Bacterial protection of beetle-fungus mutualism

Abstract

The pervasiveness of beneficial associations between symbiotic microbes and plants and animals in every ecosystem illustrates how the acquisition of a microbe’s physiological capacity confers substantial fitness benefits to hosts (1). However, dependence on mutualistic microbes becomes a liability if antagonistic microbes attack or outcompete beneficial ones (2). Therefore, mechanisms to preserve beneficial microbes must be a widespread, although poorly understood, component of host-microbe mutualisms. We show that a beetle uses a bacterium to protect its fungal food source from a competitor fungus.

Citation

Scott, Jarrod J.; Oh, Dong-Chan; Yuceer, M. Cetin; Klepzig, Kier D.; Clardy, Jon; Currie, Cameron R. 2008. Bacterial protection of beetle-fungus mutualism. Science, Vol. 332: 63