New species of fungus sticking out of beetles

Date:
August 3, 2020
Source:
Pensoft Publishers
Summary:
A comprehensive study on a group of unique ectoparasitic fungi
associated with insects and other arthropods in Belgium and the
Netherlands has been published. The paper provides identification
details about a total of 140 species, including nine species that
represent new country records and two species new to science,
with one of them named after the 2020 quarantine period, imposed
to curb the COVID-19 pandemic.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
A major comprehensive study on Herpomycetales and Laboulbeniales, two
orders of unique ectoparasitic fungi associated with insects and other arthropods (class Laboulbeniomycetes) in Belgium and the Netherlands was published in the open- access, peer-reviewed scholarly journal MycoKeys.


========================================================================== Having surveyed arthropod fauna using pitfall traps and an illuminated
white screen at night, and with the help of a network of entomologists,
Dr. Danny Haelewaters (Purdue University, University of South Bohemia
and Ghent University) and Dr. Andre' De Kesel (Botanic Garden Meise)
provide identification details about a total of 140 fungal species. The
list includes nine species that are reported for the first time for
either of the two countries and two newly described species.

Interestingly, one of the novel fungi was described during the 2020
global quarantine period, imposed to curb the COVID-19 pandemic. This
prompted the researchers to dedicate the newly discovered species to
this extraordinary time. In the annals of science, the species will be
going by the name of Laboulbenia quarantenae.

Laboulbenia quarantenae grows externally on the body of ground beetles belonging to the species Bembidion biguttatum and is thus far only found
at the Botanic Garden Meise in Belgium. This new fungus is considered to
be very rare compared to Laboulbenia vulgaris, another, well-documented
species that is more commonly found on the same host. So far, there has
been no evidence that L.

quarantenae parasitizes other host species.

Herpomycetales and Laboulbeniales -- unlike common mushrooms -- do not
form branching thread-like hyphae, nor a mycelium. Rather, they grow a
single three- dimensional thallus of a few thousand cells sticking out
of the body of the host organism. While some species of Laboulbeniales,
like Laboulbenia quarantenae, are superficially attached to their host,
others are more invasive, such as Hesperomyces halyziae, the second fungus newly described in this study. These fungi produce a haustorium, which is
a hyphal outgrowth used to penetrate the tissues of their arthropod hosts,
so that they can reach to the primary body cavity and the circulatory
fluid in there. By doing so, it is thought that the parasites can both
increase surface area for nutrient uptake and tighten their grip on
their host.

In their study, the scientists hypothesize that, because of their
invasive nature, these haustorial parasites maintain close interactions
with their hosts in a process referred to as an "evolutionary arms
race." This means that whenever the host evolves a defence mechanism
against the fungus, the parasite promptly evolves in its own turn, and
adapts accordingly. Eventually, specialization leads to the evolution
of new species.

The present study compiles all available data from Belgium and the
Netherlands and serves as an appropriate starting point for an updated checklist of thallus-forming fungi in the class Laboulbeniomycetes found
across Europe. Such a checklist is an ongoing project meant to summarize decades of research and will undoubtedly continue to uncover significant
fungal diversity. The last update of this piece of knowledge dates back
to 1991.


========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Pensoft_Publishers. Note: Content
may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Haelewaters D, De Kesel A. Checklist of thallus-forming
Laboulbeniomycetes from Belgium and the Netherlands,
including Hesperomyces halyziae and Laboulbenia quarantenae
spp. nov. MycoKeys, 2020; 71: 23-86 DOI: 10.3897/mycokeys.71.5342 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/08/200803105223.htm

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