Symbiont-Mediated Protection against Fungal Pathogens in Pea Aphids: a Role for Pathogen Specificity?

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Benjamin J. Parker, Emory University; Chelsea J. Spragg, University of Washington; Boran Altincicek, University of Washington; Nicole Marie Gerardo, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2013-04
• Publisher: American Society for Microbiology
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © 2013, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
• Final Published Version (URL): http://aem.asm.org/content/79/7/2455
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Applied and Environmental Microbiology
• ISSN: 0099-2240
• Volume: 79
• Issue: 7
• Start Page: 2455
• End Page: 2458
• Grant/Funding Information: This research was supported by NSF IOS-1025853 to N.M.G. B.A. was supported by a DFG grant (AL902/4-1), and B.J.P. is supported by an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship.
• Research Categories: Biology, Microbiology

Abstract

Here we show that a bacterial endosymbiont, Regiella insecticola, protects pea aphids (Acyrthosiphon pisum) from the aphid-specific fungal entomopathogen Zoophthora occidentalis but not from the generalist insect fungal pathogen Beauveria bassiana. This finding highlights the complex influence of fungi on the dynamics of this economically important agricultural pest.