Effects of Trichoderma strigosellum in Eucalyptus urophylla Development and Leaf-Cutting Ant Behavior

• Published in: Journal of fungi (Basel) Vol. 8; no. 1; p. 15
• Main Authors: Batista, Kamilla Otoni Marques, Silva, Dayara Vieira, Nascimento, Vitor L, de Souza, Danival José
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 27-12-2021; MDPI
• Subjects: antagonistic fungi; Endophytes; endophytic colonization; Escovopsis; Eucalyptus urophylla; Foraging behavior; Fungi; Herbivores; Herbivory; herbivory deterrent; Inoculation; Leaves; microbial control; Microorganisms; pest management; Seedlings; Seeds; symbiosis; Trichoderma; Workers (insect caste); Brazil; microbial control; antagonistic fungi; herbivory deterrent; pest management; endophytic colonization; symbiosis
• ISSN: 2309-608X; 2309-608X
• DOI: 10.3390/jof8010015

Fungal endophytes can protect plants against herbivory and be used to control leaf-cutting ants. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the potential of endophytic colonization of
by three filamentous fungal species and their influence on the plant development and foraging behavior of
. The study design was completely randomized and comprised a factorial scheme of 4 × 3, three antagonistic fungal species (
sp.,
, and
) of the leaf-cutting ant, and one control and three inoculation methods (conidial suspension via foliar spray [FS] and soil drench [SD] inoculation, and seedlings inoculated with mycelium [SWM]). The SWM method allowed
to colonize all plant organs, and these plants exhibited higher height, leaf number, shoot dry mass, and total dry mass than the ones subjected to the other inoculation methods. The SWM method increased the plant height than the control plants and those inoculated with
sp. and
.
, previously isolated from soil, colonized
plants and positively influenced their development, as demonstrated by the SWM method.
promoted the increase in
height compared with when the FS and SD methods were used (by 19.62% and 18.52%, respectively). Our results reveal that
workers preferentially began cutting the leaves from plants not previously colonized by
. This behavior can be explained by modifications in the phenotypic traits of the eucalyptus leaves.