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Paraburkholderia Symbionts Display Variable Infection Patterns That Are Not Predictive of Amoeba Host Outcomes

Jacob W Miller1, Colleen R Bocke1, Andrew R Tresslar1

  • 1Department of Biological Sciences, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, 44 Circle Drive, Edwardsville, IL 62026, USA.

Genes
|June 25, 2020
PubMed

Insights

Diverse Paraburkholderia symbiont genotypes infect Dictyostelium discoideum amoebas. Infection patterns vary, but symbiont load doesn't strongly predict host outcomes, suggesting other genetic factors influence fitness.

Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Ecology
  • Genetics

Background:

  • Symbiotic interactions range from parasitism to mutualism, influenced by host and symbiont genetics.
  • Intracellular symbiont dynamics (invasion, replication, prevalence) impact host survivability and symbiont stability.
  • High symbiont infectivity can impose costs on hosts, potentially harming both partners.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To quantify infection patterns of diverse Paraburkholderia symbiont genotypes in the amoeba host Dictyostelium discoideum.
  • To investigate the relationship between symbiont infection patterns and host outcomes.
  • To understand how symbiont genetic diversity affects host fitness.

Main Methods:

  • Exposed D. discoideum to thirteen strains of three Paraburkholderia species (P. agricolaris, P. hayleyella, P. bonniea).
  • Quantified symbiont infection prevalence and intracellular density using fluorescent labeling.
  • Measured final host population size via flow cytometry and confocal microscopy.

Main Results:

  • Infection phenotypes varied significantly across different Paraburkholderia symbiont strains.
  • Symbionts within the same species generally exhibited similar infection patterns.
  • Final infection loads showed a weak correlation with final host population size.

Conclusions:

  • Symbiont genotype influences infection dynamics and host outcomes in the D. discoideum-Paraburkholderia interaction.
  • Host fitness is not solely determined by symbiont abundance, indicating the role of other genetic factors.
  • The study highlights the complexity of host-symbiont relationships and the need to consider genetic diversity.
Keywords:
Dictyostelium discoideumendosymbiontinfectionsocial amoebasymbiosis

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