1
|
Pawlowska TE. Symbioses between fungi and bacteria: from mechanisms to impacts on biodiversity. Curr Opin Microbiol 2024; 80:102496. [PMID: 38875733 DOI: 10.1016/j.mib.2024.102496] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2023] [Revised: 05/20/2024] [Accepted: 05/31/2024] [Indexed: 06/16/2024]
Abstract
Symbiotic interactions between fungi and bacteria range from positive to negative. They are ubiquitous in free-living as well as host-associated microbial communities worldwide. Yet, the impact of fungal-bacterial symbioses on the organization and dynamics of microbial communities is uncertain. There are two reasons for this uncertainty: (1) knowledge gaps in the understanding of the genetic mechanisms underpinning fungal-bacterial symbioses and (2) prevailing interpretations of ecological theory that favor antagonistic interactions as drivers stabilizing biological communities despite the existence of models emphasizing contributions of positive interactions. This review synthesizes information on fungal-bacterial symbioses common in the free-living microbial communities of the soil as well as in host-associated polymicrobial biofilms. The interdomain partnerships are considered in the context of the relevant community ecology models, which are discussed critically.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Teresa E Pawlowska
- School of Integrative Plant Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Srinivasan S, Jnana A, Murali TS. Modeling Microbial Community Networks: Methods and Tools for Studying Microbial Interactions. MICROBIAL ECOLOGY 2024; 87:56. [PMID: 38587642 PMCID: PMC11001700 DOI: 10.1007/s00248-024-02370-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/01/2024] [Accepted: 03/28/2024] [Indexed: 04/09/2024]
Abstract
Microbial interactions function as a fundamental unit in complex ecosystems. By characterizing the type of interaction (positive, negative, neutral) occurring in these dynamic systems, one can begin to unravel the role played by the microbial species. Towards this, various methods have been developed to decipher the function of the microbial communities. The current review focuses on the various qualitative and quantitative methods that currently exist to study microbial interactions. Qualitative methods such as co-culturing experiments are visualized using microscopy-based techniques and are combined with data obtained from multi-omics technologies (metagenomics, metabolomics, metatranscriptomics). Quantitative methods include the construction of networks and network inference, computational models, and development of synthetic microbial consortia. These methods provide a valuable clue on various roles played by interacting partners, as well as possible solutions to overcome pathogenic microbes that can cause life-threatening infections in susceptible hosts. Studying the microbial interactions will further our understanding of complex less-studied ecosystems and enable design of effective frameworks for treatment of infectious diseases.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Shanchana Srinivasan
- Department of Public Health Genomics, Manipal School of Life Sciences, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, 576104, India
| | - Apoorva Jnana
- Department of Public Health Genomics, Manipal School of Life Sciences, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, 576104, India
| | - Thokur Sreepathy Murali
- Department of Public Health Genomics, Manipal School of Life Sciences, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, 576104, India.
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Burgunter-Delamare B, Shetty P, Vuong T, Mittag M. Exchange or Eliminate: The Secrets of Algal-Bacterial Relationships. PLANTS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2024; 13:829. [PMID: 38592793 PMCID: PMC10974524 DOI: 10.3390/plants13060829] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2024] [Revised: 03/09/2024] [Accepted: 03/11/2024] [Indexed: 04/11/2024]
Abstract
Algae and bacteria have co-occurred and coevolved in common habitats for hundreds of millions of years, fostering specific associations and interactions such as mutualism or antagonism. These interactions are shaped through exchanges of primary and secondary metabolites provided by one of the partners. Metabolites, such as N-sources or vitamins, can be beneficial to the partner and they may be assimilated through chemotaxis towards the partner producing these metabolites. Other metabolites, especially many natural products synthesized by bacteria, can act as toxins and damage or kill the partner. For instance, the green microalga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii establishes a mutualistic partnership with a Methylobacterium, in stark contrast to its antagonistic relationship with the toxin producing Pseudomonas protegens. In other cases, as with a coccolithophore haptophyte alga and a Phaeobacter bacterium, the same alga and bacterium can even be subject to both processes, depending on the secreted bacterial and algal metabolites. Some bacteria also influence algal morphology by producing specific metabolites and micronutrients, as is observed in some macroalgae. This review focuses on algal-bacterial interactions with micro- and macroalgal models from marine, freshwater, and terrestrial environments and summarizes the advances in the field. It also highlights the effects of temperature on these interactions as it is presently known.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Bertille Burgunter-Delamare
- Matthias Schleiden Institute of Genetics, Bioinformatics and Molecular Botany, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, 07743 Jena, Germany; (P.S.); (T.V.)
| | - Prateek Shetty
- Matthias Schleiden Institute of Genetics, Bioinformatics and Molecular Botany, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, 07743 Jena, Germany; (P.S.); (T.V.)
