How efficient is symbiont-mediated protection to heat under daily fluctuating thermal environments? A study on an aphid-bacterium mutualism

These are the two datasets for the article "How efficient is symbiont-mediated protection to heat under daily fluctuating thermal environments? A study on an aphid-bacterium mutualism".

We examined the effects of four thermal regimes defined by their combination of mean temperature (18 or 25°C) and diurnal thermal range (day-night fluctuations: 5 or 10°C) on the interaction between the aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum, its obligate symbiont Buchnera aphidicola and the facultative heat-protective symbiont Serratia symbiotica. We used two clonal lines of A. pisum uninfected (5A) or infected with S. symbiotica (5AR). Thermal treatments were applied form aphid birth to death. We recorded both aphid traits (immature survival rate, longevity, immature development time, total fecundity, body size) and symbiont titres at the onset of reproduction (for both B. aphidicola and S. symbiotica), expressed relatively to aphid gene copy number through quantitative PCRs (qPCRs).

Aphid traits

. Individual = identification of the individual

. Line = aphid clonal line, either deprived of (5A) or infected with S. symbiotica (5AR)

. MT = Mean Temperature, either 18°C or 25°C

. DTR = Diurnal Temperature Range (day-night fluctuations), either 5°C or 10°C

. surv.adult = whether (Y) or not (N) the individual survived until reaching reproduction (immature survival rate)

. adulthood = time elapsed between birth and first reproduction (in days)

. lifespan = time elapsed between birth and death (in days)

. offspring = total number of larvae produced by each aphid throughout lifetime

. tibia = hind tibia length as a proxy of body size (in mm)

. wing = whether (Y) or not (N) the individual developed wings following imaginal moult

Symbiont titres

. Individual = identification of the individual

. Line = aphid clonal line, either deprived of (A) or infected with S. symbiotica (AR)

. MT = Mean Temperature, either 18°C or 25°C

. DTR = Diurnal Temperature Range (day-night fluctuations), either 5°C or 10°C

. QPCR = identification of the microplate used during qPCR analyses (to handle pseudoreplication)

. EfAlph = number of copies of aphid housekeeping gene elongation factor 1-alpha (EF1-α)

. SdEfAlph = standard deviation of the aphid gene copy number, calculated over three technical replicates

. DnaKBa = number of copies of B. aphidicola gene dnaK

. SdDnaKBa = standard deviation of B. aphidicola gene copy number, calculated over three technical replicates

. DnakSs = number of copies of S. symbiotica gene dnaK

. SdDnaKSs = standard deviation of S. symbiotica gene copy number, calculated over three technical replicates

. RappBa = ratio between DnaKBa and EfAlph to calculate relative titre of B. aphidicola

. RappSs = ratio between DnaKSs and EfAlph to calculate relative titre of S. symbiotica