Experimental evolution of Spiroplasma after host shifts
A peculiar aspect of many inherited microbes is their ability to move between host species. To successfully invade a new host species, the symbiont should not have a large negative fitness impact and must ensure efficient vertical transmission. Since all host environments are different, the symbiont must be able to adapt very quickly. To date, the mechanisms of such adaptation are only poorly understood.
In this project, I will investigate the adaptation of Spiroplasma to novel hosts. Spiroplasma is an inherited microbe that naturally occurs in a large range of arthropod and non-arthropod hosts. Using Drosophila species as model hosts, I will artificially transfer Spiroplasma between native and non-native hosts, evolve these new host-symbiont combinations and measure the effects on the fitness of their novel hosts over time. Ultimately, I aim at determining the genetic basis for fast adaptation of Spiroplasma after host shifts.
This project was supported by EMBO and the European Commission through a Long Term Fellowship (ALTF 48-2015) and a Marie Curie Individual Fellowship (LTFCOFUND2013, GA-2013-609409). The project has further received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No 703379.
Further reading
Gerth M, Martinez-Montoya H, Ramirez P, Masson F, Griffin JS, Aramayo R, Siozios S, Lemaitre B, Mateos M, Hurst GDD (2020) Rapid molecular evolution of Spiroplasma symbionts of Drosophila. bioRxiv:2020.06.23.165548.
Nakayama S, Parratt SR, Hutchence KJ, Lewis Z, Price TAR, Hurst GDD (2015) Can maternally inherited endosymbionts adapt to a novel host? Direct costs of Spiroplasma infection, but not vertical transmission efficiency, evolve rapidly after horizontal transfer into D. melanogaster. Heredity 114:539–543.
Blog & talk:
New preprint on Spiroplasma evolution
In this project, I will investigate the adaptation of Spiroplasma to novel hosts. Spiroplasma is an inherited microbe that naturally occurs in a large range of arthropod and non-arthropod hosts. Using Drosophila species as model hosts, I will artificially transfer Spiroplasma between native and non-native hosts, evolve these new host-symbiont combinations and measure the effects on the fitness of their novel hosts over time. Ultimately, I aim at determining the genetic basis for fast adaptation of Spiroplasma after host shifts.
This project was supported by EMBO and the European Commission through a Long Term Fellowship (ALTF 48-2015) and a Marie Curie Individual Fellowship (LTFCOFUND2013, GA-2013-609409). The project has further received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No 703379.
Further reading
Gerth M, Martinez-Montoya H, Ramirez P, Masson F, Griffin JS, Aramayo R, Siozios S, Lemaitre B, Mateos M, Hurst GDD (2020) Rapid molecular evolution of Spiroplasma symbionts of Drosophila. bioRxiv:2020.06.23.165548.
Nakayama S, Parratt SR, Hutchence KJ, Lewis Z, Price TAR, Hurst GDD (2015) Can maternally inherited endosymbionts adapt to a novel host? Direct costs of Spiroplasma infection, but not vertical transmission efficiency, evolve rapidly after horizontal transfer into D. melanogaster. Heredity 114:539–543.
Blog & talk:
New preprint on Spiroplasma evolution