Small Things Considered

Snacking on thistles (first bite)

by Christoph | Way back in 1936, the zoologist H.-J. Stammer published a study of various beetles of the Cassidinae family (order Co­le­o­ptera) and their microbial symbionts. Among them was the thistle tortoise beetle, Cas­sida rubiginosa, an obligate foliovore, or put another way, a dedicated ve­gan with a penchant for thistles (Cirsium sp.). Thistles were a pest for far­mers in the pre-Roundup™ age, and some... Read more →

What To Do When You Run Out of a Cherished Symbiont?

by Elio | The answer is easy: pick up another one. This happens with the cicadas, those noisy insects that have been in the mindfulness of humans since antiquity. Cicadas, like aphids, psyllids, leafhoppers and others, feed on plant sap fluids, which are rich in sugars but poor in amino acids and vitamins. Read more →

Friend & Foe

by Christoph | In a post two month ago, I referred to 'defensive symbioses'. In a nutshell: one or more symbiotic bacteria produce a cocktail of antibiotics that provide protection of a eukaryotic host against an array of opportunistic bacterial and fungal pathogens. I introduced the term not in contrast but... Read more →

Even More Antibiotics In The Nursery!

by Christoph | We had learned earlier that Philanthus triangulum  beewolves – solitary digger wasps that prey on bees, hence their name – employ a "cocktail" of nine different antibiotics to protect their offspring from detrimental fungal infections. The antibiotics are produced – I repeat from the earlier post – by a bacterial symbiont, 'Candidatus Streptomyces philanthi', which the... Read more →

Fungomania II. The Humongousest Fungus

by Elio | We dealt with a monster fossil fungus before. In the interest of expediency, let me reprint part of what I said: "Several museums pos­sess specimens of a cylindrical organism named Prototaxites  whose tree-like trunks measure up to 8 meters long by 1 meter wide. Protota­xites  dated from approximately 420 to 350 million... Read more →

Fungomania I. The Yeast and the Bee.

by Elio | Fungomania returns… In keeping with what we did a year ago, we offer three consecutive fungal posts. I have earlier professed sharing with many a fascination for symbioses (see here). I still don’t know why this is, perhaps it’s simply because multiple genomes interacting are more exciting than one. Read more →

The Nuclear Option

by Christoph | When considering "Who ate whom?", you're likely to think of the eukaryotes. They gobble up just about everything by pha­gocytosis, a common property of unicellular protists and cells of more complex multicellular eukaryotes such as us humans (macrophages, for example ). And whether it's microplastics, mineral fibers like asbes­tos, organic debris or living... Read more →

A Bacterial Aphrodisiac

by Elio | Sex is kindled by many factors, not all anticipated. Here is an unexpected one: bacteria make an aphrodisiac. But hold on, we know that bacteria engage in untold interactions with eukaryotes whose environment they share, so this should not be surprising. Fact is, the default mode of microbial existence is social, so why not sex? Read more →

Fine Reading: Unearthing the Roots ofEctomycorrhizal Symbioses

by Elio | This is a primer on the mycorrhizae, the association of plant roots and fungi. An outstanding review article on this subject has recently appeared, authored by four Frenchmen and one American: F. Martin, A. Kohler, C. Murat, C. Veneault-Fourrey, and D. S. Hibbett. I found reading it both exciting and illuminating, and a good way to conclude this »Fungomania« series. Read more →

Sex and the Single Pillbug

by Elio | You may not think of sex as having a microbial basis, but it does. That is true for many invertebrates that are colonized by the endosymbiotic bacterium Wolbachia. Members of this genus are pro­bably the most common obligate intracellular bacteria on Earth and, for reasons discussed below, among the most remarkable ones. They infect half or more of all insects, as well as isopods (crustaceans), spi­ders, and even worms. In some of their hosts, they influence how sex is determined, making sex itself a sexually-transmitted affair. Read more →