Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Scott, Jarrod J
• Oh, Dong-Chan
• Yuceer, M. Cetin
• Klepzig, Kier D
• Clardy, Jon
• Currie, Cameron R

Titel

Bacterial Protection of Beetle-Fungus Mutualism

Ist Teil von

• Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science), 2008-10, Vol.322 (5898), p.63-63

Ort / Verlag

Washington, DC: American Association for the Advancement of Science

Erscheinungsjahr

2008

Link zum Volltext

Quelle

American Association for the Advancement of Science

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Host-microbe symbioses play a critical role in the evolution of biological diversity and complexity. In a notably intricate system, southern pine beetles use symbiotic fungi to help overcome host-tree defenses and to provide nutrition for their larvae. We show that this beetle-fungal mutualism is chemically mediated by a bacterially produced polyunsaturated peroxide. The molecule's selective toxicity toward the beetle's fungal antagonist, combined with the prevalence and localization of its bacterial source, indicates an insect-microbe association that is both mutualistic and coevolved. This unexpected finding in a well-studied system indicates that mutualistic associations between insects and antibiotic-producing bacteria are more common than currently recognized and that identifying their small-molecule mediators can provide a powerful search strategy for therapeutically useful antimicrobial compounds.