Review
Version 1
Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed
Cladosporium - Insect Relationships
Version 1
: Received: 20 December 2023 / Approved: 21 December 2023 / Online: 21 December 2023 (06:10:30 CET)
A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.
Nicoletti, R.; Russo, E.; Becchimanzi, A. Cladosporium—Insect Relationships. J. Fungi 2024, 10, 78. Nicoletti, R.; Russo, E.; Becchimanzi, A. Cladosporium—Insect Relationships. J. Fungi 2024, 10, 78.
Abstract
The range of interactions between Cladosporium, an ubiquitous fungal genus, and insects, a class including about 60% of the animal species, is extremely diverse. The broad case history of antagonism and mutualism connecting Cladosporium and insects is reviewed in this paper based on the examination of the available literature. Certain strains establish direct interactions with pest or beneficial insects, or indirectly influence them through their endophytic development in plants. Entomopathogenicity is often connected to the production of toxic secondary metabolites, although there is a case where these compounds have been reported to favor pollinators attraction, suggesting an important role in angiosperm reproduction. Other relationships include mycophagy, which on the other hand may reflect an ecological advantage for these extremely adaptable fungi using insects as carriers for spreading in the environment. Several Cladosporium species colonize insect structures, such as galleries of ambrosia beetles, leaf-rolls of attelabid weevils and galls formed by cecidomyid midges, playing a still uncertain symbiotic role. Finally, the occurrence of Cladosporium in the gut of several insect species has intriguing implications in pest management, also considering that some strains have proven to be able to degrade insecticides. These interactions especially deserve further investigation to understand the impact of these fungi on pest control measures and strategies to preserve beneficial insects.
Keywords
Cladosporiaceae; endophytes; entomopathogens; mycophagy; symbiosis; species complexes
Subject
Biology and Life Sciences, Plant Sciences
Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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