Studies of Laboulbeniales (Fungi, Ascomycota) on Myrmica ants: Rickia wasmannii in the Netherlands

There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

Abstract

An important group of fungal insect parasites is the Laboulbeniales (Ascomycota). These are microscopic in size and live attached to the cuticle of their arthropod hosts. Rickiawasmannii is a common European species limited to the ant genus Myrmica (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). We present new records of R.wasmannii in the Netherlands on three host species: Myrmicaruginodis, M.sabuleti, and M.scabrinodis. Our data show a mass infection of M.sabuleti by R.wasmannii. The average parasite prevalence is 38% (n = 3,876). The prevalence was much lower on the other Myrmica species. So far, R.wasmannii infections have been found only on Myrmica species in the rubra-group and the scabrinodis-group. We provide possible explanations for this observation. To date, Rickiawasmannii is known on nine Myrmica species in sixteen European countries; an overview is included in tabulated form.

Related collections

Most cited references 10

Record: found
Abstract: not found
Article: not found

Phylogeny, divergence-time estimation, biogeography and social parasite-host relationships of the Holarctic ant genus Myrmica (Hymenoptera: Formicidae).

Gunther Jansen, Riitta Savolainen, Kari Vepsäläinen (2010)

We reconstructed a molecular phylogeny of the ant genus Myrmica, tested reciprocal monophyly of the Nearctic and Palearctic representatives, and inferred social parasite-host relationships for five workerless inquilines and four temporary parasites. We sequenced six gene fragments of 106 specimens (17 not identified to species), analysed the data with Bayesian phylogenetic inference and maximum likelihood, and estimated divergence times using penalized likelihood. Our well resolved phylogeny supported most morphologically defined species groups. The Nearctic and Palearctic species were not reciprocally monophyletic, which suggested repeated species interchange across the Beringian land bridge. Parasitism evolved several times in Myrmica. Three inquilines and one temporary parasite were closest relatives of their host, two inquiline species and one temporary parasite clustered basally to their host(s), and two temporary parasites more distantly. Myrmica probably diversified following drastic climatic cooling at the Eocene-Oligocene boundary ca. 34 Ma, the oldest species groups being rugosa and ritae in central and southeastern Asia. The oldest inquiline, Myrmica karavajevi, was estimated at 17 Ma, the youngest species M. hirsuta at 0.8 Ma, whereas the microgyne of M.rubra is an intraspecific inquiline. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

0 comments Cited 36 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Bookmark

Record: found
Abstract: not found
Article: not found

Myrmica ants host highly diverse parasitic communities: from social parasites to microbes

M. Witek, Gerardo F Barbero, Peter Marko (2014)

0 comments Cited 22 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Bookmark

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

Laboulbenia slackensis and L. littoralis sp. nov. (Ascomycota, Laboulbeniales), two sibling species as a result of ecological speciation.

André De Kesel, Danny Haelewaters (2024)

Laboulbenia littoralis is described from the halobiont Cafius xantholoma (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae); it previously was misidentified and not properly documented. Morphologically the new species belongs to a group of carabidicolous taxa similar to Laboulbenia pedicellata and especially Laboulbenia slackensis. It is generally accepted that the specificity of Laboulbeniales is based on their need for substances from the host. In this relatively strict context, shifts between unrelated hosts are difficult to explain. We present morphological and ecological evidence supporting the hypothesis that these fungi are capable of shifting between unrelated hosts as long as they share the same habitat. Adaptation to a particular environment, combined with a reduced dependence from specific nutrients of the host, explains the proposed interfamilial host shift.