Microbial Population Dynamics in the Hemolymph of Manduca sexta Infected with Xenorhabdus nematophila and the Entomopathogenic Nematode Steinernema carpocapsae

ABSTRACT

Xenorhabdus nematophila engages in a mutualistic association with the nematode Steinernema carpocapsae. The nematode invades and traverses the gut of susceptible insects. X. nematophila is released in the insect blood (hemolymph), where it suppresses host immune responses and functions as a pathogen. X. nematophila produces diverse antimicrobials in laboratory cultures. The natural competitors that X. nematophila encounters in the hemolymph and the role of antimicrobials in interspecies competition in the host are poorly understood. We show that gut microbes translocate into the hemolymph when the nematode penetrates the insect intestine. During natural infection, Staphylococcus saprophyticus was initially present and subsequently disappeared from the hemolymph, while Enterococcus faecalis proliferated. S. saprophyticus was sensitive to X. nematophila antibiotics and was eliminated from the hemolymph when coinjected with X. nematophila. In contrast, E. faecalis was relatively resistant to X. nematophila antibiotics. When injected by itself, E. faecalis persisted (∼10³ CFU/ml), but when coinjected with X. nematophila, it proliferated to ∼10⁹ CFU/ml. Injection of E. faecalis into the insect caused the upregulation of an insect antimicrobial peptide, while the transcript levels were suppressed when E. faecalis was coinjected with X. nematophila. Its relative antibiotic resistance together with suppression of the host immune system by X. nematophila may account for the growth of E. faecalis. At higher injected levels (10⁶ CFU/insect), E. faecalis could kill insects, suggesting that it may contribute to virulence in an X. nematophila infection. These findings provide new insights into the competitive events that occur early in infection after S. carpocapsae invades the host hemocoel.