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Forests
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Insects as Vectors of Forest Diseases
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Insects as Vectors of Forest Diseases

A special issue of Forests (ISSN 1999-4907). This special issue belongs to the section "Forest Ecophysiology and Biology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (25 February 2021) | Viewed by 5783

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Mercedes Fernández

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Agroforestry Sciences, University of Valladolid, ETSIIAA Palencia, Avda. Madrid nº 44, 34071 Palencia, Spain
Dr. Pedro Naves

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
INIAV Institute, Oeiras, Portugal

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Insect pests are among the main threats to forest health, causing high ecological and economic impacts worldwide. Their effects are amplified by climate change and global trade. In many regions, the accidental introduction of exotic species has caused severe and destructive recent outbreaks of new emerging pests, frequently associated with native or exotic fungal forest pathogens. In fact, the main damage of many forest insects, namely bark, wood-boring and ambrosia beetles, is related to their capacity to transport phytopathogenic fungi, which are inoculated directly on the tree during the feeding and/or the boring activity. Besides fungi, insects can also carry other pathogenic agents, such as nematodes and bacteria, which can also cause diseases in tree hosts, although these interactions are less studied and understood. The purpose of this Special Issue is to invite submission of manuscripts, including original research papers and reviews, on this important and relevant topic, focusing on the role of insects as vectors of forest diseases in order to increase the general knowledge on insect-mediated disease transmission in forests and contribute to the characterization and understanding of these interactions.

Dr. Mercedes Fernández
Dr. Pedro Naves
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Forests is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • insect pest
  • fungi
  • nematodes
  • bacteria
  • insect-mediated diseases
  • forest decline

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 3164 KiB  
Article
Raffaelea quercina sp. nov. Associated with Cork Oak (Quercus suber L.) Decline in Portugal
by Maria L. Inácio, José Marcelino, Arlindo Lima, Edmundo Sousa and Filomena Nóbrega
Forests 2021, 12(4), 513; https://doi.org/10.3390/f12040513 - 20 Apr 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2887
Abstract
Research Highlights: Raffaelea quercina sp. nov. is an ophiostomatoid fungus isolated from the ambrosia beetle Platypus cylindrus. The species occurs in symptomatic Portuguese cork oak trees, (Quercus suber L.), exhibiting vegetative decline. Background and Objectives: Quercus suber L. is a species [...] Read more.
Research Highlights: Raffaelea quercina sp. nov. is an ophiostomatoid fungus isolated from the ambrosia beetle Platypus cylindrus. The species occurs in symptomatic Portuguese cork oak trees, (Quercus suber L.), exhibiting vegetative decline. Background and Objectives: Quercus suber L. is a species restricted to the Mediterranean basin, of special economic importance as it constitutes the crucial raw material for the cork production industry, in particular for Portugal, the world’s leading producer. Over the last three decades a progressive and alarming decline of cork oak trees has been observed across its distribution area, including Portugal. The ambrosia beetle Platypus cylindrus, commonly known as the oak pinhole borer, establishes symbiotic relationships with fungi from which it depends for survival and for oak colonization. Some of these fungi are ophiostomatoid species of the Raffaelea genus, known as ambrosia fungi associated with ambrosia beetles. Some Raffaelea species exhibit phytopathogenic activity causing wilting and/or death of trees. The objective of the present study is to identify the association between P. cylindrus and Raffaelea species in Portuguese cork oak stands showing symptoms of disease and decline. Materials and Methods: A total of 300 adult insects were collected as they emerged from cork oak logs, sampled from symptomatic trees. Axenic isolates of Raffaelea species were obtained from the beetles and their galleries in the trunks and identified based on morphological features and molecular analysis of the SSU and LSU rDNA regions. Results: Two Raffaelea species were identified, i.e., R. montetyi and a novel Raffaelea species closely related to R. canadensis. The novel species is morphologically and genetically characterized in this study, and erected as Raffaelea quercina M.L. Inácio, E. Sousa & F. Nóbrega, sp. nov. Raffaelea quercina constitutes a new phytopathogenic fungal species associated with P. cylindrus and cork oak trees exhibiting symptoms of vegetative decline. Conclusions: Raffaelea species appear to have a significant role in cork oak decline. Future research on the association between P. cylindrus and Raffaelea species, encompassing the trans-European and North African wide-range of cork oak stands, would further clarify the relationships between ambrosia beetles, associated fungi and cork oak decline, contributing to a better understanding of the phenomena and for strategies aiming to halt the continuous decline of the unique cork oak stands enclosed in the Mediterranean basin. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Insects as Vectors of Forest Diseases)
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19 pages, 7551 KiB  
Article
Phylogenetic Position of Geosmithia spp. (Hypocreales) Living in Juniperus spp. Forests (Cupressaceae) with Bark Beetles of Phloeosinus spp. (Scolytinae) from the Northeast of Mexico
by Hernández-García Juan Alfredo, Cuellar-Rodríguez Gerardo, Aguirre-Ojeda Nallely Guadalupe, Villa-Tanaca Lourdes, Hernández-Rodríguez César and Armendáriz-Toledano Francisco
Forests 2020, 11(11), 1142; https://doi.org/10.3390/f11111142 - 28 Oct 2020
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2333
Abstract
Geosmithia members are mitosporic filamentous fungi commonly recorded and isolated from bark beetles of the Scolytinae subfamily and their respective host’s species. This genus includes 18 species formally described and 38 phylogenetic species recorded in several localities from Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and [...] Read more.
Geosmithia members are mitosporic filamentous fungi commonly recorded and isolated from bark beetles of the Scolytinae subfamily and their respective host’s species. This genus includes 18 species formally described and 38 phylogenetic species recorded in several localities from Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and North and South America, where they exhibit frequent associations with phloeophagous and wood-boring bark beetles. Among phloephagous bark beetle species, specifically, in members of the genus Phloeosinus Chapuis, almost 10% of Geosmithia strains have been isolated. By its physiographic elements and high bark beetle and conifer species richness, Mexico is a potential region to host a high diversity of Geosmithia species and potential new species. In the present study, we systematically sampled and isolated, cultured, and molecularly identified members of the Geosmithia species associated with Phloeosinus spp. and their Juniperus spp. host trees at the north of Sierra Madre Oriental, at Nuevo Leon State, Mexico. Phylogenetic analyses based on 378 internal transcribed spacer region (ITS) sequences supported the presence of strains from Geosmithia langdonii-Geosmithia sp. 32 clade associated with Phloeosinus serratus vector and with Juniperus coahuilensis (JC) host, and the presence of strains from Geosmithia sp. 21-Geosmithia xerotolerans clade with Phloeosinusdeleoni and Juniperus flaccida (JF) in this geographical region. The genetic and morphological differences found in our strains with respect to those previously described in the species from both clades (Geosmithia langdonii-Geosmithia sp. 32 and Geosmithia sp. 21-G. xerotolerans) suggest that both Geosmithia lineages from Nuevo Leon correspond to two potential new species in the genus. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Insects as Vectors of Forest Diseases)
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