N'Golo A. Koné

• PhD
• Permanent at Université Nangui Abrogoua

Fungus‐farming termites cultivate a Termitomyces fungus monoculture in enclosed gardens (combs) free of other fungi, except during colony declines, where Pseudoxylaria spp. stowaway fungi appear and take over combs. Here, we determined Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) of healthy Macrotermes bellicosus nests in nature and VOC changes associated wit...

In recent decades, African vulture populations have experienced a distressing decline, with certain species plummeting by over 90%. This decline can largely be attributed to various human‐induced pressures. In West Africa, the trade of vultures for magico‐traditional medicine stands out as a significant threat. However, there remains a dearth of kn...

The use of compounds produced by hosts or symbionts for defence against antagonists has been identified in many organisms, including in fungus-farming termites (Macrotermitinae). The obligate mutualistic fungus Termitomyces plays a pivotal role in plant biomass decomposition and as the primary food source for these termites. Despite the isolation o...

Fungus-farming termites (Macrotermitinae) engage in an obligate mutualism with members of the fungal genus Termitomyces, which they maintain as a monoculture on specialized comb structures. Both these comb structures and the guts of the termites host diverse bacterial communities that are believed to assist in sustaining monoculture farming through...

Termitomyces is a genus of basidiomycete fungi cultivated by termites of the subfamily Macrotermitinae. This symbiosis originated in central Africa, and subsequently, the fungus-growing termites have colonized almost the entire African continent including Madagascar as well as significant parts of Asia. Around 40 species of Termitomyces have been d...

The use of compounds produced by hosts or symbionts for defence against antagonists has been identified in many organisms, including in fungus-farming termites (Macrotermitinae). The obligate mutualistic fungus Termitomyces plays a central role in the symbiosis through plant biomass decomposition and as the main food source for these termites. Seve...

Background Populations of vultures in Africa have experienced a rapid decline over recent decades, with some species suffering losses of more than 90%. Various forms of human pressures have been identified as the causes of this decline. However, very little is known about the complex interaction between cultural practises, traditional medicine and...

In natural environments, the development of plants depends on the interactions they maintain with their environment, in particular with soil microorganisms such as arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, especially since the used of inputs is scarce by the majority of farmers in Côte d’Ivoire. The present study was carried out to study the endomycorrhizogeni...

Bees are vital to both ecosystems and humans worldwide; supplying a range of key support facilities for the successful breeding of the majority of flowering plants. The aim of this study was to assess the bee species composition in a Sudano‐Guinean savanna zone and determining the impact of a set of environmental parameters influencing this species...

Fungus-farming termite colonies maintain monoculture fungus combs in underground chambers without apparent problems with diseases. Multiple lines of defense contribute to the suppression or removal of antagonists of the symbiosis, but the role of the termite-manipulated environment within mounds has yet to be tested. Specifically, termite mounds ha...

Fungus‐farming termites are dominant decomposers and important ecosystem engineers in their natural sub‐Sahara African and Southeast Asian ecosystems. This is accomplished through integrated behavioral management of complex communities of fungal and bacterial symbionts by the termite host that facilitate plant biomass decomposition and production o...

Termites are essential components of tropical ecosystems, in which they provide fundamental ecosystem services, such as decomposition of dead plant material, fostering of soil mineralization and provisioning of new microhabitats. We investigated the termite communities of four habitats in two protected areas in West Africa, which differ in manageme...

Objectif : La vente des champignons en Côte d’Ivoire est une activité peu connue par les populations. L'objectif est d’inventorier et de montrer le potentiel des champignons comestibles dans les marchés en vue de leur conservation et de leur gestion durable pour une utilisation efficiente. Méthodologie et Résultats : une enquête socioéconomique a é...

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via the original article.

Local population can play an important role in the sustainable management of biodiversity in protected area. This paper focuses on investigating local population’s knowledge and perceptions on land snail’s biodiversity and conservation status, by (1) testing their ability to recognize different species of land snails, (2) examining the factors invo...

