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SYMBIOSIS

Fast track to mutualism

Nature Microbiology volume 7, pages 1104–1105 (2022)Cite this article

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Rapid experimental evolution and targeted genetic engineering of Escherichia coli in a stinkbug host reveals that a single mutation can produce a host-beneficial symbiosis.

Experimental evolution provides a powerful tool to study evolutionary mechanisms in action and to unravel the molecular basis of real-time adaptations. As such, this approach has provided invaluable insights into the evolutionary dynamics of bacteria or eukaryotes adapting to their environment2 or to co-evolving antagonists3. However, experimental evolution has rarely been used to study host-beneficial symbioses, despite its potential to answer fundamental questions on the establishment, maintenance and consequences of mutualistic interactions with microorganisms4. A study by King et al. provided one of the notable exceptions, demonstrating that a mildly deleterious bacterium can rapidly evolve to protect its nematode host against a virulent pathogen5. Still, this study used an established symbiosis, preventing insights into the early steps of microbial adaptation to a host.

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Fig. 1: Engineering a new host-beneficial symbiosis.

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Acknowledgements

I thank A. Vigneron for valuable comments on the manuscript and gratefully acknowledge financial support from the Max Planck Society and through a Consolidator Grant from the European Research Council (ERC CoG 819585 “SYMBeetle”).

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  1. Department of Insect Symbiosis, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Jena, Germany

    Martin Kaltenpoth

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  1. Martin Kaltenpoth
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Correspondence to Martin Kaltenpoth.

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Kaltenpoth, M. Fast track to mutualism. Nat Microbiol 7, 1104–1105 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41564-022-01188-8

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