Endosymbiotic reproductive manipulators may have drastic effects on the ecological and evolutionary dynamics of their hosts. The prevalence of these endosymbionts reflects both their ability to manipulate their hosts and the history of the host populations. The little fire ant Wasmannia auropunctata displays a polymorphism in both its reproductive system (sexual versus clonal populations)…
Read more Distribution of Endosymbiotic Reproductive Manipulators Reflects Invasion Process and Not Reproductive System Polymorphism in the Little Fire Ant Wasmannia auropunctata
Une version vulgarisée (en français AFS_01_13_F_Aebi et en allemand AFS_02_13_D_Aebi) d’un article paru dans le Journal of Applied Ecology, publiée dans Recherche Agronomique Suisse. Zindel R, Gottlieb Y, Aebi A. (2011) Arthropod symbiosis, a neglected parameter in pest and disease control programs. Journal of Applied Ecology 48: 864–872
Read more Symbiontes et arthropodes – quelles implications pour la lutte biologique?
The biology of many arthropods can only be understood when their associated microbiome is considered. The nutritional requirements of the bulb mite Rhizoglyphus robini Claparede (Acari: Astigmata: Acaridae) in the laboratory have been shown to be very easily satisfied, and in the field the mites prefer fungus-infected over uninfected plants. To test whether symbiotic bacteria…
Read more Gut microbiome rules what a mite can eat. New paper in The FASEB Journal
Honeybees, through their role as pollinators, provide a crucial ecosystem service to natural flora and agriculture worldwide. Parasites and pathogens represent an increasing threat to honeybees. Colony collapse disorder (CCD) in the USA and other types of colony losses in other parts of the world are characterized by unexplained decrease of adult population leading to…
Read more A new hypothesis to understand Honeybee colony losses?
1. Arthropods are important players in biological control as pests, control agents and transmitters of invertebrate diseases. Arthropods are frequently infected with one or several micro-organisms, serving as micro-ecosystems in which multiple interactions can take place. These micro-organisms include disease agents and symbiotic micro-organisms. The latter are usually vertically transmitted and can have a broad…
Read more Arthropod symbioses: a neglected parameter in pest- and disease-control programmes
