Complexities of Inferring Symbiont Function: Paraburkholderia Symbiont Dynamics in Social Amoeba Populations and Their Impacts on the Amoeba Microbiota.

ABSTRACT: The relationship between the social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum and its endosymbiotic bacteria Paraburkholderia provides a model system for studying the development of symbiotic relationships. Laboratory experiments have shown that any of three species of the Paraburkholderia symbiont allow D. discoideum food bacteria to persist through the amoeba life cycle and survive in amoeba spores rather than being fully digested. This phenomenon is termed "farming," as it potentially allows spores dispersed to food-poor locations to grow their own. The occurrence and impact of farming in natural populations, however, have been a challenge to measure. Here, we surveyed natural D. discoideum populations and found that only one of the three symbiont species, Paraburkholderia agricolar

SUBMITTER: DuBose JG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9499018 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature