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Review
. 2015 Apr 9;11(4):e1004714.
doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1004714. eCollection 2015 Apr.

Pathogens as biological weapons of invasive species

Andreas Vilcinskas  1
Affiliations
Review

Pathogens as biological weapons of invasive species

Andreas Vilcinskas. PLoS Pathog. .
No abstract available

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Conflict of interest statement

The author has declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Transmission of pathogens from invasive to native ladybirds.
The invasive ladybird H. axyridis (A) carries a high load of microsporidia in its hemolymph (B), and these parasites are vertically transmitted via the eggs (C) and larvae (D). Native predatory ladybird species such as the larvae of the two-spotted ladybird Adalia bipunctata, which feed H. axyridis eggs, can become infected via the oral uptake of microsporidia (E) and ultimately die (F). Similarly, larvae of the native seven-spotted ladybird C. septempunctata are known predators of smaller H. axyridis larvae (G). Intraguild predation has been postulated as a mechanism enabling the microsporidia carried by H. axyridis to cross the species barrier and infect native ladybirds (H).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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