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462 results for “Mutualisms”
Data from: A novel, enigmatic basal leafflower moth lineage pollinating a derived leafflower host illustrates the dynamics of host shifts, partner replacement, and apparent coadaptation in intimate mutualisms
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Data from: Facilitated exploitation of pollination mutualisms: fitness consequences for plants
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Novel plant-microbe interactions: rapid evolution of a legume-rhizobium mutualism in restored prairies
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Multiple mutualism effects generate synergistic selection and strengthen fitness alignment in the interaction between legumes, rhizobia, and mycorrhizal fungi
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Data from: Cover crops dismantle keystone ant/aphid mutualisms to enhance insect pest suppression and weed biocontrol
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Morphological trait matching in plant–Hymenoptera and plant–Diptera mutualisms across an elevational gradient
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Post-association barrier to host switching maintained despite strong selection in a novel mutualism
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Lost mutualisms: seed dispersal by Sumatran rhinos, the world’s most threatened megafauna
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Data from: Genomic evidence of prevalent hybridization throughout the evolutionary history of the fig-wasp pollination mutualism
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Data from: Elucidating mutual mate choice
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Fruit secondary metabolites alter the quantity and quality of a seed dispersal mutualism
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Data from: Ant–scale mutualism increases scale infestation, decreases folivory, and disrupts biological control in restored tropical forests
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Data from: Autopolyploidy alters nodule-level interactions in the legume-rhizobium mutualism
Premise of the study: Polyploidy is a major genetic driver of ecological and evolutionary processes in plants, yet its effects on plant interactions with mutualistic microbes remain unresolved. The legume-rhizobium symbiosis regulates global nutrient cycles and plays a role in the diversification of legume taxa. In this mutualism, rhizobia bacteria fix nitrogen in exchange for carbon provided by legume hosts. This exchange occurs inside root nodules, which house bacterial cells and represent the interface of legume-rhizobial interactions. Although polyploidy may directly impact the legume-rhizobium mutualism, no studies have explored how it alters the internal structure of nodules. Methods: We created synthetic autotetraploids using Medicago sativa subsp. caerulea. Neotetraploid plants and their diploid progenitors were singly inoculated with two strains of rhizobia, Sinorhizobium meliloti and S. medicae. Confocal microscopy was used to quantify internal traits of nodules produced by diploid and neotetraploid plants. Key Results: Autotetraploid plants produced larger nodules with larger nitrogen fixation zones than diploids across both strains of rhizobia, although significance of this difference was limited by power. Neotetraploid M. sativa subsp. caerulea plants also produced symbiosomes that were significantly larger, nearly twice the size, than those present in diploids. Conclusions: This study sheds light on how polyploidy directly affects a plant-bacterial mutualism and uncovers novel mechanisms. Changes in plant-microbe interactions that directly result from polyploidy likely contribute to the increased ability of polyploid legumes to establish in diverse environments.
Optimal Defense Theory in an ant‐plant mutualism: extrafloral nectar as an induced defense is maximized in the most valuable plant structures
<ol> <li class="Normal1">Optimal Defense Theory (ODT) predicts that to maximize the benefits of defense against herbivores while minimizing its costs, plants will <span><span>invest in defenses</span></span> to structures according to their value and to the likelihood that they will be attacked. Constitutive defenses are expected in structures of high value, whereas induced defenses are expected in structures of low value. Regarding the biotic defense mediated by extrafloral nectaries (EFNs) and based on ODT, we predicted that under control conditions EFNs on higher-value structures would produce more nectar than would EFNs on lower-value structures, attracting more ants; however, when damaged, EFNs on higher-value structures would not increase the production of extrafloral nectar (since constitutive defenses should be employed in this region), whereas EFNs on lower-value structures would so (since induced defenses should be employed in this region), at a level commensurate with the extent of damage. </li> <li class="Normal1">Here we test these predictions in a Brazilian ant-plant mutualism. <i>Qualea multiflora</i> (Vochysiaceae), a savanna tree, presents EFNs on both lower-value structures (leaves) and higher-value structures (inflorescences). We simulated herbivory by cutting 10% or 40% of the leaves, or 10% of the flowers, then monitoring extrafloral nectar production and ant attendance. </li> <li class="Normal1">Extrafloral nectar volume and calorie content, as well as ant abundance, were higher in EFNs of inflorescences compared to EFNs of leaves both before and after simulated herbivory, consistent with one of our predictions. However, EFNs on both leaves and inflorescences, not leaves only, were induced by simulated herbivory, a pattern opposite to our prediction. Plants subjected to higher levels of leaf damage (i.e., more damage to lower-value tissues) <span><span>produced more and higher-calorie extrafloral nectar, but showed similar ant abundance, partially consistent with our prediction</span></span>. </li> <li class="Normal1"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>Our results show that extrafloral nectar production before and after simulated herbivory, as well as the ant recruitment, vary according to the plant structure on which EFNs are located. Our study is unique showing that ant recruitment via extrafloral nectar follows predictions from Optimal Defense Theory, and that the ant foraging patterns may be shaped by the level and region damaged in the plant.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></li> </ol>
