Lextrait, G.* ; Joardar, S. ; Cossard, R.* ; Kikuchi, Y.* ; Ohbayashi, T.* ; Mergaert, P.*
Strict gut symbiont specificity in Coreoidea insects governed by interspecies competition within Caballeronia strains.
ISME J. 19:wraf240 (2025)
Host-bacteria symbioses are specific and transgenerationaly stable. In hosts that acquire their symbionts from the environment, selective mechanisms are required to identify beneficial partners among environmental microorganisms. In Coreoidea stinkbugs, which house environmentally acquired symbionts in the midgut, bacterial competition shapes symbiont specificity whereby Caballeronia strains consistently outcompete other bacteria. Here, we show that competition within the gut also occurs among Caballeronia strains themselves, driving specificity at a finer taxonomic scale. The stinkbugs Riptortus pedestris and Coreus marginatus, when reared on the same soil sample, preferentially selected for α- and β-subclade Caballeronia, respectively. In a gnotobiotic infection system, representative strains from the α-, β-, and γ-subclades can independently colonize the midgut of both insect species in monoculture. However, in pairwise co-culture infections, each host exhibits selectivity for either α- or β-subclade strains, consistent with patterns observed in the soil inoculation experiment. In R. pedestris, we further find that both priority effects and displacement mechanisms shape interspecies competition outcomes. At the molecular level, metabolic capabilities, resistance to antimicrobial peptides, and chemotactic behavior determine symbiont competitive success. In R. pedestris, the reproductive fitness benefits conferred by the symbiosis align with the observed strain specificity in the tested strain panel, suggesting a functional link between symbiont selection and host fitness, despite these processes occurring at distinct stages of the symbiotic relationship. Our findings highlight that the gut in Coreoidea species constitutes a multifactorial, species-specific selective environment that contributes to the colonization of the symbiotic midgut region by the best-adapted Caballeronia strain.
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Times Cited
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Publikationstyp
Artikel: Journalartikel
Dokumenttyp
Wissenschaftlicher Artikel
Typ der Hochschulschrift
Herausgeber
Schlagwörter
Caballeronia ; Coreus Marginatus ; Riptortus Pedestris ; Antimicrobial Peptides ; Bacteria-bacteria Competition ; Chemotaxis ; Gut Symbiosis ; Insect-bacteria Interactions ; Metabolic Capacity
Keywords plus
Sprache
englisch
Veröffentlichungsjahr
2025
Prepublished im Jahr
0
HGF-Berichtsjahr
2025
ISSN (print) / ISBN
1751-7362
e-ISSN
1751-7370
ISBN
Bandtitel
Konferenztitel
Konferzenzdatum
Konferenzort
Konferenzband
Quellenangaben
Band: 19,
Heft: 1,
Seiten: ,
Artikelnummer: wraf240
Supplement: ,
Reihe
Verlag
Nature Publishing Group
Verlagsort
Tag d. mündl. Prüfung
0000-00-00
Betreuer
Gutachter
Prüfer
Topic
Hochschule
Hochschulort
Fakultät
Veröffentlichungsdatum
0000-00-00
Anmeldedatum
0000-00-00
Anmelder/Inhaber
weitere Inhaber
Anmeldeland
Priorität
Begutachtungsstatus
Peer reviewed
POF Topic(s)
30202 - Environmental Health
Forschungsfeld(er)
Environmental Sciences
PSP-Element(e)
G-504700-001
Förderungen
French Ministry of Higher Education, Research, and Innovation
CNRS International Research Project
Copyright
Erfassungsdatum
2025-11-26