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  • Paraburkholderia symbionts isolated from Dictyostelium discoideum induce bacterial carriage in other Dictyostelium species
Title: Paraburkholderia symbionts isolated from Dictyostelium discoideum induce bacterial carriage in other Dictyostelium species
The social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum engages in a complex relationship with bacterial endosymbionts in the genus Paraburkholderia, which can benefit their host by imbuing it with the ability to carry prey bacteria throughout its life cycle. The relationship between D. discoideum and Paraburkholderia has been shown to take place across many strains and a large geographical area, but little is known about Paraburkholderia’s potential interaction with other dictyostelid species. We explore the ability of three Paraburkholderia species to stably infect and induce bacterial carriage in other dictyostelid hosts. We found that all three Paraburkholderia species successfully infected and induced carriage in seven species of Dictyostelium hosts. While the overall behaviour was qualitatively similar to that previously observed in infections of D. discoideum, differences in the outcomes of different host/symbiont combinations suggest a degree of specialization between partners. Paraburkholderia was unable to maintain a stable association with the more distantly related host Polysphondylium violaceum. Our results suggest that the mechanisms and evolutionary history of Paraburkholderia’s symbiotic relationships may be general within Dictyostelium hosts, but not so general that it can associate with hosts of other genera. Our work further develops an emerging model system for the study of symbiosis in microbes.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
1753743 2237266
PAR ID:
10468928
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ; ;
Publisher / Repository:
The Royal Society
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
Volume:
290
Issue:
2003
ISSN:
0962-8452
Subject(s) / Keyword(s):
symbiosis, social amoeba, endosymbiont, bacteria, pathogen
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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