Symbiont Gene Expression Predicts Insect Host's Response to High Temperatures.

ABSTRACT: Microbial symbionts play crucial roles in host nutrition, defence, and detoxification. However, host-symbiont interactions are context-dependent, and environmental stressors can disrupt these benefits. Diverse hosts, including corals, insects and leguminous plants, have been shown to suffer under thermal stress due to the negative impact of high temperatures on their symbionts. This failure is often linked to a symbiont's poor transcriptional regulation of heat shock genes, causing vulnerability at high temperatures. In the bug-Caballeronia model system, insect performance at elevated temperatures varies based on the hosted symbiont species. Here, we explore the underlying mechanisms that drive this variation using comparative metatranscriptomics and two symbionts with contrasting host out

SUBMITTER: Stillson PT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12617022 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature