Always and Forever: A Microscopic Love Story

February 11, 2015 • by Marc Airhart

What if you swapped symbiotic bacteria between two strains of aphid, would the resulting aphids look or act differently than their mothers?

A green insect holds its hands over its heart, which is made up of red microbes

Illustration: Jenna Luecke


Two large insects and several smaller insects

Two mother aphids giving birth, with babies nearby. The babies already have the obligate symbiont (Buchnera) from their mothers at birth. Photo credit: Nancy Moran

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