Fungus-growing termites (Isoptera: Macrotermitinae) dominate African savannah ecosystems where they play important roles in ecosystem functioning. Their ecological dominance in these ecosystems has been attributed to living in an ectosymbiosis with fungi of the genus Termitomyces (Lyophyllaceae). Evolutionary theory predicts that the transmission m...

Background Monoculture farming poses significant disease challenges, but fungus-farming termites are able to successfully keep their monoculture crop free from contamination by other fungi. It has been hypothesised that obligate gut passage of all plant substrate used to manure the fungal symbiont is key to accomplish this. Here we refute this hypo...

Data on tomato fitness improvement by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) remain patchy. The present study was initiated to evaluate the effect of the period of AMF inoculation as well as the level of mineral manure on tomato growth. The experiment took pla ce from June to October 2016, in the West African Science Service Center on Climate Change...

Data on tomato fitness improvement by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) remain patchy. The present study was initiated to evaluate the effect of the period of AMF inoculation as well as the level of mineral manure on tomato growth. The experiment took place from June to October 2016, in the West African Science Service Center on Climate Change and...

Objective: Macrofungi are essential to the structure, functioning and dynamics of ecosystems. In Côte d'Ivoire, studies on macrofungi and the impact of habitats in “Centre National de Floristique (CNF)” on macrofungi diversity are little explored. This study aims to assess macrofungi diversity found in some habitats in the botanical garden. Methodo...

The goal of this study was to explain the patterns of diversity and distribution of arboreal social bees nesting in forest habitats of the Comoé National park, within the home-ranges of wild chimpanzees that consume their honey. Investigations were done using a total sixteen plots, one hectare each, established in three habitat types (mature forest...

Background Many fungal species in tropical Africa are useful, with high added value, and play essential roles in the structure and dynamic of ecosystems. However, the diversity, distribution, and uses by local populations of these non-timber forest products (NTFPs) and their respective habitats are still very poorly understood in sub-Saharan Africa...

Termites are important ecosystem engineers. Yet they are often difficult to identify due to the lack of reliable species-specific morphological traits for many species, which hampers ecological research. Recently, termitologists working with West African termites (West African Termite Taxonomy Initiative) convened for a workshop with the aim of beg...

Termites are one of the major components of tropical ecosystems. However, the ecological and biological variables determining the structure of their communities within natural habitats are less documented in general and especially in the Comoe National Park, a Sudano-Guinean savanna zone located in the north-eastern part of Côte d’Ivoire (West Afri...

Social insects owe their ecological success to the division of labour between castes, but associations between microbial community compositions, castes with different tasks, and diets have not been extensively explored. Fungus‐growing termites associate with fungi to degrade plant material, complemented by diverse gut microbial communities. Here we...

Eusocial insects owe their ecological success to the division of labour and processes within colonies often rely on the presence of specific microbial symbionts, but associations between microbial community compositions and castes with different tasks and diets within colonies remain largely unexplored. Fungus-growing termites evolved to use fungi...

To maintain savanna vegetation, mid-seasonal fire has been applied since 1961 in the Lamto Savanna (Côte d'Ivoire). However, this prescribed fire has not impeded tree encroachment during recent years, nor have its effects on insect assemblages been documented. Also the impact of tree intrusion on insect assemblages is poorly studied in savanna. To...

Background: Fire is important for the maintenance of African savanna ecosystems, particularly humid savanna. Despite the importance of fire behavior to our understanding of fire's ecological effects, few studies have documented fire behavior and its determinants in humid West African savannas and, in particular, whether fire behavior depends on sea...

The mutualistic symbiosis between termites of the Macrotermitinae subfamily (Isoptera: Termitidae) and fungi of the genusTermitomyces(Basidiomycota: Lyophyllaceae) is of great ecological and socio-economic importance. Seasonal fruit bodies of the symbiotic fungi are regularly collected and sold in Côte d’Ivoire. However, there are very few studies...

The mutualistic symbiosis between termites of the Macrotermitinae subfamily (Isoptera: Termitidae) and fungi of the genus Termitomyces (Basidiomycota: Lyophyllaceae) is of great ecological and socioeconomic importance. Seasonal fruit bodies of the symbiotic fungi are regularly collected and sold in Côte d'Ivoire. However, there are very few studies...

Since direct measurements of fire intensity are not always possible, post-fire indices are often used to substitute this measure to better understand fire behaviour and its impact on vegetation. This study was carried out in the Lamto reserve (Cote d’Ivoire) and aimed at identifying the post-fire indices that best reflect the intensity of fire. The...

The objective of the study conducted in the Lamto Guinean savannah situated at 165 km northwest of Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire consisted to assess the changes in soil mite abundance, diversity and community structure specific to the second fire cycle applied in 2015, as well as the inter-annual variation between the two fire cycles (2014 and 2015). Thre...

In this study, we evaluated the impact of different fire regimes (early, mid-season, or late fire) on soil mite abundance and diversity in three study sites (Salty marigot, Plateau and North piste) of the Lamto shrub savannah at 160 km northwest of Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. On each site, three adjacent plots of 100 m x 50 m were delimited, to which a...

Background: Molecular methods have revolutionized studies in fungal taxonomy, ecology, and evolution. In addition, nucleotide-based systematic and phylogenies are also the major source for inference of macro-evolutionary processes in fungi since fossils are rare and unevenly distributed between taxa. Despite the mega-diversity of tropical African f...

The prime goal of this study was to analyse the impact of a gradient of habitat types on the seasonal change of the biogenic structures (fungus combs) biomasses within the Macrotermitinae subfamily, using increased TSBF monoliths. Four of the five main genera of fungus growers of the study area were collected with their respective fungus combs. Com...

Scoping study of ecosystem services provided by the Comoé National Park to the region of North-Eastern Côte d'Ivoire - in French

The key role of ectomycorrhizal (EcM) fungi in ecosystems functioning has been demonstrated worldwide. However, their diversity, spatial distribution, fruiting phenology and production as influenced by climatic parameters variability remain poorly understood in tropical African forests. Weekly surveys were conducted from April to early October 2014...

Gut microbes play a crucial role in decomposing lignocellulose to fuel termite societies, with protists in the lower termites and prokaryotes in the higher termites providing these services. However, a single basal subfamily of the higher termites, the Macrotermitinae, also domesticated a plant biomass-degrading fungus (Termitomyces), and how this...

Objective: Picking fungal fruit bodies is a popular spare time occupation, as well as a source of income in many countries. In central and southern Côte d’Ivoire, fruit bodies of the genus Termitomyces are intensively harvested and sold by the local inhabitants. However, information on the dimensions of this trade and on other socio-economic aspect...

Deffated Macrotermes subhyalinus Flour (DMF) was mixed with sorghum flour for the manufacturing of biscuits. Varying amounts of DMF were added for a maximum content of 25  (w/w). The code for the biscuit control was BS0 and the code for the biscuit enriched for example with 25  of DMF was BS25. Physical characteristics and nutritional and sensory...

The Macrotermitinae subfamily is characterized by its symbiosis with fungi of the genus Termitomyces. The most common and presumably primitive mode of reproduction for these fungi is to produce basidiocarps on the mounds of the host termite colony. The seasonal fructification pattern of the fungi seems to depend on the habitat type and termite ecol...

The mutualistic symbiosis between fungus-growing termites and Termitomyces fungi originated in Africa and shows a moderate degree of interaction specificity. Here we estimate the age of the mutualism and test the hypothesis that the major splits have occurred simultaneously in the host and in the symbiont. We present a scenario where fungus-growing...