Degree Type
Thesis
Date of Award
2015
Degree Name
Master of Science
Department
Plant Pathology and Microbiology
First Advisor
Thomas C. Harrington
Abstract
Five undescribed species of Raffaelea (Ophiostomatales), as well as Raffaelea sulphurea, were isolated and illustrated from the ambrosia beetle tribe Xyleborini: Raffaelea sulphurea and Raffaelea sp. A from Xyleborinus saxeseni; Raffaelea sp. B and Raffaelea sp. C from Xyleborinus attenuatus; Raffaelea sp. D from Xyleborinus gracilis; Raffaelea sp. F from Cyclorhipidion bodoanum; and Raffaelea sp. G from C. pelliculosum.
Each fungal symbiont was isolated from a single beetle host species or its galleries and characterized by culture morphology and DNA sequencing. Analysis of of 18S rDNA and translocation elongation factor sequences of five undescribed symbionts (Raffaelea sulphurea, Raffaelea sp. B, Raffaelea sp. D, Raffaelea sp. F, and Raffaelea sp. G) supported the hypothesis that Dryadomyces is a genus distinct from Raffaelea spp. In culture, Dryadomyces spp. produce fast-growing, red-brown mycelia with no yeast-like budding, unlike typical Raffaelea spp. Raffaelea montetyi, R. quercivora, R. quercus-mongolicae and Raffaelea sp. D formed another group sister to the Dryadomyces subclade. The members of this R. montetyi subclade produce yeasty, mucoid colonies and hyaline mycelia similar to R. lauricola. Raffaelea sp. A and Raffaelea sp. C were closely related to R. canadensis. This R. canadensis complex was placed among typical Raffaelea spp. in phylogenetic analysis. Thus, both molecular and phenotypic characteristics suggest that ambrosia beetle symbionts within the Ophiostomatales are not monophyletic.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.31274/etd-180810-4401
Copyright Owner
Yeganeh Gharabigloozare
Copyright Date
2015
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
File Size
52 pages
Recommended Citation
Gharabigloozare, Yeganeh, "Raffaelea spp. from five ambrosia beetles in the genera Xyleborinus and Cyclorhipidion (Coleoptera: Curcurlionidae: Scolytinae: Xyleborini)" (2015). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. 14815.
https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/etd/14815