Diplogastrellus nematodes are sexually transmitted mutualists that alter the bacterial and fungal communities of their beetle host.

ABSTRACT: A recent accumulation of studies has demonstrated that nongenetic, maternally transmitted factors are often critical to the health and development of offspring and can therefore play a role in ecological and evolutionary processes. In particular, microorganisms such as bacteria have been championed as heritable, symbiotic partners capable of conferring fitness benefits to their hosts. At the same time, parents may also pass various nonmicrobial organisms to their offspring, yet the roles of such organisms in shaping the developmental environment of their hosts remain largely unexplored. Here, we show that the nematode Diplogastrellus monhysteroides is transgenerationally inherited and sexually transmitted by the dung beetle Onthophagus taurus By manipulating artificial chambe

SUBMITTER: Ledon-Rettig CC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6196496 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature