| solving gap metabolites and blocked reactions in genome-scale models: application to the metabolic network of blattabacterium cuenoti. | metabolic reconstruction is the computational-based process that aims to elucidate the network of metabolites interconnected through reactions catalyzed by activities assigned to one or more genes. reconstructed models may contain inconsistencies that appear as gap metabolites and blocked reactions. although automatic methods for solving this problem have been previously developed, there are many situations where manual curation is still needed. | 2013 | 24176055 |
| how does tremblaya princeps get essential proteins from its nested partner moranella endobia in the mealybug planoccocus citri? | many insects maintain intracellular mutualistic symbiosis with a wide range of bacteria which are considered essential for their survival (primary or p-endosymbiont) and typically suffer drastic genome degradation. progressive loss of p-endosymbiont metabolic capabilities could lead to the recruitment of co-existent facultative endosymbiont (secondary or s-endosymbiont), thus adding more complexity to the symbiotic system. planococcus citri, among other mealybug species, harbors an unconventiona ... | 2013 | 24204799 |
| a review of bacteria-animal lateral gene transfer may inform our understanding of diseases like cancer. | lateral gene transfer (lgt) from bacteria to animals occurs more frequently than was appreciated prior to the advent of genome sequencing. in 2007, lgt from bacterial wolbachia endosymbionts was detected in ~33% of the sequenced arthropod genomes using a bioinformatic approach. today, wolbachia/host lgt is thought to be widespread and many other cases of bacteria-animal lgt have been described. in insects, lgt may be more frequently associated with endosymbionts that colonize germ cells and germ ... | 2013 | 24146634 |
| in silico experimental evolution: a tool to test evolutionary scenarios. | comparative genomics has revealed that some species have exceptional genomes, compared to their closest relatives. for instance, some species have undergone a strong reduction of their genome with a drastic reduction of their genic repertoire. deciphering the causes of these atypical trajectories can be very difficult because of the many phenomena that are intertwined during their evolution (e.g. changes of population size, environment structure and dynamics, selection strength, mutation rates.. ... | 2013 | 24564457 |
| effects of heat shock on resistance to parasitoids and on life history traits in an aphid/endosymbiont system. | temperature variation is an important factor determining the outcomes of interspecific interactions, including those involving hosts and parasites. this can apply to variation in average temperature or to relatively short but intense bouts of extreme temperature. we investigated the effect of heat shock on the ability of aphids (aphis fabae) harbouring protective facultative endosymbionts (hamiltonella defensa) to resist parasitism by hymenopteran parasitoids (lysiphlebus fabarum). furthermore, ... | 2013 | 24143175 |
| seasonally variable intestinal metagenomes of the red palm weevil (rhynchophorus ferrugineus). | the intestinal microbes residing in the red palm weevil (rpw, rhynchophorus ferrugineus) larva consume tender interior fibrous tissues of date palm trunks. the understanding of such microbiota at molecular level provides vital clues for the biological control of this devastating pest. using pyrosequencing and shotgun strategy, we first study taxonomic profiles of the microbiota sampled at different months (march, july and november), and then confirm the impact of high-temperature stress on the m ... | 2013 | 24102776 |
| unpredicted impacts of insect endosymbionts on interactions between soil organisms, plants and aphids. | ecologically significant symbiotic associations are frequently studied in isolation, but such studies of two-way interactions cannot always predict the responses of organisms in a community setting. to explore this issue, we adopt a community approach to examine the role of plant-microbial and insect-microbial symbioses in modulating a plant-herbivore interaction. potato plants were grown under glass in controlled conditions and subjected to feeding from the potato aphid macrosiphum euphorbiae. ... | 2013 | 23926148 |
| shared metabolic pathways in a coevolved insect-bacterial symbiosis. | the symbiotic bacterium buchnera aphidicola lacks key genes in the biosynthesis of five essential amino acids (eaas), and yet its animal hosts (aphids) depend on the symbiosis for the synthesis of these eaas (isoleucine, leucine, methionine, phenylalanine, and valine). we tested the hypothesis, derived from genome annotation, that the missing buchnera reactions are mediated by host enzymes, with the exchange of metabolic intermediates between the partners. the specialized host cells bearing buch ... | 2013 | 23892755 |
| interwoven biology of the tsetse holobiont. | microbial symbionts can be instrumental to the evolutionary success of their hosts. here, we discuss medically significant tsetse flies (diptera: glossinidae), a group comprised of over 30 species, and their use as a valuable model system to study the evolution of the holobiont (i.e., the host and associated microbes). we first describe the tsetse microbiota, which, despite its simplicity, harbors a diverse range of associations. the maternally transmitted microbes consistently include two gamma ... | 2013 | 23836873 |
| role of symbiotic bacteria in the growth and development of the sunn pest, eurygaster integriceps. | the sunn pest, eurygaster integriceps puton (hemiptera: scutelleridae), is the most important pest of wheat and barley in wide areas of the world. different aspects of the insect's life history have been studied, but to date nothing is known about their microbial symbionts. here, the contribution of symbiotic bacteria to the fitness of the bug was investigated by combining two different approaches to manipulate the host's microbial community: the supplementation of antibiotics into the insects' ... | 2013 | 24205987 |
| recognizing short coding sequences of prokaryotic genome using a novel iteratively adaptive sparse partial least squares algorithm. | significant efforts have been made to address the problem of identifying short genes in prokaryotic genomes. however, most known methods are not effective in detecting short genes. because of the limited information contained in short dna sequences, it is very difficult to accurately distinguish between protein coding and non-coding sequences in prokaryotic genomes. we have developed a new iteratively adaptive sparse partial least squares (iaspls) algorithm as the classifier to improve the accur ... | 2013 | 24067167 |
| proteomic investigation of aphid honeydew reveals an unexpected diversity of proteins. | aphids feed on the phloem sap of plants, and are the most common honeydew-producing insects. while aphid honeydew is primarily considered to comprise sugars and amino acids, its protein diversity has yet to be documented. here, we report on the investigation of the honeydew proteome from the pea aphid acyrthosiphon pisum. using a two-dimensional differential in-gel electrophoresis (2d-dige) approach, more than 140 spots were isolated, demonstrating that aphid honeydew also represents a diverse s ... | 2013 | 24086359 |
| is ecological speciation a major trend in aphids? insights from a molecular phylogeny of the conifer-feeding genus cinara. | in the past decade ecological speciation has been recognized as having an important role in the diversification of plant-feeding insects. aphids are host-specialised phytophagous insects that mate on their host plants and, as such, they are prone to experience reproductive isolation linked with host plant association that could ultimately lead to species formation. the generality of such a scenario remains to be tested through macroevolutionary studies. to explore the prevalence of host-driven s ... | 2013 | 24044736 |
| detection of a novel intracellular microbiome hosted in arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. | arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (amf) are important members of the plant microbiome. they are obligate biotrophs that colonize the roots of most land plants and enhance host nutrient acquisition. many amf themselves harbor endobacteria in their hyphae and spores. two types of endobacteria are known in glomeromycota: rod-shaped gram-negative candidatus glomeribacter gigasporarum, cagg, limited in distribution to members of the gigasporaceae family, and coccoid mollicutes-related endobacteria, mre, w ... | 2013 | 24008325 |
| detection of a novel intracellular microbiome hosted in arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. | arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (amf) are important members of the plant microbiome. they are obligate biotrophs that colonize the roots of most land plants and enhance host nutrient acquisition. many amf themselves harbor endobacteria in their hyphae and spores. two types of endobacteria are known in glomeromycota: rod-shaped gram-negative candidatus glomeribacter gigasporarum, cagg, limited in distribution to members of the gigasporaceae family, and coccoid mollicutes-related endobacteria, mre, w ... | 2013 | 24008325 |
| applying horizontal gene transfer phenomena to enhance non-viral gene therapy. | horizontal gene transfer (hgt) is widespread amongst prokaryotes, but eukaryotes tend to be far less promiscuous with their genetic information. however, several examples of hgt from pathogens into eukaryotic cells have been discovered and mimicked to improve non-viral gene delivery techniques. for example, several viral proteins and dna sequences have been used to significantly increase cytoplasmic and nuclear gene delivery. plant genetic engineering is routinely performed with the pathogenic b ... | 2013 | 23994344 |