- Cluster of Excellence Balance of the Microverse, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, 07743 Jena, Germany
| | - Trang Vuong
- Matthias Schleiden Institute of Genetics, Bioinformatics and Molecular Botany, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, 07743 Jena, Germany; (P.S.); (T.V.)
| | - Maria Mittag
- Matthias Schleiden Institute of Genetics, Bioinformatics and Molecular Botany, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, 07743 Jena, Germany; (P.S.); (T.V.)
- Cluster of Excellence Balance of the Microverse, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, 07743 Jena, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Raguso RA. Hidden worlds within flowers. Curr Biol 2023; 33:R506-R512. [PMID: 37279684 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.04.054] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
There is a growing realization that ecological interactions take place at many scales, from acorns to forests, and that formerly overlooked community members, particularly microbes, can play outsized ecological roles. Beyond their primary function as the reproductive organs of angiosperms, flowers constitute resource-rich, ephemeral habitats teeming with flower-loving symbionts, or 'anthophiles'. The physical, chemical, and structural properties of flowers combine to create a habitat filter, selectively determining which anthophiles can reside there, and how, and when they interact. The microhabitats within flowers can provide shelter from predators or inclement weather, places to eat, sleep, thermoregulate, hunt, mate or reproduce. In turn, floral microhabitats contain the full range of mutualists, antagonists and apparent commensals, whose complex interactions impact how flowers look and smell, how profitable they are to foraging pollinators, and how selection feeds back upon the traits shaping those interactions. Recent studies suggest coevolutionary paths by which floral symbionts might be co-opted as mutualists and provide compelling examples in which ambush predators or florivores are recruited as floral allies. Unbiased studies that include the full roster of floral symbionts are likely to reveal novel links and additional nuance in the rich ecological communities hidden within flowers.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Robert A Raguso
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Fontes J, Castellano‐González G, Macena BCL, Afonso P. Hitchhiking to the abyss. Ecol Evol 2023; 13:e10126. [PMID: 37255846 PMCID: PMC10225908 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.10126] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2023] [Revised: 04/21/2023] [Accepted: 05/09/2023] [Indexed: 06/01/2023] Open
Abstract
We investigated, for the first time, the hitchhiker-host fidelity of deep-diving whale sharks and Chilean devil rays. We found that two of the most ubiquitous oceanic hitchhikers, the common remora and the pilot fish, are able to follow their hosts to bathypelagic depths, where they are exposed to extreme gradients of light, dissolved oxygen, temperature, and pressure. We documented a deep dive of a large whale shark hosting remoras and pilot fish. Common remora was observed at the deepest section of the dive, at 1460 m, where the water temperature was 3.6°C. A pilot fish was recorded at 900 m, during the ascent phase, with the water temperature of 7.5°C. Although the adaptations that allow these hitchhikers to mitigate the impacts of such extreme environmental conditions remain unknown, we discuss these findings in the framework of the ecophysiology of deep diving and the hitchhiker-host fidelity.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jorge Fontes
- Ocean Sciences Institute – OkeanosUniversity of the AzoresHortaPortugal
| | | | - Bruno C. L. Macena
- Ocean Sciences Institute – OkeanosUniversity of the AzoresHortaPortugal
- Institute of Marine Research – IMARUniversity of the AzoresHortaPortugal
| | - Pedro Afonso
- Ocean Sciences Institute – OkeanosUniversity of the AzoresHortaPortugal
- Institute of Marine Research – IMARUniversity of the AzoresHortaPortugal
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Recart W, Bernhard R, Ng I, Garcia K, Fleming-Davies AE. Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Insect Pathogens: Implications for Plant Reproduction. Pathogens 2023; 12:pathogens12020347. [PMID: 36839619 PMCID: PMC9958737 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens12020347] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2023] [Revised: 02/11/2023] [Accepted: 02/14/2023] [Indexed: 02/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Despite extensive work on both insect disease and plant reproduction, there is little research on the intersection of the two. Insect-infecting pathogens could disrupt the pollination process by affecting pollinator population density or traits. Pathogens may also infect insect herbivores and change herbivory, potentially altering resource allocation to plant reproduction. We conducted a meta-analysis to (1) summarize the literature on the effects of pathogens on insect pollinators and herbivores and (2) quantify the extent to which pathogens affect insect traits, with potential repercussions for plant reproduction. We found 39 articles that fit our criteria for inclusion, extracting 218 measures of insect traits for 21 different insect species exposed to 25 different pathogens. We detected a negative effect of pathogen exposure on insect traits, which varied by host function: pathogens had a significant negative effect on insects that were herbivores or carried multiple functions but not on insects that solely functioned as pollinators. Particular pathogen types were heavily studied in certain insect orders, with 7 of 11 viral pathogen studies conducted in Lepidoptera and 5 of 9 fungal pathogen studies conducted in Hymenoptera. Our results suggest that most studies have focused on a small set of host-pathogen pairs. To understand the implications for plant reproduction, future work is needed to directly measure the effects of pathogens on pollinator effectiveness.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Wilnelia Recart
- Biology Department, University of San Diego, 5998 Alcala Park, San Diego, CA 92110, USA
- Correspondence:
| | - Rover Bernhard
- Biology Department, University of San Diego, 5998 Alcala Park, San Diego, CA 92110, USA
- Biology Department, Lewis and Clark College, 615 S. Palatine Hill Road, Portland, OR 97219, USA
| | - Isabella Ng
- Biology Department, University of San Diego, 5998 Alcala Park, San Diego, CA 92110, USA
| | - Katherine Garcia
- Biology Department, University of San Diego, 5998 Alcala Park, San Diego, CA 92110, USA
- Environmental Sciences Department, University of California at San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0021, USA
| | | |
Collapse
|
7
|
Bryozoan–cnidarian mutualism triggered a new strategy for greater resource exploitation as early as the Late Silurian. Sci Rep 2022; 12:15556. [PMID: 36114227 PMCID: PMC9481587 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-19955-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2022] [Accepted: 09/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Bryozoans were common benthic invertebrates in the Silurian seas. The large biodiversity among Silurian benthic organisms prompted diversified interactions, and as a result bryozoans hosted many other organisms as symbionts. Here we analyse the cystoporate bryozoan Fistulipora przhidolensis and unidentified trepostomes intergrown with auloporid tabulate corals and putative hydrozoans. The material comes from the uppermost Přídolí Series (Late Silurian) of the Sõrve Peninsula, Saaremaa, Estonia. Our analysis shows that the interaction was beneficial for both organisms—cnidarians benefited from feeding currents created by the host bryozoan, while the latter benefited from the protection from predators by cnidae, it can thus be classified as mutualism. Such associations are common in modern seas. The analysed organisms are typically encrusting when the symbiosis is absent, when intergrown they display erect, branching morphologies, raised over the substratum, thus exploiting a higher suspension-feeding tier. While similar associations were known from the Devonian, we demonstrate that this novel ecological strategy for greater resource exploitation started as early as the latest Silurian.
Collapse
|
8
|
Sun SJ. A framework for using phoresy to assess ecological transition into parasitism and mutualism. Symbiosis 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s13199-022-00830-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
|
9
|
Huang S, Farrell M, Stephens PR. Infectious disease macroecology: parasite diversity and dynamics across the globe. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2021; 376:20200350. [PMID: 34538145 PMCID: PMC8450632 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0350] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Shan Huang
- Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (SBiK-F), Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Maxwell Farrell
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Patrick R. Stephens
- Odum School of Ecology and Center for the Ecology of Infectious Diseases, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Drew GC, Stevens EJ, King KC. Microbial evolution and transitions along the parasite-mutualist continuum. Nat Rev Microbiol 2021; 19:623-638. [PMID: 33875863 PMCID: PMC8054256 DOI: 10.1038/s41579-021-00550-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 100] [Impact Index Per Article: 33.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/12/2021] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Virtually all plants and animals, including humans, are home to symbiotic microorganisms. Symbiotic interactions can be neutral, harmful or have beneficial effects on the host organism. However, growing evidence suggests that microbial symbionts can evolve rapidly, resulting in drastic transitions along the parasite-mutualist continuum. In this Review, we integrate theoretical and empirical findings to discuss the mechanisms underpinning these evolutionary shifts, as well as the ecological drivers and why some host-microorganism interactions may be stuck at the end of the continuum. In addition to having biomedical consequences, understanding the dynamic life of microorganisms reveals how symbioses can shape an organism's biology and the entire community, particularly in a changing world.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Kayla C King
- Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Ant nesting site selection mediated by insects frass. J ETHOL 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s10164-021-00724-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
|
12
|
Yamawo A, Suzuki N, Tagawa J. Species diversity and biological trait function: Effectiveness of ant–plant mutualism decreases as ant species diversity increases. Funct Ecol 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.13859] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Akira Yamawo
- Department of Applied Biological Sciences Faculty of Agriculture Saga University Saga Japan
| | - Nobuhiko Suzuki
- Department of Applied Biological Sciences Faculty of Agriculture Saga University Saga Japan
| | - Jun Tagawa
- Department of Biosphere–Geosphere System Science Faculty of Informatics Okayama University of Science Okayama Japan
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Beigel K, Matthews AE, Kellner K, Pawlik CV, Greenwold M, Seal JN. Cophylogenetic analyses of Trachymyrmex ant-fungal specificity: "One to one with some exceptions". Mol Ecol 2021; 30:5605-5620. [PMID: 34424571 DOI: 10.1111/mec.16140] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2021] [Revised: 08/05/2021] [Accepted: 08/11/2021] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
Over the past few decades, large-scale phylogenetic analyses of fungus-gardening ants and their symbiotic fungi have depicted strong concordance among major clades of ants and their symbiotic fungi, yet within clades, fungus sharing is widespread among unrelated ant lineages. Sharing has been explained using a diffuse coevolution model within major clades. Understanding horizontal exchange within clades has been limited by conventional genetic markers that lack both interspecific and geographic variation. To examine whether reports of horizontal exchange were indeed due to symbiont sharing or the result of employing relatively uninformative molecular markers, samples of Trachymyrmex arizonensis and Trachymyrmex pomonae and their fungi were collected from native populations in Arizona and genotyped using conventional marker genes and genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Conventional markers of the fungal symbionts generally exhibited cophylogenetic patterns that were consistent with some symbiont sharing, but most fungal clades had low support. SNP analysis, in contrast, indicated that each ant species exhibited fidelity to its own fungal subclade with only one instance of a colony growing a fungus that was otherwise associated with a different ant species. This evidence supports a pattern of codivergence between Trachymyrmex species and their fungi, and thus a diffuse coevolutionary model may not accurately predict symbiont exchange. These results suggest that fungal sharing across host species in these symbioses may be less extensive than previously thought.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Katherine Beigel
- Department of Biology, The University of Texas at Tyler, Tyler, Texas, USA
| | - Alix E Matthews
- Department of Biology, The University of Texas at Tyler, Tyler, Texas, USA.,College of Sciences and Mathematics and Molecular Biosciences Program, Arkansas State University, Jonesboro, Arkansas, USA
| | - Katrin Kellner
- Department of Biology, The University of Texas at Tyler, Tyler, Texas, USA
| | - Christine V Pawlik
- Department of Biology, The University of Texas at Tyler, Tyler, Texas, USA
| | - Matthew Greenwold
- Department of Biology, The University of Texas at Tyler, Tyler, Texas, USA
| | - Jon N Seal
- Department of Biology, The University of Texas at Tyler, Tyler, Texas, USA
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
Vazquez-Munoz R, Dongari-Bagtzoglou A. Anticandidal Activities by Lactobacillus Species: An Update on Mechanisms of Action. FRONTIERS IN ORAL HEALTH 2021; 2:689382. [PMID: 35048033 PMCID: PMC8757823 DOI: 10.3389/froh.2021.689382] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2021] [Accepted: 06/21/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Lactobacilli are among the most studied bacteria in the microbiome of the orodigestive and genitourinary tracts. As probiotics, lactobacilli may provide various benefits to the host. These benefits include regulating the composition of the resident microbiota, preventing - or even potentially reverting- a dysbiotic state. Candida albicans is an opportunistic pathogen that can influence and be influenced by other members of the mucosal microbiota and, under immune-compromising conditions, can cause disease. Lactobacillus and Candida species can colonize the same mucosal sites; however, certain Lactobacillus species display antifungal activities that can contribute to low Candida burdens and prevent fungal infection. Lactobacilli can produce metabolites with direct anticandidal function or enhance the host defense mechanisms against fungi. Most of the Lactobacillus spp. anticandidal mechanisms of action remain underexplored. This work aims to comprehensively review and provide an update on the current knowledge regarding these anticandidal mechanisms.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Roberto Vazquez-Munoz
- Department of Oral Health and Diagnostic Sciences, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, CT, United States
| | - Anna Dongari-Bagtzoglou
- Department of Oral Health and Diagnostic Sciences, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, CT, United States
| |
Collapse
|
15
|
