An aphid symbiont confers protection against a specialized RNA virus, another increases vulnerability to the same pathogen

Insects often harbor heritable symbionts that provide defense against specialized natural enemies, yet little is known about symbiont protection when hosts face simultaneous threats. In pea aphids (Acyrthosiphon pisum), the facultative endosymbiont Hamiltonella defensa confers protection against the parasitoid, Aphidius ervi, and Regiella insecticola protects against aphid-specific fungal pathogens, including Pandora neoaphidis. Here we investigated whether these two common aphid symbionts protect against a specialized virus A. pisum virus (APV), and whether their anti-fungal and anti-parasitoid services are impacted by APV infection. We found that APV imposed large fitness costs on symbiont-free aphids and these costs were elevated in aphids also housing H. defensa. In contrast, APV titers were significantly reduced and costs to APV infection were largely eliminated in aphids with R. insecticola. To our knowledge, R. insecticola is the first aphid symbiont shown to protect against a vi..., Please see refer to the accompanying published article:Higashi, C. H. V., Nichols, W. L., Chevignon, G., Patel, V., Allison, S. E., Kim, K. L., ... & Oliver, K. M. (2022). An aphid symbiont confers protection against a specialized RNA virus, another increases vulnerability to the same pathogen. Molecular Ecology.,