| how phloem-feeding insects face the challenge of phloem-located defenses. | due to the high content of nutrient, sieve tubes are a primary target for pests, e.g., most phytophagous hemipteran. to protect the integrity of the sieve tubes as well as their content, plants possess diverse chemical and physical defense mechanisms. the latter mechanisms are important because they can potentially interfere with the food source accession of phloem-feeding insects. physical defense mechanisms are based on callose as well as on proteins and often plug the sieve tube. insects that ... | 2013 | 24009620 |
| characterization of the bacterial community associated with larvae and adults of anoplophora chinensis collected in italy by culture and culture-independent methods. | the wood-boring beetle anoplophora chinensis forster, native to china, has recently spread to north america and europe causing serious damage to ornamental and forest trees. the gut microbial community associated with these xylophagous beetles is of interest for potential biotechnological applications in lignocellulose degradation and development of pest-control measures. in this study the gut bacterial community of larvae and adults of a. chinensis, collected from different host trees in north ... | 2013 | 24069601 |
| mom knows best: the universality of maternal microbial transmission. | the sterile womb paradigm is an enduring premise in biology that human infants are born sterile. recent studies suggest that infants incorporate an initial microbiome before birth and receive copious supplementation of maternal microbes through birth and breastfeeding. moreover, evidence for microbial maternal transmission is increasingly widespread across animals. this collective knowledge compels a paradigm shift—one in which maternal transmission of microbes advances from a taxonomically spec ... | 2013 | 23976878 |
| adaptive evolution of a generalist parasitoid: implications for the effectiveness of biological control agents. | the use of alternative hosts imposes divergent selection pressures on parasitoid populations. in response to selective pressures, these populations may follow different evolutionary trajectories. divergent natural selection could promote local host adaptation in populations, translating into direct benefits for biological control, thereby increasing their effectiveness on the target host. alternatively, adaptive phenotypic plasticity could be favored over local adaptation in temporal and spatial ... | 2013 | 24062806 |
| implementing an evolutionary framework for understanding genetic relationships of phenotypically defined insect biotypes in the invasive soybean aphid (aphis glycines). | adaptive evolution of pest insects in response to the introduction of resistant cultivars is well documented and commonly results in virulent (i.e., capable of feeding upon resistant cultivars) insect populations being labeled as distinct biotypes. phenotypically defined, biotypes frequently remain evolutionarily indistinct, resulting in ineffective application of virulence control measures and shorter durability of resistant cultivars. here, we utilize an evolutionary framework to discern the g ... | 2013 | 24187586 |
| comparative genomics of bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis reveals a strict monophyletic bifidobacterial taxon. | strains of bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis are extensively exploited by the food industry as health-promoting bacteria, although the genetic variability of members belonging to this taxon has so far not received much scientific attention. in this article, we describe the complete genetic makeup of the b. animalis subsp. lactis bl12 genome and discuss the genetic relatedness of this strain with other sequenced strains belonging to this taxon. moreover, a detailed comparative genomic analys ... | 2013 | 23645200 |
| genome reduction as the dominant mode of evolution. | a common belief is that evolution generally proceeds towards greater complexity at both the organismal and the genomic level, numerous examples of reductive evolution of parasites and symbionts notwithstanding. however, recent evolutionary reconstructions challenge this notion. two notable examples are the reconstruction of the complex archaeal ancestor and the intron-rich ancestor of eukaryotes. in both cases, evolution in most of the lineages was apparently dominated by extensive loss of genes ... | 2013 | 23801028 |
| microbial brokers of insect-plant interactions revisited. | recent advances in sequencing methods have transformed the field of microbial ecology, making it possible to determine the composition and functional capabilities of uncultured microorganisms. these technologies have been instrumental in the recognition that resident microorganisms can have profound effects on the phenotype and fitness of their animal hosts by modulating the animal signaling networks that regulate growth, development, behavior, etc. against this backdrop, this review assesses th ... | 2013 | 23793897 |
