Host range of naturally and artificially evolved symbiotic bacteria for a specific host insect

• Published in: mBio Vol. 15; no. 9; p. e0134224
• Main Authors: Sugiyama, Ryuga, Moriyama, Minoru, Koga, Ryuichi, Fukatsu, Takema
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Society for Microbiology 11.09.2024
• Subjects: Escherichia coli; gut symbiosis; host specificity; Host-Microbial Interactions; Pantoea; Plautia stali; Research Article; stinkbug; stinkbug; Pantoea; gut symbiosis; host specificity; Plautia stali; Escherichia coli
• ISSN: 2150-7511; 2150-7511
• DOI: 10.1128/mbio.01342-24

How does host-symbiont specificity emerge at the very beginning of symbiosis? This question is difficult to address because it is generally difficult to directly observe the onset of symbiosis. However, recent development of experimental evolutionary approaches to symbiosis has brought about a breakthrough. Here we tackled this evolutionary issue using a symbiotic Escherichia coli created in laboratory and a natural Pantoea symbiont, which are both mutualistic to the stinkbug Plautia stali . We experimentally replaced essential symbiotic bacteria of diverse stinkbugs with the artificial and natural symbionts of P. stali and evaluated whether the symbiotic bacteria, which evolved for a specific host, can establish infection and support the growth and survival of heterospecific hosts. Strikingly, the artificial symbiont showed strict host specificity to P. stali , whereas the natural symbiont was capable of symbiosis with diverse stinkbugs, which provide insight into how host-symbiont specificity can be established at early evolutionary stages of symbiosis.