Hesse E, O'Brien S, Luján AM, Sanders D, Bayer F, van Veen EM, Hodgson DJ, Buckling A. Stress causes interspecific facilitation within a compost community. Ecol Lett 2021; 24:2169-2177. [PMID: 34259374 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13847] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2021] [Revised: 05/10/2021] [Accepted: 06/21/2021] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Ecological theory predicts interactions between species to become more positive under abiotic stress, while competition should prevail in more benign environments. However, experimental tests of this stress gradient hypothesis in natural microbial communities are lacking. We test this hypothesis by measuring interactions between 10 different members of a bacterial community inhabiting potting compost in the presence or absence of toxic copper stress. We found that copper stress caused significant net changes in species interaction signs, shifting the net balance towards more positive interactions. This pattern was at least in part driven by copper-sensitive isolates - that produced relatively small amounts of metal-detoxifying siderophores - benefitting from the presence of other species that produce extracellular detoxifying agents. As well as providing support for the stress gradient hypothesis, our results highlight the importance of community-wide public goods in shaping microbial community composition.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Elze Hesse
- CEC & ESI, Biosciences, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Cornwall, UK
| | - Siobhan O'Brien
- CEC & ESI, Biosciences, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Cornwall, UK.,Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
| | - Adela M Luján
- CEC & ESI, Biosciences, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Cornwall, UK.,CIQUIBIC, Departamento de Química Biológica, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, CONICET, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina
| | - Dirk Sanders
- CEC & ESI, Biosciences, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Cornwall, UK
| | - Florian Bayer
- CEC & ESI, Biosciences, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Cornwall, UK
| | - Eleanor M van Veen
- Camborne School of Mines, CEMPS, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Cornwall, UK
| | - Dave J Hodgson
- CEC, Biosciences, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Cornwall, UK
| | - Angus Buckling
- CEC & ESI, Biosciences, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Cornwall, UK
| |
Collapse
|
16
|
Jiménez-Gómez I, Barcoto MO, Montoya QV, Goes AC, Monteiro LSVE, Bueno OC, Rodrigues A. Host Susceptibility Modulates Escovopsis Pathogenic Potential in the Fungiculture of Higher Attine Ants. Front Microbiol 2021; 12:673444. [PMID: 34194409 PMCID: PMC8238408 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.673444] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2021] [Accepted: 05/14/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Health and disease emerge from intricate interactions between genotypes, phenotypes, and environmental features. The outcomes of such interactions are context-dependent, existing as a dynamic continuum ranging from benefits to damage. In host-microbial interactions, both the host and environmental conditions modulate the pathogenic potential of a microorganism. Microbial interactions are the core of the agricultural systems of ants in the subtribe Attina, which cultivate basidiomycete fungi for food. The fungiculture environment harbors a diverse microbial community, including fungi in the genus Escovopsis that has been studied as damage-causing agent. Here, we consider the ant colony as a host and investigate to what extent its health impacts the dynamics and outcomes of host-Escovopsis interactions. We found that different ant fungal cultivars vary in susceptibility to the same Escovopsis strains in plate-assays interactions. In subcolony-Escovopsis interactions, while healthy subcolonies gradually recover from infection with different concentrations of Escovopsis conidia, insecticide-treated subcolonies evidenced traits of infection and died within 7 days. The opportunistic nature of Escovopsis infections indicates that diseases in attine fungiculture are a consequence of host susceptibility, rather than the effect of a single microbial agent. By addressing the host susceptibility as a major modulator of Escovopsis pathogenesis, our findings expand the understanding of disease dynamics within attine colonies.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Irina Jiménez-Gómez
- Department of General and Applied Biology, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Rio Claro, Brazil.,Centro de Investigación en Dinámica Celular, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, Cuernavaca, Mexico
| | - Mariana O Barcoto
- Department of General and Applied Biology, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Rio Claro, Brazil
| | - Quimi V Montoya
- Department of General and Applied Biology, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Rio Claro, Brazil
| | - Aryel C Goes
- Department of General and Applied Biology, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Rio Claro, Brazil
| | - Lana S V E Monteiro
- Department of General and Applied Biology, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Rio Claro, Brazil
| | - Odair C Bueno
- Department of General and Applied Biology, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Rio Claro, Brazil
| | - Andre Rodrigues
- Department of General and Applied Biology, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Rio Claro, Brazil
| |
Collapse
|