| simple topological properties predict functional misannotations in a metabolic network. | misannotation in sequence databases is an important obstacle for automated tools for gene function annotation, which rely extensively on comparison with sequences with known function. to improve current annotations and prevent future propagation of errors, sequence-independent tools are, therefore, needed to assist in the identification of misannotated gene products. in the case of enzymatic functions, each functional assignment implies the existence of a reaction within the organism's metabolic ... | 2013 | 23812979 |
| genome dynamics in legionella: the basis of versatility and adaptation to intracellular replication. | legionella pneumophila is a bacterial pathogen present in aquatic environments that can cause a severe pneumonia called legionnaires' disease. soon after its recognition, it was shown that legionella replicates inside amoeba, suggesting that bacteria replicating in environmental protozoa are able to exploit conserved signaling pathways in human phagocytic cells. comparative, evolutionary, and functional genomics suggests that the legionella-amoeba interaction has shaped this pathogen more than p ... | 2013 | 23732852 |
| phylogenetic analysis of symbionts in feather-feeding lice of the genus columbicola: evidence for repeated symbiont replacements. | many groups of insects have obligate bacterial symbionts that are vertically transmitted. such associations are typically characterized by the presence of a monophyletic group of bacteria living in a well-defined host clade. in addition the phylogeny of the symbiotic bacteria is typically congruent with that of the host, signifying co-speciation. here we show that bacteria living in a single genus of feather lice, columbicola (insecta: phthiraptera), present an exception to this typical pattern. | 2013 | 23725492 |
| environment exploration and colonization behavior of the pea aphid associated with the expression of the foraging gene. | aphids respond to specific environmental cues by producing alternative morphs, a phenomenon called polyphenism, but also by modulating their individual behavior even within the same morph. this complex plasticity allows a rapid adaptation of individuals to fluctuating environmental conditions, but the underlying genetic and molecular mechanisms remain largely unknown. the foraging gene is known to be associated with behavior in various species and has been shown to mediate the behavioral shift i ... | 2013 | 23734236 |
| diversity and function of bacterial microbiota in the mosquito holobiont. | mosquitoes (diptera: culicidae) have been shown to host diverse bacterial communities that vary depending on the sex of the mosquito, the developmental stage, and ecological factors. some studies have suggested a potential role of microbiota in the nutritional, developmental and reproductive biology of mosquitoes. here, we present a review of the diversity and functions of mosquito-associated bacteria across multiple variation factors, emphasizing recent findings. mosquito microbiota is consider ... | 2013 | 23688194 |
| the endosymbiont arsenophonus is widespread in soybean aphid, aphis glycines, but does not provide protection from parasitoids or a fungal pathogen. | aphids commonly harbor bacterial facultative symbionts that have a variety of effects upon their aphid hosts, including defense against hymenopteran parasitoids and fungal pathogens. the soybean aphid, aphis glycines matsumura (hemiptera: aphididae), is infected with the symbiont arsenophonus sp., which has an unknown role in its aphid host. our research goals were to document the infection frequency and diversity of the symbiont in field-collected soybean aphids, and to determine whether arseno ... | 2013 | 23614027 |
| a cross-taxon analysis of insect-associated bacterial diversity. | although it is well known that plants and animals harbor microbial symbionts that can influence host traits, the factors regulating the structure of these microbial communities often remain largely undetermined. this is particularly true for insect-associated microbial communities, as few cross-taxon comparisons have been conducted to date. to address this knowledge gap and determine how host phylogeny and ecology affect insect-associated microbial communities, we collected 137 insect specimens ... | 2013 | 23613815 |
