Ceratocystiopsis quercina sp. nov. Associated with Platypus cylindrus on Declining Quercus suber in Portugal.

Abstract

Simple SummaryThe presence of the oak pinhole borer, the insect Platypus cylindrus, in Portuguese cork oak stands has drastically increased in the past few decades. This beetle excavates long galleries in the trunk while inoculating fungi (called ambrosia fungi) transported in special organs (mycangia) that will serve as food source for its offspring. The combined action of extensive boring into the heartwood and the inoculation of fungi leads to an increase in tree mortality. A new ambrosial fungus, Ceratocystiopsis quercina, was isolated from the insects’ mycangia and from wilting trees, namely from the staining patches it causes on wood.Platypus cylindrus is the most common ambrosia beetle in stands of Quercus suber in Portugal. This insect farms specialized fungi in sapwood galleries, using its mycangia to carry and store these organisms. Some ectosymbiotic fungi carried by P. cylindrus are phytopathogenic and cause extensive tree mortality and severe economic losses. To understand the role of P. cylindrus fungal symbionts in stands of Q. suber we examined beetle galleries present in declining and/or dying cork oak trees during field surveys. Logs with active galleries were obtained in situ and from captured emerging beetles. Insects were aseptically dissected, and their mycangia and intestine were retrieved. Morphological and molecular profiles of fungal isolates obtained from cultured insect parts were carried out to accurately characterize and identify isolated fungi. Molecular characterizations were performed with DNA sequence data from four loci, i.e., LSU, SSU, 5.8S-ITS2-28S, and TUB. Morphological results consistently showed a collection of Ophiostoma-like fungal axenic isolates, while phylogenies inferred that this collection constitutes an undescribed taxon reported herein for the first time in association with P. cylindrus in Portuguese cork oak stands. The novel species was erected as Ceratocystiopsis quercina sp. nov. and constitutes a new phytopathogenic fungal species associated with symptoms of vegetative cork oak decline.