First report and new host record of Verruciconidia persicina from the beetle gut in India
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.6092/issn.2531-7342/22280Keywords:
Platynotus excavatus, pure culture, ITS, LSU, TEF-1a, RPB2, PhylogenyAbstract
Fungi associated with beetle guts represent an important but underexplored source of microbial diversity and ecological interactions. Such associations may contribute to host nutrition, defence, or adaptation to specific environments. During a survey of beetle gut-associated fungi, a fungal strain was isolated from the gut of Platynotus excavatus collected in Junnar, India. Based on morphological characteristics and multigene phylogenetic analysis of ITS (Internal transcribed spacer), LSU (Large Submit Unit), TEF-1α (translation elongation factor 1-alpha), and RPB2 (RNA polymerase II) sequences, the isolate was identified as Verruciconidia persicina. The strain (MCC 9995) clusters with the ex-type strain V. persicina (CBS 310.59) with 97% bootstrap support but exhibited slightly wider hyphae (up to 4.5 µm vs. 3.5 µm). This represents the first report of the genus Verruciconidia from an insect gut and its first record from India.
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