| tyrosine pathway regulation is host-mediated in the pea aphid symbiosis during late embryonic and early larval development. | nutritional symbioses play a central role in insects' adaptation to specialized diets and in their evolutionary success. the obligatory symbiosis between the pea aphid, acyrthosiphon pisum, and the bacterium, buchnera aphidicola, is no exception as it enables this important agricultural pest insect to develop on a diet exclusively based on plant phloem sap. the symbiotic bacteria provide the host with essential amino acids lacking in its diet but necessary for the rapid embryonic growth seen in ... | 2013 | 23575215 |
| symbiont-mediated functions in insect hosts. | the bacterial endosymbionts occur in a diverse array of insect species and are usually rely within the vertical transmission from mothers to offspring. in addition to primary symbionts, plant sap-sucking insects may also harbor several diverse secondary symbionts. bacterial symbionts play a prominent role in insect nutritional ecology by aiding in digestion of food or supplementing nutrients that insect hosts can't obtain sufficient amounts from a restricted diet of plant phloem. currently, seve ... | 2013 | 23710278 |
| functional and evolutionary analysis of the genome of an obligate fungal symbiont. | nutritional symbionts of insects include some of the most bizarre genomes studied to date, with extremely reduced size, biased base composition, and limited metabolic abilities. a monophyletic group of aphids within the subfamily cerataphidinae have lost the bacterial symbiont common to all other aphididae (buchnera aphidicola), which have been replaced by a eukaryotic one, the yeast-like symbiont (yls). as symbionts are expected to experience reduced effective population size (ne) and largely c ... | 2013 | 23563967 |
| comparative genomics of wolbachia and the bacterial species concept. | the importance of host-specialization to speciation processes in obligate host-associated bacteria is well known, as is also the ability of recombination to generate cohesion in bacterial populations. however, whether divergent strains of highly recombining intracellular bacteria, such as wolbachia, can maintain their genetic distinctness when infecting the same host is not known. we first developed a protocol for the genome sequencing of uncultivable endosymbionts. using this method, we have se ... | 2013 | 23593012 |
| mealybugs nested endosymbiosis: going into the 'matryoshka' system in planococcus citri in depth. | in all branches of life there are plenty of symbiotic associations. insects are particularly well suited to establishing intracellular symbiosis with bacteria, providing them with metabolic capabilities they lack. essential primary endosymbionts can coexist with facultative secondary symbionts which can, eventually, establish metabolic complementation with the primary endosymbiont, becoming a co-primary. usually, both endosymbionts maintain their cellular identity. an exception is the endosymbio ... | 2013 | 23548081 |
| the evolution of genomic instability in the obligate endosymbionts of whiteflies. | many insects depend on ancient associations with intracellular bacteria to perform essential metabolic functions. these endosymbionts exhibit striking examples of convergence in genome architecture, including a high degree of structural stability that is not typical of their free-living counterparts. however, the recently sequenced genome of the obligate whitefly endosymbiont portiera revealed features that distinguish it from other ancient insect associates, such as a low gene density and the p ... | 2013 | 23542079 |
| bacterial communities associated with the surfaces of fresh fruits and vegetables. | fresh fruits and vegetables can harbor large and diverse populations of bacteria. however, most of the work on produce-associated bacteria has focused on a relatively small number of pathogenic bacteria and, as a result, we know far less about the overall diversity and composition of those bacterial communities found on produce and how the structure of these communities varies across produce types. moreover, we lack a comprehensive view of the potential effects of differing farming practices on ... | 2013 | 23544058 |
| genomic comparison between salmonella gallinarum and pullorum: differential pseudogene formation under common host restriction. | salmonella serovars enteritidis and gallinarum are closely related, but their host ranges are very different: the former is host-promiscuous and the latter can infect poultry only. comparison of their genomic sequences reveals that gallinarum has undergone much more extensive degradation than enteritidis. this phenomenon has also been observed in other host restricted salmonella serovars, such as typhi and paratyphi a. the serovar gallinarum can be further split into two biovars: gallinarum and ... | 2013 | 23555032 |
| endosymbiotic bacteria in insects: guardians of the immune system? | insects have evolved obligate, mutualistic interactions with bacteria without further transmission to other eukaryotic organisms. such long-term obligate partnerships between insects and bacteria have a profound effect on various physiological functions of the host. here we provide an overview of the effects of endosymbiotic bacteria on the insect immune system as well as on the immune response of insects to pathogenic infections. potential mechanisms through which endosymbionts can affect the a ... | 2013 | 23508299 |
