de Plagas e Insecticidas; ArgentinaFil: Gonzalez Audino, Paola Andrea. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas para la Defensa. Centro de Investigación de Plagas e Insecticidas; ArgentinaFil: Carmaran, Cecilia Cristina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Micología y Botánica. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Micología y Botánica; Argentin

Optical study of laser biospeckle activity in leaves of Jatropha curcas L. A noninvasive analysis of foliar endophyte colonization

Currently, the detection of endophytic fungi is determined mostly by invasive methods, including direct isolation of fungal organismsfrom plant tissue in growth media, molecular detection of endophyticfungi DNA from plant material by PCR, or evaluation under microscopy techniques.In this work we explore the potential of laser biospeckle activity (LBSA) to be usedfor the detection of endophytic colonization of leaves of a promising energy crop, Jatropha curcas L. We compared the laser biospeckle activityof endophyte infected and uninfected J. curcas leaves. The differences between blade and veins (including midrib) of the studied leaves was validated and growth parameters of the studied plants were also analyzed using the normalized weigthed generalized differencescoefficient (nWGD). The obtained results showeda relationship between the endophytic burden of leaves and the LBS, suggesting that LSBA is a useful tools to detect endophytic colonization in situ.Also, the increasedwater movements inside leaves promoted by endophytic colonizationcould be explainby the obtained data

Metagenomic approach of associated fungi with Megaplatypus mutatus (Coleoptera: Platypodinae)

is a major forest pest in Argentina and an emerging pest in Europe. In this study the multitrophic interactions between and associated fungi were assessed with a metagenomics approach (454-pyrosequencing). A total of 270 collection points from insect galleries from three locations in Argentina were pooled for pyrosequencing analyses. Two hosts, and , were independently evaluated to characterize the fungal communities associated to ; compare the culture-independent approach with previous culturing studies, in terms of data recovery related to the fungal community composition, and test the specificity of the fungal communities amongst locations and hosts. A Generalized Linear Mixed Model was performed to compare the fungal richness in each dataset, which showed no significant differences between taxa richness amongst locations. Principal Coordinates Analyses showed a separation between fungal communities within the same host, suggesting that host identity would not be crucial to determine the specificity in fungal communities. and one species, present in all hosts and locations, achieved 37.6% of the total relative frequency per taxa. These results complement the data from culturing methods previously reported, thus improving the accuracy and understanding of the fungal assemblages associated to .Megaplatypus mutatusM. mutatusPopulus deltoidesCasuarina cunninghamianaM. mutatusCandida insectalensFusariumM. mutatu

Fungal organisms associated with the forest pest Megaplatypus Mutatus (Coleoptera: Platypodinae)

