Mites and reproduction in Ceratocystis ulmi and other fungi

Genomic and metagenomic analyses of the domestic mite Tyrophagus putrescentiae identify it as a widespread environmental contaminant and a host of a basal, mite-specific Wolbachia lineage (supergroup Q)

Tyrophagus putrescentiae (mould mite) is a global, microscopic trophic generalist that commonly occurs in various human-created habitats, causing allergies and damaging stored food. Its ubiquity and extraordinary ability to penetrate research samples or cultures through air currents or by active walking through tights spaces (such as treads of screw caps) may lead to sample contamination and introduction of its DNA to research materials in the laboratory. This prompts a thorough investigation into potential sequence contamination in public genomic databases. The trophic success of T. putrescentiae is primarily attributed to the symbiotic bacteria housed in specialized internal mite structures, facilitating adaptation to varied nutritional niches. However, recent work suggests that horizontal transfer of bacterial/fungal genes related to nutritional functionality may also contribute to the mite's trophic versatility. This aspect requires independent confirmation. Additionally, T. putrescentiae harbors an uncharacterized and genetically divergent bacterium, Wolbachia, displaying blocking and microbiome-modifying effects. The phylogenomic position and supergroup assignment of this bacterium are unknown. Here, we sequenced and assembled the T. putrescentiae genome, analyzed its microbiome, and performed detailed phylogenomic analyses of the mite-specific Wolbachia. We show that T. putrescentiae DNA is a substantial source of contamination of research samples. Its DNA may inadvertently be co-extracted with the DNA of the target organism, eventually leading to sequence contamination in public databases. We identified a diversity of bacterial species associated with T. putrescentiae, including those capable of rapidly developing antibiotic resistance, such as Escherichia coli. Despite the presence of diverse bacterial communities in T. putrescentiae, we did not detect any recent horizontal gene transfers in this mite species and/or in astigmatid (domestic) mites in general. Our phylogenomic analysis of Wolbachia recovered a basal, mite-specific lineage (supergroup Q) represented by two Wolbachia spp. from the mould mite and a gall-inducing plant mite. Fluorescence in situ hybridization confirmed the presence of Wolbachia inside the mould mite. The discovery of an early derivative Wolbachia lineage (supergroup Q) in two phylogenetically unrelated and ecologically dissimilar mites suggests that this endosymbiotic bacterial lineage formed a long-term association with mites. This finding provides a unique insight into the early evolution and host associations of Wolbachia. Further discoveries of Wolbachia diversity in acariform mites are anticipated.

Complexities underlying the breeding and deployment of Dutch elm disease resistant elms

Dutch elm disease (DED) is a vascular wilt disease caused by the pathogens Ophiostoma ulmi and Ophiostoma novo-ulmi with multiple ecological phases including pathogenic (xylem), saprotrophic (bark) and vector (beetle flight and beetle feeding wound) phases. Due to the two DED pandemics during the twentieth century the use of elms in landscape and forest restoration has declined significantly. However new initiatives for elm breeding and restoration are now underway in Europe and North America. Here we discuss complexities in the DED 'system' that can lead to unintended consequences during elm breeding and some of the wider options for obtaining durability or 'field resistance' in released material, including (1) the phenotypic plasticity of disease levels in resistant cultivars infected by O. novo-ulmi; (2) shortcomings in test methods when selecting for resistance; (3) the implications of rapid evolutionary changes in current O. novo-ulmi populations for the choice of pathogen inoculum when screening; (4) the possibility of using active resistance to the pathogen in the beetle feeding wound, and low attractiveness of elm cultivars to feeding beetles, in addition to resistance in the xylem; (5) the risk that genes from susceptible and exotic elms be introgressed into resistant cultivars; (6) risks posed by unintentional changes in the host microbiome; and (7) the biosecurity risks posed by resistant elm deployment. In addition, attention needs to be paid to the disease pressures within which resistant elms will be released. In the future, biotechnology may further enhance our understanding of the various resistance processes in elms and our potential to deploy trees with highly durable resistance in elm restoration. Hopefully the different elm resistance processes will prove to be largely under durable, additive, multigenic control. Elm breeding programmes cannot afford to get into the host-pathogen arms races that characterise some agricultural host-pathogen systems.

Enhanced Outcrossing, Directional Selection and Transgressive Segregation Drive Evolution of Novel Phenotypes in Hybrid Swarms of the Dutch Elm Disease Pathogen Ophiostoma novo-ulmi

In the 1970s, clones of the two subspecies of Ophiostoma novo-ulmi, subsp. americana (SSAM) and subsp. novo-ulmi (SSNU) began to overlap in Europe, resulting in hybrid swarms. By 1983-1986, hybrids with high, SSAM-like growth and pathogenic fitness comprised ~75% of popula-tions at Limburg, Netherlands and Orvieto, Italy. We resampled these populations in 2008 to examine trends in hybrid fitness traits. Since preliminary sampling in 1979-1980, MAT-1 locus frequency had increased from ~0% to ~32% at Orvieto and 5% to ~43% at Limburg, and vegeta-tive incompatibility type frequency had changed from near clonal to extremely diverse at both sites. This represents an enormous increase in outcrossing and recombination potential, due in part to selective acquisition (under virus pressure) of MAT-1 and vic loci from the resident O. ulmi and in part to SSAM × SSNU hybridisation. Overt virus infection in the 2008 samples was low (~4%), diagnostic SSAM and SSNU cu and col1 loci were recombinant, and no isolates exhib-ited a parental SSAM or SSNU colony pattern. At both sites, mean growth rate and mean patho-genicity to 3-5 m clonal elm were high SSAM-like, indicating sustained directional selection for these characters, though at Orvieto growth rate was slower. The once frequent SSNU-specific up-mut colony dimorphism was largely eliminated at both sites. Perithecia formed by Limburg isolates were mainly an extreme, long-necked SSNU-like form, consistent with transgressive segregation resulting from mismatch of SSAM and SSNU developmental loci. Orvieto isolates produced more parental-like perithecia, suggesting the extreme phenotypes may have been se-lected against. The novel phenotypes in the swarms are remodelling O. novo-ulmi in Europe. Locally adapted genotypes may emerge.

Two Populations of Mites (Tyrophagus putrescentiae) Differ in Response to Feeding on Feces-Containing Diets

Background:Tyrophagus putrescentiae is a ubiquitous mite species in soil, stored products and house dust and infests food and causes allergies in people. T. putrescentiae populations harbor different bacterial communities, including intracellular symbionts and gut bacteria. The spread of microorganisms via the fecal pellets of T. putrescentiae is a possibility that has not been studied in detail but may be an important means by which gut bacteria colonize subsequent generations of mites. Feces in soil may be a vector for the spread of microorganisms.

Methods: Extracts from used mite culture medium (i.e., residual food, mite feces, and dead mite bodies) were used as a source of feces-inhabiting microorganisms as food for the mites. Two T. putrescentiae populations (L and P) were used for experiments, and they hosted the intracellular bacteria Cardinium and Wolbachia, respectively. The effects of the fecal fraction on respiration in a mite microcosm, mite nutrient contents, population growth and microbiome composition were evaluated.

Results: Feces from the P population comprised more than 90% Bartonella-like sequences. Feces from the L population feces hosted Staphylococcus, Virgibacillus, Brevibacterium, Enterobacteriaceae, and Bacillus. The mites from the P population, but not the L population, exhibited increased bacterial respiration in the microcosms in comparison to no-mite controls. Both L- and P-feces extracts had an inhibitory effect on the respiration of the microcosms, indicating antagonistic interactions within feces-associated bacteria. The mite microbiomes were resistant to the acquisition of new bacterial species from the feces, but their bacterial profiles were affected. Feeding of P mites on P-feces-enriched diets resulted in an increase in Bartonella abundance from 6 to 20% of the total bacterial sequences and a decrease in Bacillus abundance. The population growth was fivefold accelerated on P-feces extracts in comparison to the control.