| bacterial dna sifted from the trichoplax adhaerens (animalia: placozoa) genome project reveals a putative rickettsial endosymbiont. | eukaryotic genome sequencing projects often yield bacterial dna sequences, data typically considered as microbial contamination. however, these sequences may also indicate either symbiont genes or lateral gene transfer (lgt) to host genomes. these bacterial sequences can provide clues about eukaryote-microbe interactions. here, we used the genome of the primitive animal trichoplax adhaerens (metazoa: placozoa), which is known to harbor an uncharacterized gram-negative endosymbiont, to search for ... | 2013 | 23475938 |
| comparison of the genome sequences of "candidatus portiera aleyrodidarum" primary endosymbionts of the whitefly bemisia tabaci b and q biotypes. | "candidatus portiera aleyrodidarum" is the primary endosymbiont of whiteflies. we report two complete genome sequences of this bacterium from the worldwide invasive b and q biotypes of the whitefly bemisia tabaci. differences in the two genome sequences may add insights into the complex differences in the biology of both biotypes. | 2013 | 23315735 |
| localization, concentration, and transmission efficiency of banana bunchy top virus in four asexual lineages of pentalonia aphids. | banana bunchy top virus (bbtv) is the most destructive pathogenic virus of banana plants worldwide. the virus is transmitted in a circulative non-propagative manner by the banana aphid, pentalonia nigronervosa coquerel. in this work, we examined the localization, accumulation, and transmission efficiency of bbtv in four laboratory-established lineages of pentalonia aphids derived from four different host plants: taro (colocasia esculenta), heliconia (heliconia spp.), red ginger (alpinia purpurat ... | 2013 | 23435241 |
| genomic analysis of the regulatory elements and links with intrinsic dna structural properties in the shrunken genome of buchnera. | buchnera aphidicola is an obligate symbiotic bacterium, associated with most of the aphididae, whose genome has drastically shrunk during intracellular evolution. gene regulation in buchnera has been a matter of controversy in recent years as the combination of genomic information with the experimental results has been contradictory, refuting or arguing in favour of a functional and responsive transcription regulation in buchnera.the goal of this study was to describe the gene transcription regu ... | 2013 | 23375088 |
| comparative genomics of blattabacterium cuenoti: the frozen legacy of an ancient endosymbiont genome. | many insect species have established long-term symbiotic relationships with intracellular bacteria. symbiosis with bacteria has provided insects with novel ecological capabilities, which have allowed them colonize previously unexplored niches. despite its importance to the understanding of the emergence of biological complexity, the evolution of symbiotic relationships remains hitherto a mystery in evolutionary biology. in this study, we contribute to the investigation of the evolutionary leaps ... | 2013 | 23355305 |
| phage loss and the breakdown of a defensive symbiosis in aphids. | terrestrial arthropods are often infected with heritable bacterial symbionts, which may themselves be infected by bacteriophages. however, what role, if any, bacteriophages play in the regulation and maintenance of insect-bacteria symbioses is largely unknown. infection of the aphid acyrthosiphon pisum by the bacterial symbiont hamiltonella defensa confers protection against parasitoid wasps, but only when h. defensa is itself infected by the phage a. pisum secondary endosymbiont (apse). here, w ... | 2013 | 23193123 |
| detection of genomic idiosyncrasies using fuzzy phylogenetic profiles. | phylogenetic profiles express the presence or absence of genes and their homologs across a number of reference genomes. they have emerged as an elegant representation framework for comparative genomics and have been used for the genome-wide inference and discovery of functionally linked genes or metabolic pathways. as the number of reference genomes grows, there is an acute need for faster and more accurate methods for phylogenetic profile analysis with increased performance in speed and quality ... | 2013 | 23341912 |
| relationship between water soluble carbohydrate content, aphid endosymbionts and clonal performance of sitobion avenae on cocksfoot cultivars. | aphids feed on plant phloem sap, rich in sugars but poor in essential amino acids. however, sugars cause osmotic regulation problems for aphids, which they overcome by hydrolysing the sugars in their gut and polymerising the hydrolysis products into oligosaccharides, excreted with honeydew. aphids harbour primary bacterial endosymbionts, which supply them with essential amino acids necessary for survival. they also harbour secondary (facultative) endosymbionts (sfs), some of which have a positiv ... | 2013 | 23342134 |
