Host Association and Spatial Proximity Shape but Do Not Constrain Population Structure in the Mutualistic Symbiont Xenorhabdus bovienii.

ABSTRACT: To what extent are generalist species cohesive evolutionary units rather than a compilation of recently diverged lineages? We examine this question in the context of host specificity and geographic structure in the insect pathogen and nematode mutualist Xenorhabdus bovienii. This bacterial species partners with multiple nematode species across two clades in the genus Steinernema. We sequenced the genomes of 42 X. bovienii strains isolated from four different nematode species and three field sites within a 240-km² region and compared them to globally available reference genomes. We hypothesized that X. bovienii would comprise several host-specific lineages, such that bacterial and nematode phylogenies would be largely congruent. Alternatively, we hypothesized that spatial proximi

SUBMITTER: Papudeshi B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10306267 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature