The evolutionary ecology of an insect-bacterial mutualism

Corbin, C ORCID: 0000-0003-4525-5069 (2018) The evolutionary ecology of an insect-bacterial mutualism PhD thesis, University of Liverpool.

Text 201005017_Sep2017.pdf - Unspecified Download (1MB)

Abstract

Heritable bacterial endosymbionts are responsible for much phenotypic diversity in insects. Mutualists drive large-scale processes such as niche invasion, speciation and mass resistance to natural enemies. However, to persist, mutualists need to be able to transmit with high fidelity from one generation to the next, to be able to express their beneficial phenotypes, and for the benefits they grant the host to outweigh their costs. The effect of ecologically-relevant environmental temperature variations upon transmission and phenotype is a poorly understood area of endosymbiont biology, as is how the symbiont’s cost varies under ecological stress. In this thesis, I examined these parameters for Spiroplasma strain hy1, a defensive mutualist which protects the cosmopolitan, temperate fruit fly Drosophila hydei from attack by a parasitoid wasp. I detected Spiroplasma hy1 in D. hydei individuals from the south of the U.K. The bacterium is at low prevalence compared to hy1 in other localities such as North America and Japan, but its presence in this temperate region conflicts with past studies indicating high sensitivity to low temperatures. I first demonstrate that the vertical transmission of Spiroplasma hy1 ... (continues)

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Divisions:	Faculty of Health & Life Sciences > Inst. Systems, Molec & Integrative Biology > Inst. Systems, Molec & Integrative Biology
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	16 Aug 2018 15:34
Last Modified:	26 Jul 2025 15:53
DOI:	10.17638/03018941
Supervisors:	Hurst, Greg DD ORCID: 0000-0002-7163-7784 Fenton, Andy
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3018941
Disclaimer:	The University of Liverpool is not responsible for content contained on other websites from links within repository metadata. Please contact us if you notice anything that appears incorrect or inappropriate.