Characterisation of the fig-fig wasp holobiont.

Plants and animals have long been considered distinct kingdoms, yet here a 'plant-animal' is described. An extraordinary symbiosis in which neither organism can reproduce without the other, the fig tree (Ficus) provides the habitat for its exclusive pollinator: the fig wasp (Agaonidae). Characterising the 'fig-fig wasp holobiont' acknowledges, for the first time, 'plant-animal symbiogenesis'.

Patterns of Genomic Diversity in a Fig-Associated Close Relative of Caenorhabditis elegans.

The evolution of reproductive mode is expected to have profound impacts on the genetic composition of populations. At the same time, ecological interactions can generate close associations among species, which can in turn generate a high degree of overlap in their spatial distributions. Caenorhabditis elegans is a hermaphroditic nematode that has enabled extensive advances in developmental genetics. Caenorhabditis inopinata, the sister species of C. elegans, is a gonochoristic nematode that thrives in figs and obligately disperses on fig wasps. Here, we describe patterns of genomic diversity in C. inopinata. We performed RAD-seq on individual worms isolated from the field across three Okinawan island populations. C. inopinata is about five times more diverse than C. elegans. Additionally, C. inopinata harbors greater differences in diversity among functional genomic regions (such as between genic and intergenic sequences) than C. elegans. Conversely, C. elegans harbors greater differences in diversity between high-recombining chromosome arms and low-recombining chromosome centers than C. inopinata. FST is low among island population pairs, and clear population structure could not be easily detected among islands, suggesting frequent migration of wasps between islands. These patterns of population differentiation appear comparable with those previously reported in its fig wasp vector. These results confirm many theoretical population genetic predictions regarding the evolution of reproductive mode and suggest C. inopinata population dynamics may be driven by wasp dispersal. This work sets the stage for future evolutionary genomic studies aimed at understanding the evolution of sex as well as the evolution of ecological interactions.

Virome profiling of fig wasps (Ceratosolen spp.) reveals virus diversity spanning four realms.

We investigated the virome of agaonid fig wasps (Ceratosolen spp.) inside syconia ("fruits") of various Ficus trees fed upon by frugivores such as pteropodid bats in Sub-Saharan Africa. This virome includes representatives of viral families spanning four realms and includes near-complete genome sequences of three novel viruses and fragments of five additional potentially novel viruses evolutionarily associated with insects, fungi, plants, and vertebrates. Our study provides evidence that frugivorous animals are exposed to a plethora of viruses by coincidental consumption of fig wasps, which are obligate pollinators of figs worldwide.

Parasitism Features of a Fig Wasp of Genus Apocrypta (Pteromalidae: Pteromalinae) Associated with a Host Belonging to Ficus Subgenus Ficus.

Non-pollinating fig wasps (NPFWs), particularly long-ovipositored Sycoryctina wasps, exhibit a high species specificity and exert complex ecological effects on the obligate mutualism between the plant genus Ficus and pollinating fig wasps. Apocrypta is a genus of NPFWs that mostly interacts with the Ficus species under the subgenus Sycomorus, and the symbiosis case between Apocrypta and F. pedunculosa var. mearnsii, a Ficus species under subgenus Ficus, is unique. As fig's internal environments and the wasp communities are distinct between the two subgenera, we addressed the following two questions: (1) Are the parasitism features of the Apocrypta wasp associated with F. pedunculosa var. mearnsii different from those of other congeneric species? (2) Is this Apocrypta species an efficient wasp that lives in its unique host? Our observation revealed that this wasp is an endoparasitic idiobiont parasitoid, as most congeneric species are, but developed a relatively long ovipositor. Furthermore, the relationships of the parasitism rate versus the pollinator number, the fig wall, and the sex ratio of the pollinator, respectively, showed that it possessed a higher parasitism ability than that of other congeners. However, its parasitism rate was low, and thus it was not an efficient wasp in its habitat. This difference between parasitism ability and parasitism rate might be a consequence of its oviposition strategy and the severe habitat conditions. These findings may also provide insights into the mechanism to maintain the interaction between the fig tree and the fig wasp community.

Diversity and metabolic potentials of microbial communities associated with pollinator and cheater fig wasps in fig-fig wasp mutualism system.

