Poster Presentation Australasian Plant Pathology Society Conference 2025

Identifying the fungal associates of Tea shot hole borer, Euwallaceae perbrevis, in NSW (#149)

Conrad Trollip 1 , Sophia Callaghan 2 , Andrew Daly 3 , Angus Carnegie 1 , Ossie Wildman 3
  1. NSW Department of Primary Industries, Parramatta, NSW, Australia
  2. Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Mascot, NSW, Australia
  3. Plant Health Diagnostic Service, Elizabeth Macarthur Agriculture Institute, NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Menangle, VIC, Australia

Since the biosecurity response to fusarium dieback associated with the tea shot hole borer (TSHB), Euwallaceae perbrevis, in Sydney, New South Wales in 2022, NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development has continued with surveillance and diagnostic investigation to catalogue the fungal symbionts of the already established Euwallaceae beetles. Prior to 2022, only Fusarium obliquiseptatum had been reported as a fungal symbiont of TSHB on the east coast of Australia, despite the description of other key symbionts of these beetles from other parts of the world (Lynch et al. 2016; Na et al. 2018). Recent cases of dieback and tree death in association with beetle infestation have offered an opportunity to address the need for a more thorough investigation of what fungi are vectored by Euwallaceae perbrevis in eastern Australia.  Samples of beetles, beetle galleries and stained wood were collected from various hosts, including Ficus macrophylla (August 2023), Acer paxii (April 2024), Cupaniopsis anacardioides (August 2024) and Ficus obliqua (November 2024). Fungal isolations were performed from all available substrates, with a particular focus on beetles and beetle galleries using already described protocols (Lynch et al. 2016). Fungal symbionts were initially diagnosed morphologically, before confirming species identity using phylogenetic inference of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and translation elongation factor 1-α (TEF1α) barcodes. Our efforts have expanded the list of fungal associates of Euwallaceae perbrevis in Australia, which now includes five species, namely, Fusarium obliquiseptatum, F. metavorans, Graphium euwallaceae, Graphium sp. II (Na et al. 2018), and Graphium cf. basitruncatum. While TSHB and its fungal associates are currently not considered as significant a threat as the pairing of Euwallaceae fornicatus (PSHB) and Fusarium euwallaceae in a biosecurity context, reporting on these undocumented insect-fungal associations from eastern Australia is important. Euwallaceae beetles have been shown to exhibit promiscuous relationships with their fungal partners, potentially harboring more diversity than previously reported (Carrillo et al. 2020). In addition, the discovery that Graphium euwallaceae (a key symbiont of Euwallaceae beetles) is already established along with TSHB on the east coast raises questions as to the risks posed by new introductions, and the potential for establishment, of exotic Euwallaceae beetles or more aggressive fungal pathogens. There is an ongoing need to monitor these pathosystems (Callaghan et al. 2024) and elucidate the potential role of all symbionts if we are to better assess biosecurity risks, remaining impartial to predetermined views of pathogenicity (Trollip & Carnegie, unpubl.). Contributing these fungi to collections aids in biosecurity preparedness and bolsters future research efforts aiming to uncover the ecological history of these beetles and their fungal symbionts

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