Phylogenetic analysis of symbionts in feather-feeding lice of the genus Columbicola: evidence for repeated symbiont replacements

Abstract

Our findings suggest that repeated, independent symbiont replacements have taken place over the course of the relatively recent radiation of Columbicola spp. These results are compatible with the notion that lice and other insects have the capability to acquire novel symbionts through the domestication of progenitor strains residing in their local environment.