Conclusion: The mite microbiome, to a certain extent, resists the acquisition of new bacteria when mites are fed on feces of the same species. However, a Bartonella-like bacteria-feces-enriched diet seems to be beneficial for mite populations with symbiotic Bartonella-like bacteria. Coprophagy on the feces of its own population may be a mechanism of bacterial acquisition in T. putrescentiae.

Ophiostomatoid fungi associated with conifer-infesting beetles and their phoretic mites in Yunnan, China

The Ophiostomatales is an Ascomycete order of fungi that accommodates several tree pathogens and many species that degrade wood. These fungi are commonly vectored by Scolytine bark and ambrosia beetles. In recent years it has also been shown that hyperphoretic mites on these beetles can vector some Ophiostomatales. Little is known regarding the Ophiostomatales in China and we have consequently explored the diversity of these fungi associated with conifer-infesting beetles and mites in Yunnan province. Galleries and beetles were collected for 17 beetle species, while 13 mite species were obtained from six of these beetle species. Collectively, 340 fungal isolates were obtained, 45 from beetles, 184 from mites, 56 from galleries and 55 isolates where the specific niche was not clear. DNA sequences for five gene regions (ITS, LSU, BT, EF, and CAL) were determined for fungal isolates representing different morphological groups. Phylogenetic analyses confirmed the presence of 19 fungal taxa, including five novel species described here as Ophiostoma acarorumsp. nov., Ophiostoma brevipilosisp. nov., Graphilbum kesiyaesp. nov., Graphilbum puerensesp. nov., and Leptographium ningerensesp. nov.Ophiostoma ips was the most frequently isolated species, representing approximately 31% of all isolates. Six of 19 taxa were present on mites, beetles and in the galleries of the beetles, while three species were found on mites and galleries. Two species were found only on mites and one species only on a beetle. Although the numbers of beetles and mites were insufficient to provide statistical inferences, this study confirmed that mites are important vectors of the Ophiostomatales in China. We hypothesize that these mites are most likely responsible for horizontal transfer of fungal species between galleries of different beetle species. The fact that half of the fungal species found were new to science, suggests that the forests of east Asia include many undescribed Ophiostomatales yet to be discovered.

The role of mites in insect-fungus associations

The interactions among insects, mites, and fungi are diverse and complex but poorly understood in most cases. Associations among insects, mites, and fungi span an almost incomprehensible array of ecological interactions and evolutionary histories. Insects and mites often share habitats and resources and thus interact within communities. Many mites and insects rely on fungi for nutrients, and fungi benefit from them with regard to spore dispersal, habitat provision, or nutrient resources. Mites have important impacts on community dynamics, ecosystem processes, and biodiversity within many insect-fungus systems. Given that mites are understudied but highly abundant, they likely have bigger, more important, and more widespread impacts on communities than previously recognized. We describe mutualistic and antagonistic effects of mites on insect-fungus associations, explore the processes that underpin ecological and evolutionary patterns of these multipartite communities, review well-researched examples of the effects of mites on insect-fungus associations, and discuss approaches for studying mites within insect-fungus communities.

Indoor mould development and dispersal

Indoor mould development can occur following the accumulation of free water associated with a susceptible building material. Upon entry of viable fungal propagules from outdoors, the fungus becomes attached to a susceptible substrate. Vegetative growth begins if the appropriate environmental conditions exist, the primary ones being ample free water and a susceptible substrate that can provide the necessary nutrients for fungal growth. Extracellular fungal enzymes are released into the immediate environment surrounding the fungus from which nutrients are absorbed resulting in biodeterioration of building materials. As the fungal vegetative growth expands, fungal reproductive propagules such as conidia, ascospores, basidiospores, and viable hyphal units develop that are typically carried by air currents to new sites within the indoor environment. The indoor fungal ecologic niche is a complex ecosystem where different fungal species interact among themselves and with bacteria, insects, and mites.