Transcriptional responses in a Drosophila defensive symbiosis

dc.contributor.authorHamilton, Phineas
dc.contributor.authorLeong, Jong
dc.contributor.authorKoop, Ben
dc.contributor.authorPerlman, Steve
dc.date.accessioned2017-07-31T18:00:16Z
dc.date.available2017-07-31T18:00:16Z
dc.date.copyright2014en_US
dc.date.issued2014-03
dc.description.abstractInherited symbionts are ubiquitous in insects and can have important consequences for the fitness of their hosts. Many inherited symbionts defend their hosts against parasites or other natural enemies; however, the means by which most symbionts confer protection is virtually unknown. We examine the mechanisms of defence in a recently discovered case of symbiont-mediated protection, where the bacterial symbiont Spiroplasma defends the fly Drosophila neotestacea from a virulent nematode parasite, Howardula aoronymphium. Using quantitative PCR of Spiroplasma infection intensities and whole transcriptome sequencing, we attempt to distinguish between the following modes of defence: symbiont–parasite competition, host immune priming and the production of toxic factors by Spiroplasma. Our findings do not support a model of exploitative competition between Howardula and Spiroplasma to mediate defence, nor do we find strong support for host immune priming during Spiroplasma infection. Interestingly, we recovered sequence for putative toxins encoded by Spiroplasma, including a novel putative ribosome-inactivating protein, transcripts of which are up-regulated in response to nematode exposure. Protection via the production of toxins may be a widely used and important mechanism in heritable defensive symbioses in insects.en_US
dc.description.reviewstatusRevieweden_US
dc.description.scholarlevelFacultyen_US
dc.identifier.citationHamilton, P.T., Leong, S.J., Koop, B.F. & Perlman, S.J. (2014). Transcriptional responses in a Drosophila defensive symbiosis. Molecular Ecology, 23(6), 1558- 1570. doi: 10.1111/mec.12603en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.1111/mec.12603
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1828/8389
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherMolecular Ecologyen_US
dc.subjectcompetitionen_US
dc.subjectendosymbionten_US
dc.subjectmutualismen_US
dc.subjectnematodeen_US
dc.subjectparasitismen_US
dc.subjectSpiroplasmaen_US
dc.subjecttranscriptomeen_US
dc.subjectWolbachiaen_US
dc.titleTranscriptional responses in a Drosophila defensive symbiosisen_US
dc.typePreprinten_US

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