Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Diversity of locust gut bacteria protects against pathogen invasion
AU - Dillon, R J
AU - Vennard, C T
AU - Buckling, A
AU - Charnley, A K
PY - 2005/12
Y1 - 2005/12
N2 - Diversity-invasibility relationships were explored in the novel context of the colonization resistance provided by gut bacteria of the desert locust Schistocerca gregaria against pathogenic bacteria. Germ-free insects were associated with various combinations of one to three species of locust gut bacteria and then fed an inoculum of the pathogenic bacterium Serratia marcescens. There was a significant negative relationship between the resulting density of Serratia marcescens and the number of symbiotic gut bacterial species present. Likewise there was a significant inverse relationship between community diversity and the proportion of locusts that harboured Serratia. Host mortality was not negatively correlated with resistance to gut-invasion by Serratia marcescens, although there were significantly more deaths among pathogen fed germ-free insects than tri-associated gnotobiotes. The outcome is consistent with the predictions of community ecology theory that species-rich communities are more resistant to invasion than species-poor communities.
AB - Diversity-invasibility relationships were explored in the novel context of the colonization resistance provided by gut bacteria of the desert locust Schistocerca gregaria against pathogenic bacteria. Germ-free insects were associated with various combinations of one to three species of locust gut bacteria and then fed an inoculum of the pathogenic bacterium Serratia marcescens. There was a significant negative relationship between the resulting density of Serratia marcescens and the number of symbiotic gut bacterial species present. Likewise there was a significant inverse relationship between community diversity and the proportion of locusts that harboured Serratia. Host mortality was not negatively correlated with resistance to gut-invasion by Serratia marcescens, although there were significantly more deaths among pathogen fed germ-free insects than tri-associated gnotobiotes. The outcome is consistent with the predictions of community ecology theory that species-rich communities are more resistant to invasion than species-poor communities.
KW - colonization resistance
KW - diversity
KW - germ free
KW - locusts
KW - Schistocerca gregaria
KW - Serratia marcescens
KW - SALMONELLA-TYPHIMURIUM INFECTION
KW - SCHISTOCERCA-GREGARIA
KW - DESERT LOCUST
KW - PARASITE VIRULENCE
KW - METARHIZIUM-ANISOPLIAE
KW - MULTIPLE INFECTION
KW - LINKING DIVERSITY
KW - GNOTOBIOTIC MICE
KW - COMMUNITIES
KW - RESISTANCE
U2 - 10.1111/j.1461-0248.2005.00828.x
DO - 10.1111/j.1461-0248.2005.00828.x
M3 - Journal article
VL - 8
SP - 1291
EP - 1298
JO - Ecology Letters
JF - Ecology Letters
SN - 1461-023X
IS - 12
ER -