Data from: Species richness and redundancy promote persistence of exploited mutualisms in yeast
<p>Mutualisms, or reciprocally beneficial interspecific interactions, constitute the foundation of many ecological communities and agricultural systems. Mutualisms come in different forms, from pairwise interactions to extremely diverse communities, and they are continually challenged with exploitation by non-mutualistic community members (exploiters). Thus, understanding how mutualisms persist remains an essential question in ecology. Theory suggests that high species richness and functional redundancy could promote mutualism persistence in complex mutualistic communities. Using a yeast system (<i>Saccharomyces cerevisiae</i>), we experimentally show that communities with the greatest mutualist richness and functional redundancy are nearly two times more likely to survive exploitation than are<b> </b>simple communities. Persistence increased because diverse communities were better able to mitigate the negative effects of competition with exploiters. Thus, large mutualistic networks may be inherently buffered from exploitation.</p>
Ant-hemipteran mutualism: parasitic wasps use cuticular hydrocarbons of ants to avoid them
<p>One of the most studied and best-known mutualistic relationships between insects is that between ants and phloem-feeding insects. Ants feed on honeydew excreted by phloem-feeding insects and, in exchange, attack the phloem feeders' natural enemies, including parasitic wasps. However, parasitic wasps are under selection to exploit information on hazards and avoid them. Here, we tested whether parasitic wasps detect the previous presence of ants attending colonies of phloem feeders. Behavioural assays demonstrate that wasps left colonies previously attended by ants more frequently than control colonies. This behaviour has a cost for the parasitic wasp as females inserted their ovipositor in fewer hosts per colony. In a further bioassay, wasps spent less time on papers impregnated with extracts of the ant cues than on control papers. GC/MS analyses demonstrated that ants left a blend of cuticular hydrocarbons when they attended colonies of phloem feeders. These cuticular hydrocarbons are deposited passively when ants search for food. Overall, these results suggest, for the first time, that parasitic wasps of honeydew producers detect the previous presence of mutualistic ants through contact infochemicals. We anticipate such interactions to be widespread and to have implications in numerous ecosystems, as phloem feeders are usually tended by ants.</p>
Sympatric pairings of dryland grass populations, mycorrhizal fungi, and associated soil biota enhance mutualism and ameliorate drought stress
<p>1. There is evidence that the distribution of ecotypes of plants and their symbiotic arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi and other associated soil biota may be structured by the availability of essential soil nutrients; and that locally adapted partnerships most successfully acquire limiting nutrients. This study tests the hypotheses that plant genotypes are adapted to the water availability of their local environment, and this adaptation involves associations with local soil biota, including AM fungi. </p> <p>2. We grew semi-arid Bouteloua gracilis ecotypes from relatively wet and dry sites, with either sympatric or allopatric soil inoculum under moderate and extreme soil drying treatments to examine 1) how varying degrees of water limitation influence grass responses to soil biota, and 2) the relationship between AM fungal structures and these responses. </p> <p>3. Under extreme soil drying, the dry-site ecotype tended to perform better than the wet-site ecotype. Both ecotypes performed best in either drying treatment when inoculated with their sympatric soil biota. Sympatric pairings produced more AM fungal hyphae, arbuscules and dark septate fungi. Extreme soil drying tended to accentuate these apparent benefits of sympatry to both plants and fungal symbionts, relative to the moderate drying treatment. </p> <p>4. Our findings support the hypothesis that AM symbioses help Bouteloua gracilis ecotypes adapt to local water availability. This conclusion is based on the observations that as water became increasingly limited, sympatric partnerships produced more AM fungal hyphae and arbuscules and fewer vesicles. The abundances of hyphae and arbuscules were positively correlated with plant growth, suggesting that in sympatric pairs of plants and AM fungi, allocation to fungal structures is optimized to maximize benefits and minimize the costs of the symbioses. This provides strong evidence that co-adaptation among plants and their associated AM fungi can ameliorate drought stress.</p> <p>5. Synthesis: Our study documents the role of locally adapted soil borne plant symbionts in ameliorating water stress. We found a relationship between AM fungal structures in roots and plant performance. Generally, plants and fungi from the same site resulted in more positive effects on plant growth.</p>
Net benefits of a mutualism: influence of the quality of extrafloral nectar on the colony fitness of a mutualistic ant