Microbial symbionts can influence a myriad of insect behavioral and physiological traits. However, how microbial communities may shape or be shaped by insect interactions with plants and neighboring species remains underexplored. The fig-fig wasp mutualism system offers a unique model to study the roles of microbiome in the interactions between the plants and co-habiting insects because a confined fig environment is shared by two fig wasp species, the pollinator wasp (Eupristina altissima and Eupristina verticillata) and the cheater wasp (Eupristina sp1 and Eupristina sp2). Here, we performed whole genome resequencing (WGS) on 48 individual fig wasps (Eupristina spp.) from Yunnan, China, to reveal the phylogenetic relationship and genetic divergence between pollinator and congeneric cheater wasps associated with the Ficus trees. We then extracted metagenomic sequences to explore the compositions, network structures, and functional capabilities of microbial communities associated with these wasps. We found that the cheaters and pollinators from the same fig species are sister species, which are highly genetically divergent. Fig wasps harbor diverse but stable microbial communities. Fig species dominate over the fig wasp genotype in shaping the bacterial and fungal communities. Variation in microbial communities may be partially explained by the filtering effect from fig and phylogeny of fig wasps. It is worth noting that cheaters have similar microbial communities to their sister pollinators, which may allow cheaters to coexist and gain resources from the same fig species. In terms of metabolic capabilities, some bacteria such as Desulfovibrio and Lachnospiraceae are candidates involved in the nutritional uptake of fig wasps. Our results provide novel insights into how microbiome community and metabolic functions may couple with the fig-wasp mutualistic systems.

Rising temperatures threaten pollinators of fig trees-Keystone resources of tropical forests.

Pollinating insects are decreasing worldwide in abundance, biomass, and species richness, affecting the plants that rely on pollinators for fruit production and seed set. Insects are often sensitive to high temperatures. The projected temperature increases may therefore severely affect plants that rely on insect pollinators. Highly specialized mutualisms are expected to be particularly vulnerable to change because they have fewer partner options should one partner become unavailable. In the highly specialized mutualism between fig trees and their pollinating fig wasp, each fig species is pollinated by only one or a few wasp species. Because of their year-round fruit production, fig trees are considered a keystone resource for tropical forests. However, to produce fruits, wild fig trees need to be pollinated by fig wasps that typically travel a long one-way trip from the tree donating pollen to the tree receiving pollen. In a few previous studies from China and Australia, increasing temperatures dramatically decreased fig wasp lifespan. Are these grim results generalizable to fig mutualisms globally? Here, we use survival experiments to determine the effect of increasing temperature on the lifespan of Neotropical fig wasps associated with five common Panamanian Ficus species. Experimental temperatures were based on the current daytime mean temperature of 26.8°C (2SD: 21.6-31.7°C) and the predicted local temperature increase of 1-4°C by the end of the 21st century. We found that all tested pollinator wasp species had a significantly shorter lifespan in 30, 32, 34, and 36°C compared to the current diurnal mean temperature of 26°C. At 36°C pollinator median lifespan decreased to merely 2-10 h (6%-19% of their median lifespan at 26°C). Unless wasps can adapt, such a dramatic reduction in lifespan is expected to reduce the number of pollinators that successfully disperse to flowering fig trees, and may therefore jeopardize both fruit set and eventually survival of the mutualism.

A chromosome-level genome assembly of the pollinating fig wasp Valisia javana.

Fig wasp has always been thought the species-specific pollinator for their host fig (Moraceae, Ficus) and constitute a model system with its host to study co-evolution and co-speciation. The availability of a high-quality genome will help to further reveal the mechanisms underlying these characteristics. Here, we present a high-quality chromosome-level genome for Valisa javana developed by a combination of PacBio long-read and Illumina short-read. The assembled genome size is 296.34 Mb from 13 contigs with a contig N50 length of 26.76 kb. Comparative genomic analysis revealed expanded and positively selected genes related to biological features that aid fig wasps living in syconium of its highly specific host. Protein-coding genes associated with chemosensory, detoxification and venom genes were identified. Several differentially expressed genes in transcriptome data of V. javana between odor-stimulated samples and the controls have been identified in some olfactory signal transduction pathways, e.g. olfactory transduction, cAMP, cGMP-PKG, Calcim, Ras and Rap1. This study provides a valuable genomic resource for a fig wasp, and sheds insight into further revealing the mechanisms underlying their adaptive traits to their hosts in different places and co-speciation with their host.

