Endophytes live inside leaves. Leaves get eaten by herbivores. And what happens to the endophytes? Do they survive the herbivore gut? Is there an evolutionary advantage to be eaten? Or would they rather hedge their bets on the ground on a senescing leaf? With the help of Vanessa Chou, an undergraduate research assistant (2015-19), we compared the fungal community inside leaves and caterpillar frass. Our goal is to determine which species survive and may be adapted to herbivory. We explore how generalist vs. specialist endophytic lifestyles correlate with leaf chemical diversity and expression of secondary metabolites using the milkweed model. We have been testing these in monarch caterpillars and local milkweed species of southern California.
Relevant work:
R Oono, V Chou, M Irving. 2024. How do phytophagous insects affect phyllosphere fungi? Tracking fungi from milkweed to monarch caterpillar frass reveals communities dominated by fungal yeast. Environmental Microbiology Reports 16 (3), e13213
