ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Microbiol.

Sec. Microbial Symbioses

Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2025.1589710

This article is part of the Research TopicDiversity of Beetles and Associated Microorganisms, Volume IIView all 5 articles

Insights on the Tea shot hole borer (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) symbiotic associations

Provisionally accepted
Luisa F CruzLuisa F Cruz1Octavio MenocalOctavio Menocal1Christopher DunlapChristopher Dunlap2Miriam CooperbandMiriam Cooperband3Kevin CloonanKevin Cloonan4Nurhayat TabancaNurhayat Tabanca4Daniel CarrilloDaniel Carrillo1*
  • 1Tropical Research and Education Center, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Homestead, Florida, United States
  • 2Crop Bioprotection Research, National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research, Agricultural Research Service (USDA), Peoria, Illinois, United States
  • 3Forest Pest Methods Laboratory, United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Plant Protection and Quarantine, Science and Technology, Buzzards Bay, United States
  • 4Subtropical Horticulture Research Station, Agricultural Research Service (USDA), Miami, Florida, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

Select one of your emails

You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:

Notify me on publication

Please enter your email address:

If you already have an account, please login

You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here

The tea shot hole borer (TSHB), Euwallacea perbrevis (Schedl 1951) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) is an invasive ambrosia beetle that carries multiple symbiotic fungi and vectors Fusarium spp. to avocado (Persea americana Mill.). This study investigated the role of six fungal species (Fusarium sp. FL-1, Fusarium sp. AF-8, Fusarium sp. AF-6, Graphium sp., Acremonium sp., and Acremonium murorum) as nutritional symbionts of TSHB, and the role of Fusarium species in plant pathogenicity. Four experimental approaches were used: 1) testing each of the six symbionts as a food source for TSHB larvae, 2) examining the stability of symbiotic associations by rearing TSHB on substrates previously colonized by individual fungi, 3) establishing TSHB colonies with single Fusarium symbionts (Mono-Fusarium Lines, MFL), 4) testing disease development in avocado trees infested with MFL. Fusarium sp. FL-1 and Fusarium sp. AF-8 supported the highest percentage of larval development among the tested fungi. These two fungi persisted in the mycangia of beetles reared on a substrate pre-inoculated with other symbionts. In addition, both fungal species caused the largest lesions in avocado branches. TSHB feeding on the other tested symbionts (Fusarium sp. AF-6, Graphium sp., Acremonium sp. or Acremonium murorum) resulted in poor larval development and/or overall reduced reproduction compared to feeding upon Fusarium sp. FL-1 and AF-8 and the symbiont blend (control). These findings demonstrate the dual role of Fusarium sp. FL-1 and AF-8 as nutritional symbionts of TSHB and as key drivers of pathogenicity in avocado.

Keywords: Ambrosia beetles, Euwallacea perbrevis, fungal farming, Fusarium, Plant Pathogen, scolytinae, Symbiosis

Received: 07 Mar 2025; Accepted: 16 May 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Cruz, Menocal, Dunlap, Cooperband, Cloonan, Tabanca and Carrillo. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Daniel Carrillo, Tropical Research and Education Center, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Homestead, 33031, Florida, United States

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Supplementary Material