title: Insect life history and the evolution of bacterial mutualism.
abstract: Bacterial symbiosis has played a fundamental role in the evolution of eukaryotes. However, we still know little about how cooperative relationships with bacteria originate, and why they form in some host species but not others. Facultative symbionts that are beneficial, but not essential, provide unique insights into these processes. We use data from over a hundred aphid species to test if host life history is associated with the presence of facultative symbionts. We find that aphid species that have mutualistic associations with ants that protect them from natural enemies are less likely to carry symbionts that provide similar benefits. We also find one symbiont species occurs more frequently in unrelated aphid species that specialise on certain plant genera. In addition, aphid species that attack multiple plants often carry different symbiont complements. Our findings provide evidence of the ecological conditions that facilitate stable, mutually beneficial relationships between microbes and eukaryotic hosts.
authors: Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PS, UK.
authors: Lee M
authors: LM
authors: Henry
authors: Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PS, UK.
authors: Martin C J
authors: MC
authors: Maiden
authors: Department of Biology, University of York, York, YO10 5DD, UK.
authors: Julia
authors: J
authors: Ferrari
authors: Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PS, UK.
authors: H Charles J
authors: HC
authors: Godfray
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001000:Ants; D001042:Aphids / Q000145:classification / Q000382:microbiology*; D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification*; D001499:Bayes Theorem; D005075:Biological Evolution; D008390:Markov Chains; D008957:Models, Genetic; D009010:Monte Carlo Method; D010802:Phylogeny; D010944:Plants; D013559:Symbiosis
keywords: Comparative biology; ecology; evolution; host; life history; mutualism; phylogenetics; symbiont