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Spider mites escape bacterial infection by avoiding contaminated food

Flore Zélé, Gonçalo Santos-Matos, View ORCID ProfileAlexandre Figueiredo, Cátia Eira, Catarina Pinto, View ORCID ProfileTelma Laurentino, View ORCID ProfileÉlio Sucena, Sara Magalhães
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/408203
Flore Zélé
1Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes (cE3c), Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Edificio C2, 3° Piso Campo Grande, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal
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Gonçalo Santos-Matos
1Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes (cE3c), Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Edificio C2, 3° Piso Campo Grande, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal
2Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Apartado 14, 2781-901 Oeiras, Portugal
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Alexandre Figueiredo
1Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes (cE3c), Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Edificio C2, 3° Piso Campo Grande, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal
3Department for Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland
4Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland
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  • ORCID record for Alexandre Figueiredo
Cátia Eira
1Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes (cE3c), Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Edificio C2, 3° Piso Campo Grande, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal
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Catarina Pinto
1Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes (cE3c), Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Edificio C2, 3° Piso Campo Grande, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal
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Telma Laurentino
5Zoological Institute, University of Basel, Vesalgasse 1, 4051 Basel, Switzerland
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Élio Sucena
2Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Apartado 14, 2781-901 Oeiras, Portugal
6Departamento de Biologia Animal, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Campo Grande, Edifício C2, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal
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Sara Magalhães
1Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes (cE3c), Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Edificio C2, 3° Piso Campo Grande, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal
6Departamento de Biologia Animal, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Campo Grande, Edifício C2, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal
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  • For correspondence: snmagalhaes@fc.ul.pt
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Abstract

To fight infection, arthropods rely on the deployment of an innate immune response but also upon physical/chemical barriers and avoidance behaviours. However, most studies focus on immunity, with other defensive mechanisms being relatively overlooked.

We have previously shown that the spider mite Tetranychus urticae does not mount an induced immune response towards systemic bacterial infections, entailing very high mortality rates. Therefore, we hypothesized that other defence mechanisms may be operating to minimize infection risk. Here, we test (a) if spider mites are also highly susceptible to other infection routes - spraying and feeding - and (b) if they display avoidance behaviours towards infected food. Individuals sprayed with or fed on Escherichia coli or Pseudomonas putida survived less than the control, pointing to a deficient capacity of the gut epithelium, and possibly of the cuticle, to contain bacteria. Additionally, we found that spider mites prefer uninfected food to food contaminated with bacteria, a choice that probably does not rely on olfactory cues.

Our results suggest that spider mites may rely mostly on avoidance behaviours to minimize bacterial infection and highlight the multi-layered nature of immune strategies present in arthropods.

AUTHORS’ CONTRIBUTIONS

Experimental conception and design: FZ, GM, ES, SM; acquisition of data: GM, AF, CE, CP, TL; statistical analyses: FZ; paper writing: FZ, GM, SM, with input from all authors. Funding: ES, SM. All authors have read and approved the final version of the manuscript.

Copyright 
The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.
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Posted September 04, 2018.
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Spider mites escape bacterial infection by avoiding contaminated food
Flore Zélé, Gonçalo Santos-Matos, Alexandre Figueiredo, Cátia Eira, Catarina Pinto, Telma Laurentino, Élio Sucena, Sara Magalhães
bioRxiv 408203; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/408203
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Spider mites escape bacterial infection by avoiding contaminated food
Flore Zélé, Gonçalo Santos-Matos, Alexandre Figueiredo, Cátia Eira, Catarina Pinto, Telma Laurentino, Élio Sucena, Sara Magalhães
bioRxiv 408203; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/408203

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