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Volume 165, Issue 9

Editor's Choice Bacteriophage acquisition restores protective mutualism Free

Abstract

Insects are frequently infected with inherited facultative symbionts known to provide a range of conditionally beneficial services, including host protection. Pea aphids () often harbour the bacterium which together with its associated bacteriophage secondary endosymbiont (APSE) confer protection against an important natural enemy, the parasitic wasp . Previous studies showed that spontaneous loss of phage APSE resulted in the complete loss of the protective phenotype. Here, we demonstrate that APSEs can be experimentally transferred into phage-free (i.e. non-protecting) strains. Unexpectedly, trials using injections of phage particles alone failed, with successful transfer occurring only when APSE and were simultaneously injected. After transfer, stable establishment of APSE fully restored anti-parasitoid defenses. Thus, phages associated with heritable bacterial symbionts can move horizontally among symbiont strains facilitating the rapid transfer of ecologically important traits although natural barriers may preclude regular exchange.

  • Received:
  • Accepted:
  • Published Online:
Keyword(s): aphid , endosymbiont , host-parasite , lateral transfer , protective mutualism and symbiosis
© 2019 The Authors

Erratum

An erratum has been published for this content:
Erratum: Bacteriophage acquisition restores protective mutualism
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2019-09-01
2024-04-19
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Bacteriophage acquisition restores protective mutualism
Microbiology 165, 985 (2019); https://doi.org/10.1099/mic.0.000816
/content/journal/micro/10.1099/mic.0.000816
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