Heritable symbionts in a world of varying temperature

Abstract

Heritable microbes represent an important component of the biology, ecology and evolution of many plants, animals and fungi, acting as both parasites and partners. In this review, we examine how heritable symbiont-host interactions may alter host thermal tolerance, and how the dynamics of these interactions may more generally be altered by thermal environment. Obligate symbionts, those required by their host, are considered to represent a thermally sensitive weak point for their host, associated with accumulation of deleterious mutations. As such, these symbionts may represent an important determinant of host thermal envelope and spatial distribution. We then examine the varied relationship between thermal environment and the frequency of facultative symbionts that provide ecologically contingent benefits or act as parasites. We note that some facultative symbionts directly alter host thermotolerance. We outline how thermal environment will alter the benefits/costs of infection more widely, and additionally modulate vertical transmission efficiency. Multiple patterns are observed, with symbionts being cold sensitive in some species and heat sensitive in others, with varying and non-coincident thresholds at which phenotype and transmission are ablated. Nevertheless, it is clear that studies aiming to predict ecological and evolutionary dynamics of symbiont-host interactions need to examine the interaction across a range of thermal environments. Finally, we discuss the importance of thermal sensitivity in predicting the success/failure of symbionts to spread into novel species following natural/engineered introduction.