Exploring the Dispersal of Fungal Species by Bees

Presenter(s)

Taylor Yonemura

Abstract or Description

It is widely known that bees are essential in the distribution of pollen, but did you know they can spread disease as well? Fungal pathogens cause the loss of up to 20% of crops across the globe each year. Ecological surveys can help document the prevalent fungal species in a community to further assess which pathogenic groups are present. By identifying fungi carried on bees, we can estimate what species are being distributed between plants. The UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens has over 2,000 plant species under their care and is an ideal location to study insect-led spore dispersal. We collected fungal spores from the bodies of three different species of bees in the Harwood Garden – Bombus impatiens, Bombus pensylvanicus, and Xylocopa virginica – with two biological replicates each. A methodology for collecting insects, harvesting spores from specimens, and isolating fungi on malt extract agar was optimized based on literature. Afterwards, the bodies of the bees were pinned for taxonomic identification. We observed 55 morphologically unique fungal species via photography and microscopy and are amplicon sequencing diagnostic regions of DNA to identify fungal taxa. The taxa will then be surveyed for known plant pathogens to determine their prevalence in the area and whether they pose significant risk to the Botanical Gardens' flora. Research on the transfer of phytopathogenic fungi through insects capable of long-distance travel will aid in the understanding of the spread of phytopathogenic disease and identify unknown threats in our communities.

Mentor

Morgan Carter