Animal-Microbe Interactions in the Context of Diapause

Abstract

Dormancy and diapause are key adaptations in many organisms, enabling survival of temporarily or seasonally unsuitable environmental conditions. In this review, we examine how our understanding of programmed developmental and metabolic arrest during diapause intersects with the increasing body of knowledge about animal co-development and co-evolution with microorganisms. Host-microbe interactions are increasingly understood to affect a number of metabolic, physiological, developmental, and behavioral traits and to mediate adaptations to various environments. Therefore, it is timely to consider how microbial factors might affect the expression and evolution of diapause in a changing world. We examine how a range of host-microbe interactions, from pathogenic to mutualistic, may have an impact on diapause phenotypes. Conversely, we examine how the discontinuities that diapause introduces into animal host generations can affect the ecology of microbial communities and the evolution of host-microbe interactions. We discuss these issues as they relate to physiology, evolution of development, local adaptation, disease ecology, and environmental change. Finally, we outline research questions that bridge the historically distinct fields of seasonal ecology and host-microbe interactions.

Reshuffling of the coral microbiome during dormancy

“…Among the hypotheses about the roles that microbiome plays in dormancy, the start of dormancy and how dormancy modulates the microbiome are: 1) compositional shifts that lead to the removal of pathogens, and/or 2) the replacement or maintenance of critical functions (Mushegian and Tougeron, 2019). Here, we see evidence for these two hypotheses based on the identity of the taxa and predicted metagenomes.…”

How climate change affects the seasonal ecology of insect parasitoids

“…Finally, the role bacterial endosymbionts might play in structuring communities (e.g. Sanders et al, 2016) or shaping host-parasitoid interactions in the context of climate change remains poorly understood (Jeffs & Lewis, 2013;Mushegian & Tougeron, 2019;Thierry et al, 2019). Endosymbiont effects on insect life-history traits and species interactions are highly diverse (Oliver et al, 2014), and it is known that they become less effective when temperatures rise (Bensadia et al, 2006;Cayetano & Vorburger, 2013).…”

“…Host-microbe interactions, from pathogenic to mutualistic, may have an impact on diapause phenotypes. Conversely, diapause can affect the ecology of microbial communities and the evolution of host-microbe interactions (Mushegian & Tougeron, 2019).…”

Transgenerational phenotypic plasticity of diapause induction and related fitness cost in a commercial strain of the parasitoid Aphidius ervi Haliday

“…Cereal aphids Sitobion avenae (Aphididae: Hemiptera) were obtained from Koppert (The Netherland), and they were maintained on wheat seedlings (Triticum aestivum L.) in 0.3 m 3 cages under laboratory conditions (18 °C, 16 : 8 h L : D, 65% ± 5% relative humidity). We checked for the presence of the facultative endosymbionts Hamiltonella defensa, Serratia symbiotica and Regiella insecticola in our aphid culture because their presence could affect parasitism rates and diapause (Douglas, 1998;Mushegian & Tougeron, 2019). The infection status was verified using diagnostic PCRs with primers 16SA1 (5′-AGAGTTTGATCMTGGCTCAG-3′) and PASS cmp (5′-GCAATGTCTTATTAACACAT-3′) (Fukatsu et al, 2000;Attia et al, 2016).…”

“…We checked for the presence of the facultative endosymbionts Hamiltonella defensa, Serratia symbiotica and Regiella insecticola in our aphid culture because their presence could affect parasitism rates and diapause (Douglas, 1998;Mushegian & Tougeron, 2019). The infection status was verified using diagnostic PCRs with primers 16SA1 (5 -AGAGTTTGATCMTGGCTCAG-3 ) and PASS cmp (5 -GCAATGTCTTATTAACACAT-3 ) (Attia et al, 2016;Fukatsu et al, 2000).…”