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A fungal pathogen drives the spread of a defensive symbiont in an insect host

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A defensive bacterial symbiont, spreading rapidly through populations of whitefly in nature, suppresses the proliferation, sporulation and transmission of a fungal pathogen in the whitefly. The pathogen is shown to be an important driving force for rapid shifts of the symbiont in the natural niche.

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Fig. 1: Rapid spread, from 2016 to 2020, of the symbiont Rickettsia in its whitefly host is driven by the pathogen C. javanica.

References

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This is a summary of: Zhao, D. et al. Pathogens are an important driving force for the rapid spread of symbionts in an insect host. Nat. Ecol. Evol. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-023-02160-3 (2023).

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A fungal pathogen drives the spread of a defensive symbiont in an insect host. Nat Ecol Evol 7, 1593–1594 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-023-02140-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-023-02140-7

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