Publication

Can a Symbiont (Also) Be Food?

Downloadable Content

Persistent URL
Last modified
  • 05/18/2026
Type of Material
Authors
    Kim L. Hoang, Emory UniversityLevi T. Morran, Emory UniversityNicole M. Gerardo, Emory University
Language
  • English
Date
  • 2019-11-07
Publisher
  • Frontiers
Publication Version
Copyright Statement
  • © 2019 Hoang, Morran and Gerardo.
License
Final Published Version (URL)
Title of Journal or Parent Work
Volume
  • 10
Start Page
  • 2539
Grant/Funding Agency
  • NSF
Grant/Funding Information
  • This work was supported by the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program under Grant No. DGE-1444932 to KH.
Abstract
  • Beneficial symbionts exist in many different forms, ranging from vertically-transmitted intracellular bacteria to environmentally-grown fungi. In many symbioses, the host ingests its symbiont. Symbiont ingestion appears to present a dilemma: symbionts may no longer gain from associations when acting as a food source, perhaps rendering the interaction unstable or disqualifying the interaction as a symbiosis altogether. So, can a symbiont serve as a food source and still be a symbiont? Contrary to perception, we argue that ingestion does not preclude the evolution of beneficial interactions beyond simply host nutrition.
Author Notes
  • Correspondence: Kim L. Hoang kim.hoang@emory.edu
  • Author contributions: KH and LM conceived the idea for the article. KH wrote the manuscript with input from LM and NG.
  • Competing interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
Keywords
Subject - Topics
  • Symbiosis
  • Microbial ecology
  • Evolutionary developmental biology

Tools

Relations

In Collection:

Items

Thumbnail Title File Description Date Uploaded Visibility Actions
file details Can a Symbiont (Also) Be Food? Primary Content 2026-05-08 Public Download