Fungos associados a microcerotermes CF. Strunckii (Isoptera: Termitidae, Termitinae) em fragmentos de mata Semidecídua estacional no Cerrado

Abstract

This study investigated the mycobiota nests and the feed channel of Microcerotermes cf. strunckii, checking if there are differences between the mycotic constitution and the analyzed materials. The material in this study was collected in parts of a semi-deciduous forest located by the Universidade Estadual de Goiás and Empresa de Assistência Técnica e Extensão Rural de Goiás in the city of Anápolis - GO. Five active nests were evaluated, in addition to the feed channel of 11 workers for each collected nest. The nest samples were homogenized individually and all workers were dissected, and for each collected nest, the entire alimentary channel of nine individuals and the split feed channel of two individuals were seeded in Petri plates with BDA growth medium, which were stored in a greenhouse at 25 ° C for six days. Subsequently fungal colonies were purified and identified. Seventeen fungal taxa were registered in this study. Paecilomyces variotii, Penicillium frequentans and Aspergillus flavus were the most frequent species in the nest material and P. variotii and A. flavus, the most common in the alimentary channel. Fungal diversity found in nests and food of M. cf. channel strunckii the Cerrado may be considered high when compared to similar studies with the same gender in Caatinga environment. The mycobiota recorded in nests and eating channels showed no distinction, since all fungi recorded in the alimentary canal of the workers were also observed in the mound material. This is the first study reporting the mycobiota associated with termites in the Cerrado and showed the presence of Ascomycetes fungi with lignocellulosic properties, coining possible interactions between M. cf. strunckii and fungi.