A perspective on insect-microbe holobionts facing thermal fluctuations in a climate-change context

Area of Science:

• Ecology
• Evolutionary Biology
• Microbiology

Background:

• Insect-microbe holobionts are influenced by temperature, impacting their interactions and evolution.
• Existing research primarily addresses constant temperatures and heat shock, neglecting natural thermal fluctuations.
• Predicting the effects of climate change on these partnerships is limited by a lack of understanding of thermal ecology under variable conditions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effects of temperature fluctuations on the evolutionary ecology of insect-microbe holobionts.
• To highlight the importance of considering complex thermal environments in ecological studies.
• To propose future research directions for understanding holobiont responses to thermal variability.

Main Methods:

• Focus on the impact of temperature fluctuations on insect-microbe holobionts.
• Review and propose research avenues for evaluating theoretical concepts.
• Incorporate plastic and genetic responses of holobionts to fluctuating temperatures.
• Explore the effects of diverse temperature fluctuation patterns on symbiosis dynamics.

Main Results:

• Current understanding of insect-microbe holobiont thermal ecology is incomplete due to overlooked experimental thermal fluctuations.
• Climate change will alter both mean temperatures and thermal variability, posing challenges for mutualistic interactions.
• Experimental approaches need to incorporate realistic thermal fluctuations to accurately predict holobiont fate.

Conclusions:

• Temperature fluctuations are a critical, yet understudied, factor in the evolutionary ecology of insect-microbe holobionts.
• Future research should focus on the adaptive capacity of holobionts to variable thermal environments.
• Accurate predictions of mutualistic interactions under climate change require integrating complex thermal dynamics into ecological models.