Pathogen-microbiome interactions and the virulence of an entomopathogenic fungus.

ABSTRACT: Bacteria shape interactions between hosts and fungal pathogens. In some cases, bacteria associated with fungi are essential for pathogen virulence. In other systems, host-associated microbiomes confer resistance against fungal pathogens. We studied an aphid-specific entomopathogenic fungus called Pandora neoaphidis in the context of both host and pathogen microbiomes. Aphids host several species of heritable bacteria, some of which confer resistance against Pandora. We first found that spores that emerged from aphids that harbored protective bacteria were less virulent against subsequent hosts and did not grow on plate media. We then used 16S amplicon sequencing to study the bacterial microbiome of fungal mycelia and spores during plate culturing and host infection. We found

SUBMITTER: Kolp MR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11218631 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature