Academic Journal
Functional trait differences between Tribolium species shape responses to the shared pathogen, Beauveria bassiana.
| Τίτλος: | Functional trait differences between Tribolium species shape responses to the shared pathogen, Beauveria bassiana. |
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| Συγγραφείς: | Krivchenia AG; Department of Biological Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, United States of America. Electronic address: akrivc1@lsu.edu., Goddard J 2nd; Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, Auburn University Montgomery, Montgomery, AL 36124, USA., Shivaji R; Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of North Carolina Greensboro, Greensboro, NC 27402, USA., Cronin JT; Department of Biological Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, United States of America. |
| Πηγή: | Journal of invertebrate pathology [J Invertebr Pathol] 2026 Sep; Vol. 218, pp. 108687. Date of Electronic Publication: 2026 Jun 30. |
| Τύπος έκδοσης: | Journal Article |
| Γλώσσα: | English |
| Στοιχεία περιοδικού: | Publisher: Academic Press Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 0014067 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1096-0805 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 00222011 NLM ISO Abbreviation: J Invertebr Pathol Subsets: MEDLINE |
| Imprint Name(s): | Publication: New York, NY : Academic Press Original Publication: New York. |
| Ιατρικοί όροι (MeSH): | Beauveria*/physiology , Tribolium*/microbiology , Tribolium*/physiology , Host-Pathogen Interactions*, Animals ; Species Specificity |
| Περίληψη: | Understanding how different hosts respond to a shared pathogen is essential for predicting host-pathogen dynamics and coexistence. In this study, we conducted a series of complementary bioassays to examine how two congeneric species of Tribolium beetles differed in their functional traits when exposed to the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana in the absence of competition. The mean fungal concentration required to kill 25% of the beetles and the time to sporulation onset were significantly greater for T. castaneum than T. confusum (9.24% and 23% greater, respectively). There was no difference in infection probability between the two species from the lowest to highest fungal concentrations, but the mean proportion of individuals infected increased by 87% for T. castaneum and 54% for T. confusum. Moreover, the relationship between beetle density and number of individuals killed (i.e., pathogen functional response) fit a Holling type II curve for both species. The two key parameters in the Holling model, attack rate and handling time, did not differ significantly between beetle species. Surprisingly, adult beetles that were exposed to the same range of pathogen concentrations for 24 h did not exhibit a significant reduction in reproductive output (adult offspring produced), likely due to the short timeframe of the study. Together, our results suggest that T. confusum is less resistant to B. bassiana infection compared to T. castaneum. Our findings underscore important interspecific differences in host functional traits and we discuss how variation in host responses to pathogens may influence competitive interactions, coexistence outcomes, and biological control efficiencies. (Copyright © 2026 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.) |
| Competing Interests: | Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. |
| Contributed Indexing: | Keywords: Beauveria bassiana; Flour beetles; Host defense; Host functional traits; Host-pathogen interactions; Pathogen functional response |
| Entry Date(s): | Date Created: 20260630 Date Completed: 20260717 Latest Revision: 20260717 |
| Update Code: | 20260717 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.jip.2026.108687 |
| PMID: | 42379391 |
| Βάση Δεδομένων: | MEDLINE |
| ISSN: | 1096-0805 |
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| DOI: | 10.1016/j.jip.2026.108687 |