host-microbe interactions
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyMicrobial Species Coexistence Depends on the Host EnvironmentThis work studies microbial interactions within the microbiome of the simple cnidarian Hydra and investigates whether microbial species coexistence and community stability depend on the host environment. We find that the outcome of the interaction between the two most dominant bacterial species in Hydra’s microbiome differs depending on the environment and results in a stable coexistence only in the host context. The...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyHost-Microbe Interactions in the Chemosynthetic Riftia pachyptila SymbiosisAll animals are associated with microorganisms; hence, host-microbe interactions are of fundamental importance for life on earth. However, we know little about the molecular basis of these interactions. Therefore, we studied the deep-sea Riftia pachyptila symbiosis, a model association in which the tubeworm host is associated with only one phylotype of endosymbiotic bacteria and completely depends on this sulfur-oxidizing...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyDeleterious Effects of Neonicotinoid Pesticides on Drosophila melanogaster Immune PathwaysSublethal exposure to certain pesticides (e.g., neonicotinoid insecticides) is suspected to contribute to honey bee (Apis mellifera) population decline in North America. Neonicotinoids are known to interfere with immune pathways in the gut of insects, but the underlying mechanisms remain elusive. We used a...
- Research ArticleGenome-Wide Sensitivity Analysis of the Microsymbiont Sinorhizobium meliloti to Symbiotically Important, Defensin-Like Host Peptides
Soil rhizobial bacteria enter into an ecologically and economically important symbiotic interaction with legumes, in which they differentiate into physiologically distinct bacteroids that provide essential ammonia to the plant in return for carbon sources. Plant signal peptides are essential and specific to achieve these physiological changes. These peptides show similarity to mammalian defensin peptides which are part of the first line...