AUTHOR=Wang Ming , Gao ChengLong , Xu QinWang , Fu NingNing , Li JiaLe , Ren LiLi , Luo YouQing 

TITLE=Different genotypes and species of symbiotic fungi mediate the behavioral response of invasive Sirex noctilio fabricius (Hymenoptera: Siricidae)

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=15

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2024.1341646

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2024.1341646

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p>In northeast China, the invasive woodwasp., <italic>Sirex noctilio</italic>, attacks <italic>Pinus sylvestris</italic> var. <italic>mongolica</italic> Litv and often shares habitat with native <italic>Sirex nitobei</italic>. Previous research showed that <italic>S. noctilio</italic> can utilize the volatiles from its symbiotic fungus (<italic>A. areolatum</italic> IGS-BD) to locate host trees. Consequently, symbiotic fungi (<italic>A. areolatum</italic> IGS-D and <italic>A. chailletii</italic>) carried by <italic>S. nitobei</italic> may influence the behavioral selection of <italic>S. noctilio</italic>. This study aimed to investigate the impact of fungal odor sources on <italic>S. noctilio</italic>’s behavior in laboratory and field experiments. Our observations revealed that female woodwasps exhibited greater attraction toward the fungal volatiles of 14-day-old <italic>Amylostereum</italic> IGS-D in a “Y”-tube olfactometer and wind tunnel. When woodwasps were released into bolts inoculated separately with three strains in the field, females of <italic>S. noctilio</italic> exhibited a preference for those bolts pre-inoculated with <italic>A. areolatum</italic> IGS-BD. Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) analysis revealed that the volatiles emitted by the two genotypes of <italic>A. areolatum</italic> were similar yet significantly distinct from those of <italic>Ampelopsis chailletii</italic>. Hence, we postulate that the existence of native <italic>A. areolatum</italic> IGS-D could potentially facilitate the colonization of <italic>S. noctilio</italic> in scenarios with minimal or no <italic>A. areolatum</italic> IGS-BD present in the host.</p>