Weevil endosymbiont dynamics is associated with a clamping of immunity.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Insects subsisting on nutritionally unbalanced diets have evolved long-term mutualistic relationships with intracellular symbiotic bacteria (endosymbionts). The endosymbiont population load undergoes changes along with insect development. In the cereal weevil Sitophilus oryzae, the midgut endosymbionts Sodalis pierantonius drastically multiply following adult metamorphosis and rapidly decline until total elimination when the insect achieves its cuticle synthesis. Whilst symbiont load was shown to timely meet insect metabolic needs, little is known about the host molecular and immune processes underlying this dynamics.

Methods

We performed RNA sequencing analysis on weevil midguts at three representative phases of the endosymbiont dynamics (i.e. increase, climax an

SUBMITTER: Masson F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4617454 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature