Data from: Temperature interacts with jack pine host defences to influence the growth of mountain pine beetle-associated fungi

During the recent outbreak in western Canada, mountain pine beetle (MPB)
Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) and its
associated fungi expanded their geographic and host ranges to include jack
pine, Pinus banksiana Linnaeus (Pinaceae), in the boreal forest. While
previous research indicates that MPB and its symbiotic fungi can infest
and induce chemical host defences in jack pine, it is uncertain how jack
pine defences will impact MPB-associated fungi, particularly under novel
climatic conditions. We investigated the growth response of the three
known MPB fungal symbionts (Grosmannia clavigera (Robinson-Jeffrey and
Davidson), Ophiostoma montium (Rumford), and Leptographium longiclavatum
(Lee, Kim, and Breuril) in media amended with constitutive and fungal
symbiont-induced jack pine monoterpene profiles from jack pine at three
temperatures (18 °C, 23 °C, and 30 °C). While the impact of host
monoterpene defence profile on fungal growth only marginally varied
between temperatures, there were significant effects of temperature on the
optimal growth of fungal species. Fungal growth was facilitated by host
monoterpene profiles induced by other species of MPB-associated fungi,
suggesting indirect host-mediated interspecific interactions between MPB
fungal symbionts that may assist in maintaining redundant symbioses. Since
the species forming the community of symbiotic fungi have different
requirements, regarding both optimal temperature ranges and host
monoterpene composition, the ongoing climate change may alter the
suitability of jack pine as a host, potentially impacting the
establishment of MPB populations in these forests.