Oak dieback disease caused by the fungus Paecilomyces formosus threatens oak trees in the Zagros forests in western Iran. Various insects, such as wood-infesting beetles (Coleoptera), may play a role in dissemination of P. formosus. We collected larvae and adult insects from branch wood of oak trees with dieback symptoms in the Zagros forests. For larval identification, the mitochondrial gene cytochrome c oxidase I (COXI) was amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Fungal isolates from wood and insects collected from the sampled oaks were identified by morphology, acid production on creatine sucrose agar (CREA) medium, phylogeny of DNA sequence data for the β-tubulin gene and the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) rDNA. To detect P. formosus in larvae and adult insects, we used a nested PCR assay with the species-specific primer pairs PaMF and PaMR. The insects that most often tested positive for P. formosus were larvae of the buprestids Acmaeodera sp. and Chrysobothris affinis, and larvae of the cerambycid Trichoferus campestris. Adults of C. affinis and Calchaenesthes diversicolis (Cerambycidae), which were collected from within their galleries, also tested positive. Beetle larvae of Anthaxia sp. (Buprestidae), Latipalpis plana (Buprestidae), Monochamus sp. (Cerambycidae) and Crypticus gibbulus (Tenebrionidae) also tested positive. Larvae that tested negative for P. formosus were species of Cossidae (Lepidoptera), Elateridae (Coleoptera), Gasteruptiidae (Hymenoptera) and Syrphidae (Diptera). Future research is needed to determine whether any of these insects can serve as vectors of P. formosus. These results can be used to target-specific insects for monitoring.

由真菌拟青霉引起的橡树顶枯病威胁着伊朗西部扎格罗斯森林的橡树。各种昆虫，例如侵染木材的甲虫（鞘翅目），可能在 P. formosus 的传播中发挥作用。我们从扎格罗斯森林中具有枯萎症状的橡树的树枝上收集了幼虫和成虫。为了鉴定幼虫，通过聚合酶链式反应 (PCR) 扩增线粒体基因细胞色素 C 氧化酶 I (COXI)。通过形态学、肌酸蔗糖琼脂 (CREA) 培养基上的酸产生、β-微管蛋白基因和内转录间隔区 (ITS) rDNA 的 DNA 序列数据的系统发育来鉴定从橡树样本中收集的木材和昆虫的真菌分离物。为了检测幼虫和成虫中的 P. formosus，我们使用了带有物种特异性引物对 PaMF 和 PaMR 的巢式 PCR 检测。最常检测出 P. formosus 呈阳性的昆虫是 buprestids Acmaeodera sp. 的幼虫。和 Chrysobothris affinis，以及天牛 Trichoferus Campestris 的幼虫。从画廊内收集的 C. affinis 和 Calchaenesthes diversicolis (Cerambycidae) 成虫也呈阳性。 Anthaxia sp. 甲虫幼虫。 （Buprestidae），Latipalpis plana（Buprestidae），Monochamus sp。 （Cerambycidae）和 Crypticus gibbulus（Tenebrionidae）也检测呈阳性。 P. formosus 检测呈阴性的幼虫属于 Cossidae（鳞翅目）、Elateridae（鞘翅目）、Gasteruptiidae（膜翅目）和 Syrphidae（双翅目）。未来的研究需要确定这些昆虫是否可以作为 P. formosus 的媒介。这些结果可用于针对特定昆虫进行监测。