Abstract
Wild eastern spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana Clemens) were reared on white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss) trees, half of which had been previously inoculated with a native endophytic fungus, Phialocephala scopiformis DAOM 229536 Kowalski and Kehr (Helotiales, Ascomycota). Survival up to pupation and up to adult emergence was approximately 27% higher for budworm juveniles that developed on control trees compared to trees inoculated with the endophyte. The endophyte did not influence the size or sex of survivors but did reduce defoliation by approximately 30%. Reductions in defoliation on endophyte-inoculated versus control trees, due to reductions in survival of juvenile budworms, suggests that tree inoculations with P. scopiformis could play an important role in integrated management programs against the eastern spruce budworm.
Highlights
Mutualisms between fungi and plants have been reported for most plant groups [1,2,3]
In a manipulated field experiment carried out with larvae from a laboratory colony, we showed that the rugulosin-producing endophyte, P. scopiformis, DAOMC 229 in the Canadian
Survival of spruce budworm larvae up to pupation and adult emergence was significantly lower on endophyte-inoculated than control trees (z ≥ 3.644, p < 0.001). Both larval and total survival were approximately 27% higher for budworm developing on control than on endophyte-inoculated trees (Figure 1)
Summary
Mutualisms between fungi and plants have been reported for most plant groups [1,2,3]. Associations between endophytic fungi that live inside the needles (hereafter endophytes) of conifers are common [4,5,6]. These infections are known to contribute to increased tree tolerance to herbivores, such as insect pests [3,7]. Several studies carried out under laboratory conditions or in a nursery reported that endophytes reduced the size or survival of the eastern spruce budworm, Choristoneura fumiferana Clemens (hereafter budworm) [8,9,10,11,12]. In a manipulated field experiment carried out with larvae from a laboratory colony, we showed that the rugulosin-producing endophyte, P. scopiformis, DAOMC 229 in the Canadian
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