Predicting distributions of Wolbachia strains through host ecological contact-Who's manipulating whom?

Reproductive isolation in response to divergent selection is often mediated via third-party interactions. Under these conditions, speciation is inextricably linked to ecological context. We present a novel framework for understanding arthropod speciation as mediated by Wolbachia, a microbial endosymbiont capable of causing host cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI). We predict that sympatric host sister-species harbor paraphyletic Wolbachia strains that provide CI, while well-defined congeners in ecological contact and recently diverged noninteracting congeners are uninfected due to Wolbachia redundancy. We argue that Wolbachia provides an adaptive advantage when coupled with reduced hybrid fitness, facilitating assortative mating between co-occurring divergent phenotypes-the contact contingency hypothesis. To test this, we applied a predictive algorithm to empirical pollinating fig wasp data, achieving up to 91.60% accuracy. We further postulate that observed temporal decay of Wolbachia incidence results from adaptive host purging-adaptive decay hypothesis-but implementation failed to predict systematic patterns. We then account for post-zygotic offspring mortality during CI mating, modeling fitness clines across developmental resources-the fecundity trade-off hypothesis. This model regularly favored CI despite fecundity losses. We demonstrate that a rules-based algorithm accurately predicts Wolbachia infection status. This has implications among other systems where closely related sympatric species encounter adaptive disadvantage through hybridization.

Genome-Wide Analysis of Gene Families of Pattern Recognition Receptors in Fig Wasps (Hymenoptera, Chalcidoidea).

Pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) play important roles in detecting pathogens and initiating the innate immune response. Different evolutionary histories of pollinators and non-pollinators may result in different immune recognition systems. A previous study had reported that there were significant differences in peptidoglycan recognition proteins (PGRPs) between pollinators and non-pollinators in gene number and lineage of specific genes. In this study, based on the genomic data of 12 fig wasp species, with seven pollinators and five non-pollinators, we investigated the evolution patterns of PRRs, such as Gram-negative bacteria-binding proteins (GNBPs), C-type lectins (CTLs), scavenger receptors class B (SCRBs), fibrinogen-related proteins (FREPs), galectins, and thioester-containing proteins (TEPs). Our results showed that pollinators had no GNBP, but non-pollinators all had two gene members, which were clustered into two different clades in the phylogenetic tree, with each clade having specific domain and motif characteristics. The analysis of CTL and SCRB gene families also showed that there were lineage-specific genes and specific expansion in non-pollinators. Our results showed that there were significant differences in immune recognition between pollinators and non-pollinators, and we concluded that they had undergone flexible adaptive evolution in different environments. Our study can provide more molecular evidence for future functional studies on the immune system of fig wasps.

Sexual selection on population-level mating opportunities drives morph ratios in a fig wasp with extreme male dimorphism.

BACKGROUND: Alternative mating tactics are widespread in animals and associated with extreme morphological polymorphism in some insects. Some fig wasps have both highly modified wingless males and dispersing winged males. Wingless males mate inside figs before females disperse, while winged males mate elsewhere after dispersal. Hamilton proposed a model for this system with morphs determined by alternative alleles. This has an equilibrium where the proportion of winged males equals the proportion of females dispersing unmated; i.e. the proportion of matings that they obtain. Previously, we have shown qualitative support for this prediction across nine wing-dimorphic fig wasp species. Here I test the quantitative prediction in the fig wasp Pseudidarnes minerva. In addition, some fig wasp species that lack winged males, but have two wingless morphs, show a conditional strategy with morph determination influenced by the number of wasps developing in a patch. I also test for this alternative pattern in the wing-dimorphic P. minerva. RESULTS: I sampled 114 figs that contained a mean of 2.1 P. minerva wasps from 44 trees across four sites in Sydney, Australia. At the whole population level, the proportion of winged males (0.84 or 0.79 corrected for sampling bias) did not differ significantly from the proportion of unmated females (0.84), providing strong quantitative support for the prediction of Hamilton's model. In addition, there was no evidence for other factors, such as local mate competition or fighting between wingless males, that could violate simplifying assumptions of the model. Meanwhile, the proportion of winged males was not correlated with the number of wasps per fig, providing no evidence for a conditional strategy. CONCLUSION: The morph ratio in P. minerva is consistent with Hamilton's simple Mendelian strategy model, where morph ratios are set by average mating opportunities at the population level. This contrasts with some fig wasps from another subfamily that show conditional morph determination, allowing finer scale adaptation to fig-level mating opportunities. However, these conditional cases do not involve wing polymorphism. Male polymorphism is common and variable in fig wasps and has evolved independently in multiple lineages with apparently different underlying mechanisms.

