Speaker
Description
Insects frequently form symbioses with beneficial bacteria that are passed onto subsequent generations. While these heritable bacterial symbionts often play important roles in host biology, experimental approaches often are limited by an inability to independently cultivate such symbionts. Here, we demonstrate the independent cultivation of Fukatsuia symbiotica, a vertically transmitted endosymbiont of the pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum. Whole-genome sequencing revealed that this strain shares similar genomic features with vertically transmitted Fukatsuia strains of pea aphids and other distantly related host species, suggesting these methods might be broadly applicable. Microinjection of the symbiont cultures into uninfected hosts revealed that this strain is capable of re-establishing stable, transgenerational infections. Once established, these artificially generated infections exhibit similar phenotypic effects on hosts, including protection against a fungal pathogen and disruption of embryonic development. Overall, our results indicate that Fukatsuia symbiotica is a valuable tool for understanding the genetic basis for vertical transmission and antifungal defenses.