Megaplatypus mutatus es una especie nativa de Sudamérica que pertenece al grupo de los “coleópteros de la ambrosia”. Dicho grupo de organismos presenta asociaciones simbióticas, muchas de ellas mutualistas, con comunidades fúngicas. Debido al amplio rango de plantas susceptibles, la capacidad de atacar árboles vivos y los daños que ocasiona, M. mutatus está considerado una importante plaga forestal. Afecta principalmente a plantaciones comerciales frutícola-forestales, a nivel nacional e internacional. En Argentina, el principal daño económico se registra en las plantaciones forestales del género Populus (Álamo). Esta tesis está focalizada en el estudio de la interacción M. mutatus-Fungi, y sus objetivos fueron: i) Caracterizar la comunidad fúngica asociada a M. mutatus en Populus deltoides, mediante técnicas de cultivo dependiente e independiente; ii) Determinar la especificidad de la interacción micobiota-M. mutatus y el modo en que se establece dicha interacción; iii) Reconocer los organismos fúngicos clave para el establecimiento de M. mutatus; iv) Caracterizar la galería como microhábitat de la comunidad fúngica, estudiar su topología y posibles factores abióticos que modulan su desarrollo; v) Caracterizar los compuestos volátiles orgánicos, emitidos por organismos fúngicos seleccionados de la micobiota asociada a M. mutatus; y vi) Detectar y evaluar potenciales antagonistas fúngicos de los organismos estudiados en el objetivo iii. La caracterización de la comunidad fúngica se realizó utilizando distintas metodologías de aislamiento fúngico y aplicando diferentes aproximaciones; se estudiaron caracteres morfológicos, caracteres moleculares a partir de cultivos axénicos o muestras ambientales (estudios metagenómicos), caracteres fisiológicos mediante el estudio de los compuestos volátiles emitidos por especies fúngicas seleccionadas, y la caracterización del microhábitat representado por las galerías generadas por los insectos, analizando alguno de los factores implicados en su desarrollo, mediante imágenes de resonancia magnética y tomografía computada. Se evaluaron dos plantaciones de Populus deltoides y una plantación de Casuarina cunninghamiana. La comparación de las comunidades descriptas indica que las especies de los géneros Candida, Fusarium, Graphium y Raffaelea poseerían un rol clave en la interacción; en algunos casos con vías diferenciales de vectorización. Se identificaron un total de 72 compuestos volátiles y se evaluó el rol de los mismos a través de bioensayos de olfatometría. Se describieron diferentes topologías de galerías. Integrando la información obtenida se evaluaron posibles antagonistas fúngicos y se seleccionó una cepa, nativa del sistema, del género Trichoderma como agente de biocontrol, obteniendo resultados positivos para todos los casos evaluados. Los resultados obtenidos indican la existencia de una gran diversidad fúngica con diferentes roles ecológicos en la interacción, los cuales deben ser considerados como posibles puntos ¨blanco¨ en el diseño de estrategias que involucren el manejo integrado de la plaga forestal.Megaplatypus mutatus is a native species from South America that belongs to the group called ¨ambrosia beetles¨. This group of organisms has symbiotic associations, many of them mutualistic with fungal communities. Due to the wide range of susceptible plants, the ability to attack living trees and the damage it causes, M. mutatus is considered an important forest pest. It mainly affects commercial fruit and forest plantations, at national and international level. In Argentina, the main economic damage is registered in Populus (Poplar) plantations. This thesis is focused on the study of M. mutatus-Fungi interaction, and its objectives were: i) To characterize the fungal community associated with M. mutatus in Populus deltoides using both culture-dependent and independent approaches; ii) To determine the specificity of the interaction mycobiota-M. mutatus and the way in which this interaction is established; iii) To recognize key fungal organisms for the establishment of M. mutatus; iv) To characterize the gallery as the fungal community`s microhabitat, to study the topology of the gallery and analyse the abiotic factors that modulate its development; v) To characterize the organic volatile compounds of selected fungal organisms from the mycobiota associated with M. mutatus; vi) To detect and evaluate potential fungal antagonists of the organisms studied in objective iii. The characterization of the fungal community was carried out using different methodologies of fungal isolation and applying different approaches; morphological characters, molecular analyses from axenic cultures or environmental samples (metagenomic studies), physiological characters were analysed by studying the volatile organic compounds emitted by selected fungal species and the characterization of the microhabitat represented by the galleries generated by the insects, analysing some of the factors involved in their development, by means of magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography. Two plantations of Populus deltoides and a plantation of Casuarina cunninghamiana were evaluated. The comparison of the described communities indicates that the species of the genera Candida, Fusarium, Graphium and Raffaelea would play a key role in the interaction; in some cases with differential pathways of vectorization. A total of 72 volatile compounds were identified and their role was evaluated through olfactometry bioassays. Different topologies of galleries were described. Integrating the obtained information, possible fungal antagonists were evaluated and a strain of Trichoderma genus, native to the system, was selected as a biocontrol agent, obtaining positive results for all evaluated cases. The obtained results indicate the existence of a great fungal diversity with different ecological roles in the interaction, which should be considered as possible target points in the design of strategies that involve the integrated management of the forest pest.Fil: Ceriani Nakamurakare, Esteban Daniel. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental. Laboratorio de Micología, Fitopatología y Liquenologia; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria; Argentin

Uncharted Territories: First report of Euwallacea fornicatus (Eichhoff) in South America with new reproductive hosts records

We report the presence of the invasive ambrosia beetle, Euwallacea fornicatus (Eichhoff, 1868), for the first time in South America. The identity is established by morphological and molecular methods, although the sequences suggest that it represents a separate haplotype from the populations that have caused significant damage in South Africa, Israel, and California, and is most phylogenetically similar to specimens from Asia and greenhouses in Europe. This pest is one of the most successful invaders, causing high economic and ecological impacts in the regions where it is introduced. Our records are from the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina, one of the most populated and largest port cities in South America, where attacks by this beetle are present on a wide range of living street trees. The large number of trees attacked and the new records of reproductive host species suggest that the beetle is already established and widespread in the city's urban forest. This context implies that the beetle may pose a threat to the urban and natural environment, as well as to the forests and fruit production of the region.Fil: Ceriani Nakamurakare, Esteban Daniel. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomia. Departamento de Ingeniería Agrícola y Uso de la Tierra. Cátedra de Física; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Micología y Botánica. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Micología y Botánica; ArgentinaFil: Johnson, Andrew J.. University of Florida; Estados UnidosFil: Gomez, Demian F.. Texas A&M University; Estados Unido

