microorganisms Review Diversity and Functions of Yeast Communities Associated with Insects Simon Malassigné, Guillaume Minard, Laurent Vallon, Edwige Martin, Claire Valiente Moro and Patricia Luis * Univ Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, INRAE, VetAgro Sup, UMR Ecologie Microbienne, F-69622 Villeurbanne, France;
[email protected] (S.M.);
[email protected] (G.M.);
[email protected] (L.V.);
[email protected] (E.M.);
[email protected] (C.V.M.) * Correspondence:
[email protected] Abstract: Following the concept of the holobiont, insect-microbiota interactions play an important role in insect biology. Many examples of host-associated microorganisms have been reported to drastically influence insect biological processes such as development, physiology, nutrition, survival, immunity, or even vector competence. While a huge number of studies on insect-associated micro- biota have focused on bacteria, other microbial partners including fungi have been comparatively neglected. Yeasts, which establish mostly commensal or symbiotic relationships with their host, can dominate the mycobiota of certain insects. This review presents key advances and progress in the research field highlighting the diversity of yeast communities associated with insects, as well as their impact on insect life-history traits, immunity, and behavior. Keywords: insect-microbiota interactions; mycobiota; yeast communities; insects Citation: Malassigné, S.; Minard, G.; Vallon, L.; Martin, E.; Valiente Moro, C.; Luis, P. Diversity and Functions of Yeast Communities Associated with 1. Introduction Insects. Microorganisms 2021, 9, 1552. With nearly one million described species and 5.5 million estimated ones, insects https://doi.org/10.3390/ represent more than 80% of the animal biodiversity on Earth [1].