10.5061/DRYAD.S4MW6M95N
Kaech, Heidi
0000-0002-2149-8050
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich
Vorburger, Christoph
0000-0002-3627-0841
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich
Data from: Horizontal Transmission of the Heritable Protective
Endosymbiont Hamiltonella defensa Depends on Titre and Haplotype
Dryad
dataset
2020
Swiss National Science Foundation
https://ror.org/00yjd3n13
CRSII3_154396
2021-06-17T00:00:00Z
2021-06-17T00:00:00Z
en
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2020.628755
186472 bytes
5
CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication
Secondary endosymbionts of aphids have an important ecological and
evolutionary impact on their host, as they provide resistance to natural
enemies but also reduce the host’s lifespan and reproduction. While
secondary symbionts of aphids are faithfully transmitted from mother to
offspring, they also have some capacity to be transmitted horizontally
between aphids. Here we explore whether 11 isolates from 3 haplotypes of
the secondary endosymbiont Hamiltonella defensa differ in their capacity
for horizontal transmission. These isolates vary in the protection they
provide against parasitoid wasps as well as the costs they inflict on
their host, Aphis fabae. We simulated natural horizontal transmission
through parasitoid wasps by stabbing aphids with a thin needle and
assessed horizontal transmission success of the isolates from one shared
donor clone into three different recipient clones. Specifically, we asked
whether potentially costly isolates reaching high cell densities in aphid
hosts are more readily transmitted through this route. This hypothesis was
only partially supported. While transmissibility increased with titre for
isolates from two haplotypes, isolates of the H. defensa haplotype 1 were
transmitted with greater frequency than isolates of other haplotypes with
comparable titres. Thus, it is not sufficient to be merely
frequent—endosymbionts might have to evolve specific adaptations to
transmit effectively between hosts.
Explanation for the variable names in the two data files
"Pinprick_data.txt" and "Pinprick_qPCR_results.txt"
are given in the Read_me.txt. The statistical analysis is provided in the
R_script_Frontiers.txt (can be used as an .Rmd file).