An aphid symbiont confers protection against a specialized RNA virus,
another increases vulnerability to the same pathogen
Abstract
Insects often harbor heritable symbionts that provide defense against
specialized natural enemies, yet little is known about symbiont
protection when hosts face simultaneous threats. In pea aphids
(Acyrthosiphon pisum), the facultative endosymbiont Hamiltonella defensa
confers protection against the parasitoid, Aphidius ervi, and Regiella
insecticola protects against aphid-specific fungal pathogens, including
Pandora neoaphidis. Here we investigated whether these two common aphid
symbionts protect against a specialized virus A. pisum virus (APV), and
whether their anti-fungal and anti-parasitoid services are impacted by
APV infection. We found that APV imposed large fitness costs on
symbiont-free aphids and these costs were elevated in aphids housing H.
defensa. In contrast, APV titers were significantly reduced and costs to
APV infection were largely eliminated in aphids with R. insecticola. To
our knowledge, R. insecticola is the first aphid symbiont shown to
protect against a viral pathogen, and only the second arthropod symbiont
reported to do so. In contrast, APV infection did not impact the
protective services either R. insecticola or H. defensa. To better
understand APV biology, we produced five genomes and examined
transmission routes. We found that moderate rates of vertical
transmission, combined with horizontal transfer through food plants,
were the major route of APV spread, although lateral transfer by
parasitoids also occurred. Transmission was unaffected by facultative
symbionts. In summary, the presence and species identity of facultative
symbionts resulted in highly divergent outcomes for aphids infected with
APV, while not impacting defensive services that target other enemies.
These findings add to the diverse phenotypes conferred by aphid
symbionts, and to the growing body of work highlighting extensive
variation in symbiont-mediated interactions.