Source-sink dynamics assists the maintenance of a pollinating wasp.

Dispersal that unites spatially subdivided populations into a metapopulation with source-sink dynamics is crucial for species persistence in fragmented landscapes. Understanding such dynamics for pollinators is particularly urgent owing to the ongoing global pollination crisis. Here, we investigated the population structure and source-sink dynamics of a pollinating wasp (Wiebesia sp. 3) of Ficus pumila in the Zhoushan Archipelago of China. We found significant asymmetry in the pairwise migrant numbers for 22 of 28 cases on the historical timescale, but only two on the contemporary timescale. Despite a small population size, the sole island not colonized by a superior competitor wasp (Wiebesia sp. 1) consistently behaved as a net exporter of migrants, supplying large sinks. Comparable levels of genetic diversity, with few private alleles and low genetic differentiation (total Fst : 0.03; pairwise Fst : 0.0005-0.0791), were revealed among all the islands. There was a significant isolation-by-distance pattern caused mainly by migration between the competition-free island and other islands, otherwise the pattern was negligible. The clustering analysis failed to detect multiple gene pools for the whole region. Thus, the sinks were most probably organized into a patchy population. Moreover, the estimates of effective population sizes were comparable between the two timescales. Thus the source-sink dynamics embedded within a well-connected population network may allow Wiebesia sp. 3 to persist at a competitive disadvantage. This study provides evidence that metapopulations in the real world may be complicated and changeable over time, highlighting the necessity to study such metapopulations in detail.

Differential effects of nematode infection on pollinating and non-pollinating fig wasps: Can shared antagonism provide net benefits to a mutualism?

Species pairs that form mutualistic associations are also components of broader organismal community networks. These interaction networks have shaped the evolution of individual mutualisms through interspecific interactions ranging from secondarily mutualistic to intensely antagonistic. Our understanding of this complex context remains limited because characterizing the impacts of species interacting with focal mutualists is often difficult. How is the fitness of mutualists impacted by the co-occurring interactive network of community associates? We investigated this context using a model interaction network comprised of a fig and fig wasp mutualist, eight non-pollinating fig wasp (NPFW) antagonists/commensals and a nematode previously believed to be associated only with the pollinator wasp mutualist. Through repeated sampling and field observations, we characterized the ecological roles of these mutualist-associated organisms to identify key antagonists. We then investigated how potential nematode infection of NPFWs could impact wasp survival across key life stages and, in turn, inferred how this influences the fitness of the fig-pollinator mutualists. Unexpectedly, we found all Ficus petiolaris-associated NPFWs to be the targets for nematode infection, with infection levels sometimes exceeding that of pollinators. Experimental data collected for the most abundant NPFW species suggest that nematode infection significantly reduces their longevity. Further, comparisons of nematode loads for emerging and successfully arriving NPFWs suggest that infection severely limits their dispersal ability. Through these observations, we conclude that this infection could impact NPFWs more severely than either mutualistic partner, suggesting a novel role of density-dependent facultative mutualism between figs, pollinator wasps and the nematode. This antagonist-mediated suppression of other network antagonists may present an ecologically common mechanism through which antagonists can present net benefits for mutualists' fitness.

Three new species of the genus Sycophila (Hymenoptera, Chalcidoidea, Eurytomidae) from China.

Three new species of Sycophila Walker (Hymenoptera, Eurytomidae), S. hunanensis sp. nov., S. melanoloma sp. nov. and S. melanopoda sp. nov., are reported and described from mainland China. Meanwhile, Plagiotrochus glaucus Melika & Tang, 2011 (Hymenoptera, Cynipidae) is reported as a new host record of the genus Sycophila. A key to Chinese Sycophila and illustrations of external features of the species are provided.

Transcriptomic Analysis Reveals the Sexually Divergent Host-Wolbachia Interaction Patterns in a Fig Wasp.

