A complex journey: transmission of microbial symbionts

By M. Bright, Silvia Bulgheresi. Nature Reviews Microbiology, 2010

839 citations recorded by the source corpus.

The perpetuation of symbioses through host generations relies on symbiont transmission. Horizontally transmitted symbionts are taken up from the environment anew by each host generation, and vertically transmitted symbionts are most often transferred through the female germ line. Mixed modes also exist. In this Review we describe the journey of symbionts from the initial contact to their final residence. We provide an overview of the molecular mechanisms that mediate symbiont attraction and accumulation, interpartner recognition and selection, as well as symbiont confrontation with the host immune system. We also discuss how the two main transmission modes shape the evolution of the symbiotic partners.

Subfields: Insect Science, Plant Science

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/13e758b8df54ae1b8c3a0150b867f5766728d26f

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Citations in the corpus

Multiorganismal Insects: Diversity and Function of Resident Microorganisms (2014, background): “The difference between the microbiota in the gut and that in the food can be exaggerated by behavioral adaptations that further promote the dominant gut microbial taxa, including coprophagy, trophallaxis (transfer of gut fluids by anus-to-mouth or mouth-to-mouth feeding), and maternal smearing of gu”
Mixing it up: Multiple symbiont acquisition strategies as an adaptive mechanism in the coral Stylophora pistillata (2012, background): “Despite these risks, obligate symbioses are maintained via horizontal transmission in a variety of species (Bright & Bulgheresi 2010; Wilkinson & Sherratt 2 2001; Leigh 2010; Sachs et al. 2011), including most scleractinian corals (Baird et al. 2009).”
Symbiont-mediated insecticide resistance (2012, background): “In contrast to vertical symbiont transmission ubiquitously found in many insects (14, 15), R.”
Mom Knows Best: The Universality of Maternal Microbial Transmission (2013, background): “Maternal transmission in invertebrates has been reviewed elsewhere [22,26,27], and Box 1 and Box 2 highlight examples of heritable symbioses across invertebrate phyla.”
The Epidemiology and Evolution of Symbionts with Mixed-Mode Transmission (2013, background): “Avirulence and mutualism have been described in symbionts with exclusively VT, exclusively HT, and MMT (Bright & Bulgheresi 2010).”
The effect of captivity on the cutaneous bacterial community of the critically endangered Panamanian golden frog (Atelopus zeteki) (2014, background): “Vertical transmission occurs when microorganisms are transferred from parent to offspring (Bright and Bulgheresi, 2010).”
Host Biology in Light of the Microbiome: Ten Principles of Holobionts and Hologenomes (2015, background): “Persuasive evidence is thoroughly reviewed elsewhere [35,105,106].”
The Hologenome Concept: Human, Animal and Plant Microbiota (2014, background): “In an insightful review on transmission of microbial symbionts, Bright and Bulgheresi (2010) divide the modes for maintaining symbionts faithfully between generations into two categories, vertical—from parent and horizontal— from environment, while correctly acknowledging that mixed modes also…”
A critical assessment of the “sterile womb” and “in utero colonization” hypotheses: implications for research on the pioneer infant microbiome (2017, background): “strictly vertical (maternal) to horizontal (transmission between members of the same species or the environment) [5].”
Organisms or biological individuals? Combining physiological and evolutionary individuality (2016, background): “In other cases, for instance in mammals and in many plants, a majority of the members of the microbiota are transmitted horizontally (i.e., they are acquired from the environment) (Bright and Bulgheresi 2010)19.”
Endophytes vs tree pathogens and pests: can they be used as biological control agents to improve tree health? (2019, background): “Host-associated microbes can colonize the host horizontally via the environment, vertically from within the parent to the offspring, or by mixed transmission modes (Bright and Bulgheresi 2010).”
The Evolution of Mutualistic Dependence (2020, background): “This can happen, for instance, via vertical transmission (Bull & Rice 1991, Bright & Bulgheresi 2010) or via mechanisms increasing population viscosity and spatial structuring www.annualreviews.org • The Evolution of Mutualistic Dependence 417 , .”