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Science 3 October 2008:
Vol. 322. no. 5898, p. 63
DOI: 10.1126/science.1160423
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Brevia

Bacterial Protection of Beetle-Fungus Mutualism

Jarrod J. Scott,1* Dong-Chan Oh,2* M. Cetin Yuceer,3 Kier D. Klepzig,4 Jon Clardy,2{dagger} Cameron R. Currie1{dagger}

Host-microbe symbioses play a critical role in the evolution of biological diversity and complexity. In a notably intricate system, southern pine beetles use symbiotic fungi to help overcome host-tree defenses and to provide nutrition for their larvae. We show that this beetle-fungal mutualism is chemically mediated by a bacterially produced polyunsaturated peroxide. The molecule's selective toxicity toward the beetle's fungal antagonist, combined with the prevalence and localization of its bacterial source, indicates an insect-microbe association that is both mutualistic and coevolved. This unexpected finding in a well-studied system indicates that mutualistic associations between insects and antibiotic-producing bacteria are more common than currently recognized and that identifying their small-molecule mediators can provide a powerful search strategy for therapeutically useful antimicrobial compounds.

1 Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI 53706, USA.
2 Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
3 Department of Forestry, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS 39762, USA.
4 U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Southern Research Station, Pineville, LA 71360, USA.

* These authors contributed equally to this work.

{dagger} To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: currie{at}bact.wisc.edu (C.R.C.); jon_clardy{at}hms.harvard.edu (J.C.)

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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)