Abstract
Symbiotic interactions have facilitated major evolutionary transitions, making them a key component of the success of life. By altering the host’s life-history traits or potential to respond to natural stresses, symbiotic organisms could either exacerbate or ameliorate the effects of environmental pressure on their hosts. These variations are in turn likely to alter the population dynamics of the host species. We examined the temporal dynamics of three bacterial symbionts, Wolbachia, Arsenophonus, and Rhizobiales, in two neighboring yellow crazy ant (Anoplolepis gracilipes (Smith)) colonies for three consecutive months (July - September 2019) in southern Taiwan. Coinfections of Wolbachia and Rhizobiales were consistently detected in all colonies. While the symbiont compositions remained consistent throughout the sampling period at both sites, the coinfection rate of Wolbachia and Rhizobiales showed a negative tendency with increases in the daily mean temperature and its standard deviation, the diurnal temperature difference, and especially precipitation over time. These relationships might be the key to understanding the temporal effects of coinfection dynamics on possible adaptations and physiological responses in A. gracilipes. We then empirically demonstrated the best Wolbachia removal efficiency (40%-27%) under high-temperature treatment, and that the spatial prevalence of Wolbachia increased with latitude in the Southern Hemisphere. Our work highlights the potential protection against climate extremes provided by symbiont coinfection and how climate affects the microbial ecological community at a fine scale.
The Temporal Dynamics of Three Bacterial Endosymbionts, Wolbachia, Arsenophonus, And Rhizobiales, of the Invasive Yellow Crazy Ant (Anoplolepisgracilipes) in Taiwan are associated with Climate Extremes
