Jena, 02.04.2026 – A recent study by the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena illustrates that even firmly established insect symbioses can be broken up in a very short time. In experimental observations, a newly introduced bacterium displaced the original partner of a grain beetle within just a few generations.
- Who: Research team from the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology (Jena) and the University of Utah
- What: New findings on the fragility of million-year-old symbioses
- Subject of study: Saw-toothed grain beetle (Oryzaephilus surinamensis)
- Key finding: Bacterial life partners can displace each other unexpectedly quickly in terms of evolutionary biology
New bacteria displace old partners
Numerous insect species have lived in an extremely close partnership with specific bacteria for millions of years. These so-called symbionts provide their hosts with vital nutrients. In many cases, both partners are so heavily adapted to each other that they would no longer be able to survive individually. How and why these vital symbionts are nonetheless occasionally replaced in the course of evolution has previously been a mystery to science.
The research group from Jena and Utah has now been able to impressively demonstrate how unstable such ancient connections can be. In their study, they documented that the novel bacterium Sodalis praecaptivus is capable of completely disrupting the existing symbiosis of the saw-toothed grain beetle with its ancestral partner Shikimatogenerans silvanidophilus. The remarkable result: this far-reaching exchange at the microbiological level took place within only a few beetle generations.
Significance for evolutionary research
The data obtained represent a decisive step forward in better understanding the fundamental dynamics and development of symbioses. The study emphatically proves that a newly emerging bacterial partner can rapidly prevail and break up million-year-old life communities. Such an exchange opens up completely new perspectives on the evolutionary adaptability of insects and their microbial companions.
Background: Beutenberg science location
The Max-Planck-Institut für chemische Ökologie is located on the Beutenberg Campus in the south of Jena. This established science location bundles renowned institutes and companies, primarily from the fields of biology, optics, and photonics. Founded in 1996, the Max Planck Institute is a world leader in researching the role of chemical signals in the complex interactions between plants, insects, and microbes in nature.
Source:
Million-year-old insect symbioses are more fragile than expected
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