Intracellular Burkholderia Symbionts induce extracellular secondary infections; driving diverse host outcomes that vary by genotype and environment.

ABSTRACT: Symbiotic associations impact and are impacted by their surrounding ecosystem. The association between Burkholderia bacteria and the soil amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum is a tractable model to unravel the biology underlying symbiont-endowed phenotypes and their impacts. Several Burkholderia species stably associate with D. discoideum and typically reduce host fitness in food-rich environments while increasing fitness in food-scarce environments. Burkholderia symbionts are themselves inedible to their hosts but induce co-infections with secondary bacteria that can serve as a food source. Thus, Burkholderia hosts are "farmers" that carry food bacteria to new environments, providing a benefit when food is scarce. We examined the ability of specific Burkholderia genotypes to induce secondary

SUBMITTER: Khojandi N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6776111 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature