Evolution and Consequences of Nutrition-Based Symbioses in Insects: More than Food Stress

摘要: Many, if not all insects, have microbes associated with their digestive tract or bacteriocytes, specialized structures that host the microbial partners. More detailed investigations of these associations, which focused on those involving aphids and bacterial symbionts, established specific nutrients lacking from an insect’s diet can be complemented by symbionts. Alleviation nutritional stress has evolutionary consequences for both partners in associations may extend far beyond level.