O jardim de fungo das formigas atíneas: um ambiente favorável para espécies de Trichoderma
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Data
2019-02-27
Autores
Silva, Maryana Gabryelle Nogueira da
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Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp)
Resumo
Estima-se que há cerca de 2,2 a 3,8 milhões de espécies de fungos no planeta, entretanto, apenas 130.000 foram descritas, dentre essas, estão as espécies do gênero Trichoderma. Tais fungos são cosmopolitas, também encontrados nas côlonias de formigas atíneas. Esses insetos forrageiam diferentes substratos para cultivar um fungo, o qual é utilizado como alimento pelas formigas. Pelo fato de Trichoderma estar associado aos substratos coletados pelas atíneas, esse fungo é constantemente introduzido nas colônias. Embora espécies de Trichoderma foram descritas nesses ambientes, a ocorrência desses fungos nas colônias das atíneas ainda foi pouco explorada. Para ampliar esse conhecimento, 83 fungos do gênero Trichoderma foram obtidos das seguintes formigas: Acromyrmex sp., Apterostigma sp., Mycocepurus goeldii, Mycetophylax sp., Trachymyrmex tucumanus e Trachymyrmex sp. Os isolados foram sequenciados para três marcadores moleculares (tef1, ITS e rpb2). As análises filogenéticas mostraram que tais fungos pertencem a 14 espécies de Trichoderma, distribuídas nos clados: Brevicompactum, Hamatum/Asperellum, Harzianum, Helicum, Koningii, Longibrachiatum, Lutea, Spirale, Virens e Viride. Duas novas espécies filogenéticas foram descritas no presente estudo: Trichodema sp. nov. 1 (Lutea) e Trichoderma sp. nov. 2 (Helicum). Os resultados também apontaram que não há uma associação entre espécies de Trichoderma e gêneros das formigas examinadas, o que sugere a falta de especificidade entre ambos os organismos. Considerando a natureza ubíqua de Trichoderma e o hábito de forrageio das atíneas, nosso estudo sugere que as colônias desses insetos são ambientes propícios para a ocorrência de fungos como Trichoderma, incluindo espécies ainda desconhecidas pela ciência.
There are about 2.2 to 3.8 million fungal species on the planet, but only 130.000 were described, including several species in the genus Trichoderma. These fungi are cosmopolitan and also found in colonies of attine ants. These insects forage on different substrates to grow a fungus, which is later used as food source. Because Trichoderma is associated with the substrate collected by attine ants, they are constantly introduced into the colonies of these insects. Although Trichoderma species were reported from attine colonies, their occurrence in the ant environment is still poorly addressed. To increase our knowledge on this matter, 83 fungi in the genus Trichoderma were obtained from the following attine ants: Acromyrmex sp., Apterostigma sp., Mycocepurus goeldii, Mycetophylax sp., Trachymyrmex tucumanus and Trachymyrmex sp. The isolates were sequenced for three molecular markers (tef1, ITS and rpb2). Phylogenetic analyses showed these fungi belong to 14 Trichoderma species distributed in the clades: Brevicompactum, Hamatum/Asperellum, Harzianum, Helicum, Koningii, Longibrachiatum, Lutea, Spirale, Virens and Viride. Two new phylogenetic species were described in this study: Trichodema sp. nov. 1 (Lutea) and Trichoderma sp. nov. 2 (Helicum). The results indicated no association between Trichoderma species and ant genera, suggesting a lack of specificity between the two organisms. Considering the ubiquitous nature of Trichoderma and the collecting behavior of attine ants, our study suggests that colonies of these insects are suitable environments for the occurrence of fungi such as Trichoderma, including undescribed species.
There are about 2.2 to 3.8 million fungal species on the planet, but only 130.000 were described, including several species in the genus Trichoderma. These fungi are cosmopolitan and also found in colonies of attine ants. These insects forage on different substrates to grow a fungus, which is later used as food source. Because Trichoderma is associated with the substrate collected by attine ants, they are constantly introduced into the colonies of these insects. Although Trichoderma species were reported from attine colonies, their occurrence in the ant environment is still poorly addressed. To increase our knowledge on this matter, 83 fungi in the genus Trichoderma were obtained from the following attine ants: Acromyrmex sp., Apterostigma sp., Mycocepurus goeldii, Mycetophylax sp., Trachymyrmex tucumanus and Trachymyrmex sp. The isolates were sequenced for three molecular markers (tef1, ITS and rpb2). Phylogenetic analyses showed these fungi belong to 14 Trichoderma species distributed in the clades: Brevicompactum, Hamatum/Asperellum, Harzianum, Helicum, Koningii, Longibrachiatum, Lutea, Spirale, Virens and Viride. Two new phylogenetic species were described in this study: Trichodema sp. nov. 1 (Lutea) and Trichoderma sp. nov. 2 (Helicum). The results indicated no association between Trichoderma species and ant genera, suggesting a lack of specificity between the two organisms. Considering the ubiquitous nature of Trichoderma and the collecting behavior of attine ants, our study suggests that colonies of these insects are suitable environments for the occurrence of fungi such as Trichoderma, including undescribed species.
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Palavras-chave
Attina, Hypocreales, Taxonomia, Filogenia, Diversidade, Taxonomy, Phylogeny, Diversity