Wolbachia are widely distributed in arthropods and nematodes, acquiring nutrients from the hosts, and inducing remarkable reproductive modulations on the hosts. To investigate the interaction of Wolbachia and insects, Wolbachia are often artificially eliminated from Wolbachia-infected hosts, which may produce negative effects of antibiotics. In the present study, based on the transcriptomic data of a fig wasp species Ceratosolen solmsi with two sibling lineages, one natively infected and the other noninfected with Wolbachia, we investigated the expression patterns of genes. The comparison results of differently expressed genes (DEGs) between Wolbachia infected and noninfected samples show that males have many more DEGs than females. The male unique upregulated genes are enriched in biological processes mainly related to biosynthesis, transport, positive regulation of I-kappaB kinase/NF-kappaB signaling, MAPK cascade, and pathogenesis; the male unique downregulated genes are enriched in biological processes mainly related to transport, oxidation-reduction, cellular responses to oxidative stress, lipid oxidation, cytoskeleton organization, actin filament-based process, and localization. In addition, for the Wolbachia's gene expression, the number of genes up-regulated in males is higher than that in females. The results revealed divergent patterns of the host-Wolbachia interactions between males and females in the fig wasp species.

Genome-Wide Analysis of Peptidoglycan Recognition Protein Genes in Fig Wasps (Hymenoptera, Chalcidoidea).

The innate immunity is the most important defense against pathogen of insects, and the peptidoglycan recognition proteins (PGRPs) play an important role in the processes of immune recognition and initiation of Toll, IMD and other signal pathways. In fig wasps, pollinators and non-pollinators present different evolutionary histories and lifestyles, even though both are closely associated with fig syconia, which may indicate their different patterns in the evolution of PGRPs. By manual annotation, we got all the PGRP genes of 12 fig wasp species, containing seven pollinators and five non-pollinators, and investigated their putative different evolutionary patterns. We found that the number of PGRP genes in pollinators was significantly lower than in non-pollinators, and the number of catalytic PGRP presented a declining trend in pollinators. More importantly, PGRP-SA is associated with initiating the Toll pathway, as well as gram-negative bacteria-binding proteins (GNBPs), which were completely lost in pollinators, which led us to speculate that the initiation of Toll pathway was simpler in pollinators than in non-pollinators. We concluded that fig pollinators owned a more streamlined innate immune recognition system than non-pollinators. Our results provide molecular evidence for the adaptive evolution of innate immunity in insects of host specificity.

Sky islands as foci for divergence of fig trees and their pollinators in southwest China.

The dynamics of populations and their divergence over time have shaped current levels of biodiversity and in the case of the "sky islands" of mountainous southwest (SW) China have resulted in an area of exceptional botanical diversity. Ficus tikoua is a prostrate fig tree subendemic to the area that displays unique intraspecific diversity, producing figs typical of different pollination modes in different parts of its range. By combining climate models, genetic variation in populations of the tree's obligate fig wasp pollinators and distributions of the different plant phenotypes, we examined how this unusual situation may have developed. We identified three genetically distinct groups of a single Ceratosolen pollinator species that have largely parapatric distributions. The complex topography of the region contributed to genetic divergence among the pollinators by facilitating geographical isolation and providing refugia. Migration along elevations in response to climate oscillations further enhanced genetic differentiation of the three pollinator groups. Their distributions loosely correspond to the distributions of the functionally significant morphological differences in the male figs of their host plants, but postglacial expansion of one group has not been matched by spread of its associated plant phenotype, possibly due to a major river barrier. The results highlight how interplay between the complex topography of the "sky island" complex and climate change has shaped intraspecies differentiation and relationships between the plant and its pollinator. Similar processes may explain the exceptional botanical diversity of SW China.

The nature of interspecific interactions and co-diversification patterns, as illustrated by the fig microcosm.

Interactions between mutualists, competitors, and antagonists have contrasting ecological effects that, sustained over generations, can influence micro- and macroevolution. Dissimilar benefits and costs for these interactions should cause contrasting co-diversification patterns between interacting clades, with prevalent co-speciation by mutualists, association loss by competitors, and host switching by antagonists. We assessed these expectations for a local assemblage of 26 fig species (Moraceae: Ficus), 26 species of mutualistic (pollinating), and 33 species of parasitic (galling) wasps (Chalcidoidea). Using newly acquired gene sequences, we inferred the phylogenies for all three clades. We then compared the three possible pairs of phylogenies to assess phylogenetic congruence and the relative frequencies of co-speciation, association duplication, switching, and loss. The paired phylogenies of pollinators with their mutualists and competitors were significantly congruent, unlike that of figs and their parasites. The distributions of macroevolutionary events largely agreed with expectations for mutualists and antagonists. By contrast, that for competitors involved relatively frequent association switching, as expected, but also unexpectedly frequent co-speciation. The latter result likely reflects the heterogeneous nature of competition among fig wasps. These results illustrate the influence of different interspecific interactions on co-diversification, while also revealing its dependence on specific characteristics of those interactions.

