Piotr Łukasik

TL;DR: It is shown that protection against this entomopathogen, Pandora neoaphidis, can be conferred by strains of four distantly related symbionts (in the genera Regiella,Rickettsia, Rickettsiella and Spiroplasma), which reduce mortality and also decrease fungal sporulation on dead aphids which may help protect nearby genetically identical insects.

TL;DR: In this article, the authors quantified the cytoplasmically inherited genetic variation contributed by symbionts within North American pea aphids using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and 454 amplicon pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA genes.

TL;DR: An insect group wherein an ancient symbiont lineage suffering massive genome erosion has experienced recurrent extinction and replacement by host-associated pathogenic microbes is reported, highlighting a straightforward ecological and evolutionary connection between parasitism and symbiosis.

TL;DR: The pathogen‐protective phenotype conferred by the symbionts Rickettsia and Spiroplasma varied among host genotypes, but was not influenced by co‐infection with Hamiltonella.

TL;DR: Seasonal shifts in the frequencies of heritable defensive bacteria from natural pea aphid populations across two host races and geographic regions suggest microbiome instability in several populations, with potentially large costs of ‘superinfection’ under certain environmental conditions.