Characterisation of immune responses in the pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum

Laughton, Alice M.; Garcia, Justine R.; Altincicek, Boran; Strand, Michael R.; Gerardo, Nicole M.

doi:10.1016/j.jinsphys.2011.03.015

Cited by 91 publications

(118 citation statements)

References 66 publications

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“…Despite having a reduced or altered immune repertoire compared to previously studied invertebrates (31,50), aphid immune cells have the capacity to phagocytose a range of pathogens (31,32). Secondary symbionts have also been observed inside aphid immune cells, suggesting a role in symbiont control (26,32).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Aphids from each of the four lines were raised from birth (seven aphids per plant). Hemolymph was collected from aphids at 10, 16, and 24 days old and was fixed and stained using a Diff-Quik stain set (31). The time points were chosen to represent the beginning, middle, and end of the reproductive phase of aphids.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Aphid secondary symbionts can inhabit a variety of host tissues but are also found extracellularly in the hemolymph, where they freely come into contact with host immune cells (hemocytes) (14,27). Aphid hemocytes have known phagocytic properties and may play a role in symbiont regulation (14,31,32). Secondary symbionts have been identified within hemocytes, although whether their uptake is passive or active on the part of the host is unknown (32).…”

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confidence: 99%

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The Combined Effects of Bacterial Symbionts and Aging on Life History Traits in the Pea Aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum

Laughton

Fan

Gerardo

2014

Appl Environ Microbiol

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b While many endosymbionts have beneficial effects on hosts under specific ecological conditions, there can also be associated costs. In order to maximize their own fitness, hosts must facilitate symbiont persistence while preventing symbiont exploitation of resources, which may require tight regulation of symbiont populations. As a host ages, the ability to invest in such mechanisms may lessen or be traded off with demands of other life history traits, such as survival and reproduction. Using the pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum, we measured survival, lifetime fecundity, and immune cell counts (hemocytes, a measure of immune capacity) in the presence of facultative secondary symbionts. Additionally, we quantified the densities of the obligate primary bacterial symbiont, Buchnera aphidicola, and secondary symbionts across the host's lifetime. We found life history costs to harboring some secondary symbiont species. Secondary symbiont populations were found to increase with host age, while Buchnera populations exhibited a more complicated pattern. Immune cell counts peaked at the midreproductive stage before declining in the oldest aphids. The combined effects of immunosenescence and symbiont population growth may have important consequences for symbiont transmission and maintenance within a host population.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

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The Combined Effects of Bacterial Symbionts and Aging on Life History Traits in the Pea Aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum

Laughton

Fan

Gerardo

2014

Appl Environ Microbiol

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“…From a spatial perspective, phagocytosis is carried out by both circulating and sessile hemocytes (Hillyer and Strand, 2014). From a functional perspective, the hemocytes that phagocytose pathogens are the granulocytes of Lepidoptera, Hemiptera and mosquitoes, and the plasmatocytes of fruit flies (Hillyer et al, 2003a, b; Hillyer and Strand, 2014; Honti et al, 2014; Laughton et al, 2011; Strand, 2008). As a percentage of the overall hemocyte population, the majority of hemocytes are phagocytic.…”

Section: Immune Effector Mechanismsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Insect immunology and hematopoiesis

Hillyer

2016

Developmental & Comparative Immunology

411

345

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Insects combat infection by mounting powerful immune responses that are mediated by hemocytes, the fat body, the midgut, the salivary glands and other tissues. Foreign organisms that have entered the body of an insect are recognized by the immune system when pathogen-associated molecular patterns bind host-derived pattern recognition receptors. This, in turn, activates immune signaling pathways that amplify the immune response, induce the production of factors with antimicrobial activity, and activate effector pathways. Among the immune signaling pathways are the Toll, Imd, Jak/Stat, JNK, and insulin pathways. Activation of these and other pathways leads to pathogen killing via phagocytosis, melanization, cellular encapsulation, nodulation, lysis, RNAi-mediated virus destruction, autophagy and apoptosis. This review details these and other aspects of immunity in insects, and discusses how the immune and circulatory systems have co-adapted to combat infection, how hemocyte replication and differentiation takes place (hematopoiesis), how an infection prepares an insect for a subsequent infection (immune priming), how environmental factors such as temperature and the age of the insect impact the immune response, and how social immunity protects entire groups. Finally, this review highlights some underexplored areas in the field of insect immunobiology.

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“…In hosts, symbionts still face pressures akin to predation. Hosts have potent immune defenses with which both horizontal (Dunn and Weis, 2009) and vertical (Wang et al, 2009; Laughton et al, 2011) symbionts must sometimes contend. These defenses are analogous to predators as they suppress population growth and can eliminate organisms from an environment (Sachs and Wilcox, 2006; Kim et al, 2013).…”

Section: An Evaluation Of Assumed Symbiont Benefitsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The symbiont side of symbiosis: do microbes really benefit?

Garcia

Gerardo

2014

Front. Microbiol.

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Microbial associations are integral to all eukaryotes. Mutualism, the interaction of two species for the benefit of both, is an important aspect of microbial associations, with evidence that multicellular organisms in particular benefit from microbes. However, the microbe’s perspective has largely been ignored, and it is unknown whether most microbial symbionts benefit from their associations with hosts. It has been presumed that microbial symbionts receive host-derived nutrients or a competition-free environment with reduced predation, but there have been few empirical tests, or even critical assessments, of these assumptions. We evaluate these hypotheses based on available evidence, which indicate reduced competition and predation are not universal benefits for symbionts. Some symbionts do receive nutrients from their host, but this has not always been linked to a corresponding increase in symbiont fitness. We recommend experiments to test symbiont fitness using current experimental systems of symbiosis and detail considerations for other systems. Incorporating symbiont fitness into symbiosis research will provide insight into the evolution of mutualistic interactions and cooperation in general.

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Characterisation of immune responses in the pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum

Cited by 91 publications

References 66 publications

The Combined Effects of Bacterial Symbionts and Aging on Life History Traits in the Pea Aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum

The Combined Effects of Bacterial Symbionts and Aging on Life History Traits in the Pea Aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum

Insect immunology and hematopoiesis

The symbiont side of symbiosis: do microbes really benefit?

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