Faster speciation of fig-wasps than their host figs leads to decoupled speciation dynamics: Snapshots across the speciation continuum.

Even though speciation involving multiple interacting partners, such as plants and their pollinators, has attracted much research, most studies focus on isolated phases of the process. This currently precludes an integrated understanding of the mechanisms leading to cospeciation. Here, we examine population genetic structure across six species-pairs of figs and their pollinating wasps along an elevational gradient in New Guinea. Specifically, we test three hypotheses on the genetic structure within the examined species-pairs and find that the hypothesized genetic structures represent different phases of a single continuum, from incipient cospeciation to the full formation of new species. Our results also illuminate the mechanisms governing cospeciation, namely that fig wasps tend to accumulate population genetic differences faster than their figs, which initially decouples the speciation dynamics between the two interacting partners and breaks down their one-to-one matching. This intermediate phase is followed by genetic divergence of both partners, which may eventually restore the one-to-one matching among the fully formed species. Together, these findings integrate current knowledge on the mechanisms operating during different phases of the cospeciation process. They also reveal that the increasingly reported breakdowns in one-to-one matching may be an inherent part of the cospeciation process. Mechanistic understanding of this process is needed to explain how the extraordinary diversity of species, especially in the tropics, has emerged. Knowing which breakdowns in species interactions are a natural phase of cospeciation and which may endanger further generation of diversity seems critical in a constantly changing world.

Loss of top-down biotic interactions changes the relative benefits for obligate mutualists.

The collapse of mutualisms owing to anthropogenic changes is contributing to losses of biodiversity. Top predators can regulate biotic interactions between species at lower trophic levels and may contribute to the stability of such mutualisms, but they are particularly likely to be lost after disturbance of communities. We focused on the mutualism between the fig tree Ficus microcarpa and its host-specific pollinator fig wasp and compared the benefits accrued by the mutualists in natural and translocated areas of distribution. Parasitoids of the pollinator were rare or absent outside the natural range of the mutualists, where the relative benefits the mutualists gained from their interaction were changed significantly away from the plant's natural range owing to reduced seed production rather than increased numbers of pollinator offspring. Furthermore, in the absence of the negative effects of its parasitoids, we detected an oviposition range expansion by the pollinator, with the use of a wider range of ovules that could otherwise have generated seeds. Loss of top-down control has therefore resulted in a change in the balance of reciprocal benefits that underpins this obligate mutualism, emphasizing the value of maintaining food web complexity in the Anthropocene.

Mastocytosis and the Fig Wasp (Blastophaga psenes).

BACKGROUND: Mastocytosis involves the abnormal proliferation of mast cells and clinical variability. In the case of anaphylaxis, the triggering antigen, often associated with Hymenoptera allergens, must be identified. The common fig (Ficus carica) requires the fig wasp (Blastophaga psenes) for pollination. OBJECTIVE: We evaluated the ingestion of B. psenes as a trigger of anaphylaxis in patients with mastocytosis. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Skin prick tests (SPTs) and specific immunoglobulin E to the possible involved allergens were carried out in the patient and in 4 controls allergic to Hymenoptera and fig. Given the possibility of hidden allergens, we studied the source (figs of various origins) and possible hypersensitivity to Hymenoptera allergens, including the fig wasp (B. psenes). RESULTS: In all subjects, the SPT resulted in a wheal (larger than with histamine) with the extract of the inferior part of the female fig but not with the male extract (lower pole and stem). Immune detection was made with the stem and inferior part of figs and venom of Polistes and Vespula. Recognition bands were observed at 25 kDa with female fig extracts that were also recognized by the patient with anaphylaxis to Hymenoptera venom. CONCLUSIONS: We cannot exclude the possibility that the ingestion of fig with Blastophaga antigens may have triggered anaphylaxis in our patient.