Are competitive interactions between aphid clones mediated by facultative endosymbionts?

Facultative bacterial endosymbionts are key components of aphid biology, influencing host performance and ecological interactions. We investigated how facultative endosymbionts affect competitive interactions between aphid clones of the cereal aphid Sitobion avenae (Fabricius) in Chilean wheat fields. We assessed the population development and life-history traits of the two dominant genotypes (G1 and G2) under single-clone rearing, intra- and inter-genotypic competition scenarios, with and without the facultative endosymbiont Regiella insecticola shaping these interactions. Our findings reveal that R. insecticola does not significantly alter inter-genotypic competition outcomes: clone G2 consistently outcompeted G1 regardless of infection status. However, under intra-genotypic competition, R. insecticola-infected G1 aphids outperformed their uninfected counterparts, while the opposite trend was observed in G2. R. insecticola influenced winged morph production and aphid weight in a genot..., , # Are competitive interactions between aphid clones mediated by facultative endosymbionts?

Dataset DOI: [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.dncjsxmcp](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.dncjsxmcp)

## Description of the data and file structure

This dataset contains the raw data collected from experiments evaluating the effects of facultative bacterial endosymbionts on aphid population dynamics and the competitive interactions between two *Sitobion avenae* genotypes (G1 and G2). Each genotype was experimentally manipulated to either retain or remove the facultative endosymbiont *Regiella insecticola*, resulting in four asexual lineages: G1+, G1−, G2+, and G2−. The symbols “+” and “−” indicate individuals infected or uninfected with *R. insecticola*, respectively. These lineages were combined in different pairings to assess ecological competition, and aphid numbers were recorded across multiple time points under controlled experimental conditions. Treatments varied in aphid genotype and symbiont ...,