Ambrosia beetles and fungi: a comprehensive global survey of an increasingly important symbiosis

该项目将记录世界范围内食腐真菌的多样性——食腐真菌养殖食腐甲虫的营养共生体。真菌的种植已经进化出至少12个不同的树皮甲虫群，这些甲虫群已经辐射出3500多个物种。尽管这种关系在进化上取得了成功，但估计表明，超过90%的甲虫的真菌共生体的身份是未知的。木制品的全球移动使得许多木甲虫入侵，许多共生真菌已成为树木作物的病原体。本项目将利用新的分子技术和培养技术，记录香甲虫与真菌的共生关系，并对每个香甲虫属的真菌群落进行表征。两名研究生将接受现场和实验室技术方面的培训。该项目还将通过在佛罗里达州盖恩斯维尔的哈恩现代艺术博物馆举办的甲虫书法展览和一项名为“后院树皮甲虫”的国家公民科学项目来传播研究成果。研究人员还将加强国际合作和基础设施建设，办法是在亚洲热带地区开办一个神仙甲虫鉴定讲习班，帮助检查人员鉴定最具入侵性的物种。该项目的第一个目的是全面取样仙花甲虫-真菌共生，以调查共生体特异性的水平。然后将对三种全球入侵的ambrosia甲虫-真菌复合体进行采样，以调查真菌共生体群落在媒介扩散、入侵和与新群落接触后如何随时间变化。该项目的第三个和最终目标是使用系统发育和比较方法来重建神仙甲虫-真菌共同进化的模式。有了真菌群落的新数据，就有可能比较甲虫系统发育、地理起源、纬度和其他因素对甲虫-真菌关系的影响。该项目将实施一系列方法来实现研究目标，包括高通量DNA元条形码，一种新的“RNA元条形码”方法来研究真菌代谢突出性，以及基于radseq的方法来重建群体遗传史。这项研究将产生一个全面的数据集，关于在其原生和入侵地区的ambrosia及其真菌共生体的身份和运动，这将为帮助控制ambrosia甲虫和ambrosia真菌的全球影响提供必要的基线数据。

This project will document the world-wide diversity of ambrosia fungi - the nutritional symbionts of the wood-boring fungus-farming ambrosia beetles. The farming of fungi has evolved in at least 12 different bark beetle groups, and these groups have radiated into more than 3,500 species. Despite the evolutionary success of this relationship, estimates suggest that the identity of the fungal symbiont is unknown for over 90% of beetles. Global movement of wood products has made many ambrosia beetles invasive, and many of the symbiotic fungi have become pathogens to tree crops. This project will document the ambrosia beetle-fungal symbiosis and characterize the fungal community for each ambrosia beetle genus using new molecular and culturing techniques. Two graduate students will be trained in field and laboratory techniques. The project will also disseminate research findings through an exhibit of beetle calligraphy at the Harn Museum of Modern Art in Gainesville, FL, and a national citizen science project entitled 'Backyard Bark Beetles'. Researchers will also enhance international collaboration and infrastructure by running an ambrosia beetle identification workshop in tropical Asia to help inspectors identify the most invasive species.The first aim of this project is to comprehensively sample ambrosia beetle-fungal symbioses to investigate the level of symbiont specificity. Three globally-invasive ambrosia beetle-fungus complexes will then be sampled to investigate how the fungal symbiont community has changed over time following vector dispersal, invasion, and contact with new communities. The third and ultimate goal of the project is to use phylogenetic and comparative methods to reconstruct the pattern of ambrosia beetle-fungus coevolution. With new data on fungus communities, it will be possible to compare the influence of beetle phylogeny, geographic origin, latitude and other factors on beetle-fungus relationships. This project will implement a series of methods to achieve the research goals, including high-throughput DNA metabarcoding, a new 'RNA metabarcoding' approach to investigate fungal metabolic prominence, and a RADseq-based approach to reconstruct population genetic history, Together, this research will produce a comprehensive dataset on the identity and movements of ambrosia and their fungal symbionts in both their native and invaded regions that will provide essential baseline data to help control the global impact of both ambrosia beetles and ambrosia fungi.