Bacterial symbionts transition between plant pathogenicity and insect defensive mutualism
Friday, April 28, 2017 - 08:32
in Biology & Nature
An international team of researchers have discovered a remarkable microbe with a Jekyll and Hyde character. The bacterium Burkholderia gladioli lives in specific organs of a plant-feeding beetle and defends the insect's eggs from detrimental fungi by producing antibiotics. However, when transferred to a plant, the bacterium can spread throughout the tissues and negatively affect the plant.