<p><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><strong>Aim</strong>: Extrafloral nectar, a carbohydrate-rich liquid, is the main plant-based resource offered in exchange for ant protection. The positive results of this protection provided by ants are widely studied and supported; however, studies showing the benefits that ants and their colonies have from the resources offered by plants such as extrafloral nectar are scarce. Here, we evaluated how extrafloral nectar and artificial food resources with different nutrient concentration benefit short- and long-term <i>Camponotus crassus</i> colony fitness (number and weight of individuals) and survival. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><strong>Methods</strong>: We conducted two sets of experiments: (1) in the field we attached artificial ant nests to plants with clogged and unclogged extrafloral nectaries; and (2) in the laboratory we offered artificial food resources with different carbohydrate-protein ratios to ant colonies. With these experiments we evaluated the number and weight of queens, adult workers, pupae, larvae, and eggs, as well as the survival probability of the colonies.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><strong>Results</strong>: In the first experiment, the short-term provision of extrafloral nectar resulted in a larger number and weight of individuals with access to this resource. In the second experiment, regardless of time, the supply of more concentrated carbohydrate and nitrogen food increased ant colony fitness and survival. Conclusion: We provided new evidence that extrafloral nectar significantly benefits ant colonies. Our results corroborate the assertion that these relationships are reciprocally beneficial. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
Data from: Plant mutualisms with rhizosphere microbiota in introduced versus native ranges
The performance of introduced plants can be limited by the availability of soil mutualists outside their native range, but how interactions with mutualists differ between ranges is largely unknown. If mutualists are absent, incompatible or parasitic, plants may compensate by investing more in root biomass, adapting to be more selective or by maximizing the benefits associated with the mutualists available. We tested these hypotheses using seven non-agricultural species of Trifolium naturalized in New Zealand (NZ). We grew seeds from two native (Spain, UK) and one introduced (NZ) provenance of each species in glasshouse pots inoculated with rhizosphere microbiota collected from conspecifics in each region. We compared how plant biomass, degree of colonization by rhizobia and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), and the growth benefit associated with each mutualist differed between provenances (native and introduced populations) when grown with soil microbiota from each region. We also tested whether the growth benefit of colonization by mutualists was correlated with the extent to which alien plants were distributed in the introduced range. Rhizobia colonization was generally lower among introduced relative to native provenances. In NZ soils, 9% of all plants lacked rhizobia and 16% hosted parasitic nodules, whereas in native-range soils, there was no evidence of parasitism and all but one plant hosted rhizobia. Growth rates as a factor of rhizobia colonization were always highest when plants were grown in soil from their home range. Colonization by AMF was similar for all provenances in all soils but for four out of seven species grown in NZ soils, the level of AMF colonization was negatively correlated with growth rate. In general, introduced provenances did not compensate for lower growth rates or lower mutualist associations by decreasing shoot–root ratios. Synthesis. Despite differences between introduced and native provenances in their associations with soil mutualists and substantial evidence of parasitism in the introduced range, neither level of colonization by mutualists nor the growth benefit associated with colonization was correlated with the extent of species' distributions in the introduced range, suggesting mutualist associations are not predictive of invasion success for these species.
Data from: Lack of genetic isolation by distance, similar genetic structuring but different demographic histories in a fig-pollinating wasp mutualism
Historical abiotic factors such as climatic oscillations and extreme climatic events as well as biotic factors have shaped the structuring of species' genetic diversity. In obligate species-specific mutualisms, the biogeographic histories of the interacting species are tightly linked. This could be particularly true for nuclear genes in the Ficus-pollinating wasp mutualistic association as the insects disperse pollen from their natal tree. In this study we compare spatial genetic structure of plant and pollinator for the Ficus hirta-Valisia javana association throughout South-East China including Hainan Island, for both nuclear and cytoplasmic markers. We show that dispersal of the insect leads to plant and insect presenting similar signatures of lack of genetic isolation by distance for nuclear genes on the continent over a distance of 1000 km. But we also show that the demographic histories of plant and insect are strikingly different. This is in agreement with extreme climatic events leading to transient regional extinctions of the insects, associated with local survival of the plants. We also evidence genetic differentiation for both wasps and fig-tree between the continent and Hainan Island, although the Qiongzhou Strait is only on average 30 km wide suggesting that geographic isolation by itself has not been sufficient to generate this differentiation. Hence, our results suggest that in highly dispersive mutualistic systems, isolation by dispersal limitation across a geographic barrier could be supplemented by isolation by adaptation, and maybe by coevolution, allowing further genetic divergence. In such systems, species may frequently be composed of a single population.
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