Local Adaptation of Bacterial Symbionts within a Geographic Mosaic of Antibiotic Coevolution.

ABSTRACT: The geographic mosaic theory of coevolution (GMC) posits that coevolutionary dynamics go beyond local coevolution and are comprised of the following three components: geographic selection mosaics, coevolutionary hot spots, and trait remixing. It is unclear whether the GMC applies to bacteria, as horizontal gene transfer and cosmopolitan dispersal may violate theoretical assumptions. Here, we test key GMC predictions in an antibiotic-producing bacterial symbiont (genus Pseudonocardia) that protects the crops of neotropical fungus-farming ants (Apterostigma dentigerum) from a specialized pathogen (genus Escovopsis). We found that Pseudonocardia antibiotic inhibition of common Escovopsis pathogens was elevated in A. dentigerum colonies from Panama com

SUBMITTER: Caldera EJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6881802 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature