Abstract
Symbioses between social insects and fungi can drive important processes in both. We show previously unrealised prevalence and diversity of Trichoderma species (Ascomycota: Hypocreales) in individuals of two termite species (Blattodea: Termitidae). Trichoderma is well known for producing cellulolytic and fungistatic compounds, which can be important to protect colonies against entomopathogenic fungi. We hypothesized that Trichoderma species have a positive effect on termite hosts, yet found an unexpected negative effect of Trichoderma harzianum on termite survival, the presence of Trichoderma species was not determinant for termite nutritional status. Although T. harzianum hindered growth of the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae (Ascomycota: Hypocreales) in vitro, this was not registered for T. virens, suggesting they have different fungistatic roles. Despite the prevalence of Trichoderma species at the colony level being low in termites, we propose that T. harzianum has no specific ecological role that benefits higher termites and might even be a potential opportunistic parasite for termite colonies.
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