Relationships between endophytic and pathogenic strains of Inonotus (Basidiomycota) and Daldinia (Ascomycota) from urban trees

The mycelia of wood-decay fungi can persist at a latent endophytic phase in living plant tissues and switch their trophic state under certain environmental conditions. Wood-decay models that take into account these organisms would improve predictability importance in urban environments. In this study, we evaluated the relationship between endophytic and pathogenic strains of Inonotus and Daldinia from urban London plane trees. In vitro wood-decay tests, oxidase reactions and phylogenetic analyses (ITS region, beta-tubulin and nLSU genes) were used to differentiate endophytic and wood-decay strains. All strains significantly reduced the weight of London Plane wood in vitro and had positive oxidase reactions. Endophytic and pathogenic strains of both genera were phylogenetically indistinguishable as evidenced by high sequence similarities, suggesting that endophytic strains can switch their trophic state and can cause wood decay. The capacity of endophytic fungi to switch from a quiescent to a degradative trophic state should be incorporated into predictive models of tree longevity. These revised models could help to predict the impact of wood decay in urban landscapes.Fil: Robles, Carolina Analía. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Micología y Botánica. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Micología y Botánica; ArgentinaFil: Ceriani Nakamurakare, Esteban Daniel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Micología y Botánica. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Micología y Botánica; ArgentinaFil: Pereira, Susana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Micología y Botánica. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Micología y Botánica; ArgentinaFil: Carmaran, Cecilia Cristina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Micología y Botánica. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Micología y Botánica; Argentin

Sex pheromone component produced by microbial associates of the forest pest Megaplatypus mutatus

Megaplatypus mutatus (Chapuis) (Coleoptera: Platypodidae) is an ambrosia beetle native to South America that causes economic loss and was recently introduced to Italy, where it attacks and damages live poplar trees. Sulcatol and sulcatone are male-produced pheromone components involved in the mating process of M. mutatus. Their relative proportions are highly variable among insects, although the temporal pattern shows that initially only sulcatol is present, and sulcatone increases with time, until they are finally both depleted. Sulcatol and sulcatone may be produced de novo by the beetles, they may be produced by fungi, or both pathways may contribute to their production. Sulcatol is stored in the males’ hindgut but sulcatone is only present in emissions, so there is an oxidation process to transform the alcohol to the ketone before or during pheromone release. It is our hypothesis that fungi associated with M. mutatus are responsible for this process. In this work, we studied a possible contribution of associated microorganisms in the conversion of sulcatol into sulcatone and its consequent role in the temporal release pattern of these sex pheromone components observed in male insects. Moreover, we inhibited the postulated enzymes involved in this pheromone conversion process – 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutatyl-CoA reductase (HMGR) and P450 enzymes of a fungal strain – and added an antibiotic and a fungicide to the homogenate during sulcatol-sulcatone conversion. Among the fungal species, particular interest was given to Graphium basitruncatum (Matsush.) Seifert & Okada (Microascales), as it is present in male but not in female exoskeletons and in insect gallery samples, suggesting a possible different role in pherome production, as the male is the pheromone-producing sex. Several isolated strains were able to convert sulcatol to sulcatone, whereas the fungus G. basitruncatum showed the highest production of this ketone. Additionally, inhibition of P450 enzymes and HMGR from G. basitruncatum on this alcohol-ketone conversion demonstrated that HMGR is involved in sulcatone generation using sulcatol as precursor, and that P450 enzymes are not. Finally, sulcatone production diminished significantly in homogenized tissues of male and female M. mutatus following addition of an antibiotic and a fungicide. The results suggest that fungi associated with M. mutatus are involved in pheromone production.Fil: Slodowicz, Mariel Pamela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas para la Defensa. Centro de Investigación de Plagas e Insecticidas; ArgentinaFil: Ceriani Nakamurakare, Esteban Daniel. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria; ArgentinaFil: Carmaran, Cecilia Cristina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria; ArgentinaFil: Gonzalez Audino, Paola Andrea. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas para la Defensa. Centro de Investigación de Plagas e Insecticidas; Argentin