| transcriptome of dickeya dadantii infecting acyrthosiphon pisum reveals a strong defense against antimicrobial peptides. | the plant pathogenic bacterium dickeya dadantii has recently been shown to be able to kill the aphid acyrthosiphon pisum. while the factors required to cause plant disease are now well characterized, those required for insect pathogeny remain mostly unknown. to identify these factors, we analyzed the transcriptome of the bacteria isolated from infected aphids. more than 150 genes were upregulated and 300 downregulated more than 5-fold at 3 days post infection. no homologue to known toxin genes c ... | 2013 | 23342088 |
| aphids evolved novel secreted proteins for symbiosis with bacterial endosymbiont. | aphids evolved novel cells, called bacteriocytes, that differentiate specifically to harbour the obligatory mutualistic endosymbiotic bacteria buchnera aphidicola. the genome of the host aphid acyrthosiphon pisum contains many orphan genes that display no similarity with genes found in other sequenced organisms, prompting us to hypothesize that some of these orphan genes are related to lineage-specific traits, such as symbiosis. we conducted deep sequencing of bacteriocytes mrna followed by whol ... | 2013 | 23173201 |
| surveying the microbiome of ants: comparing 454 pyrosequencing with traditional methods to uncover bacterial diversity. | we are only beginning to understand the depth and breadth of microbial associations across the eukaryotic tree of life. reliably assessing bacterial diversity is a key challenge, and next-generation sequencing approaches are facilitating this endeavor. in this study, we used 16s rrna amplicon pyrosequencing to survey microbial diversity in ants. we compared 454 libraries with sanger-sequenced clone libraries as well as cultivation of live bacteria. pyrosequencing yielded 95,656 bacterial 16s rrn ... | 2013 | 23124239 |
| evolution of small prokaryotic genomes. | as revealed by genome sequencing, the biology of prokaryotes with reduced genomes is strikingly diverse. these include free-living prokaryotes with ∼800 genes as well as endosymbiotic bacteria with as few as ∼140 genes. comparative genomics is revealing the evolutionary mechanisms that led to these small genomes. in the case of free-living prokaryotes, natural selection directly favored genome reduction, while in the case of endosymbiotic prokaryotes neutral processes played a more prominent rol ... | 2014 | 25610432 |
| evolution of small prokaryotic genomes. | as revealed by genome sequencing, the biology of prokaryotes with reduced genomes is strikingly diverse. these include free-living prokaryotes with ∼800 genes as well as endosymbiotic bacteria with as few as ∼140 genes. comparative genomics is revealing the evolutionary mechanisms that led to these small genomes. in the case of free-living prokaryotes, natural selection directly favored genome reduction, while in the case of endosymbiotic prokaryotes neutral processes played a more prominent rol ... | 2014 | 25610432 |
| environmentally selected aphid variants in clonality context display differential patterns of methylation in the genome. | heritability of acquired phenotypic traits is an adaptive evolutionary process that appears more complex than the basic allele selection guided by environmental pressure. in insects, the trans-generational transmission of epigenetic marks in clonal and/or sexual species is poorly documented. aphids were used as a model to explore this feature because their asexual phase generates a stochastic and/or environment-oriented repertoire of variants. the a priori unchanged genome in clonal individuals ... | 2014 | 25551225 |
| abiotic and biotic stressors causing equivalent mortality induce highly variable transcriptional responses in the soybean aphid. | environmental stress affects basic organismal functioning and can cause physiological, developmental, and reproductive impairment. however, in many nonmodel organisms, the core molecular stress response remains poorly characterized and the extent to which stress-induced transcriptional changes differ across qualitatively different stress types is largely unexplored. the current study examines the molecular stress response of the soybean aphid (aphis glycines) using rna sequencing and compares tr ... | 2014 | 25538100 |
| abiotic and biotic stressors causing equivalent mortality induce highly variable transcriptional responses in the soybean aphid. | environmental stress affects basic organismal functioning and can cause physiological, developmental, and reproductive impairment. however, in many nonmodel organisms, the core molecular stress response remains poorly characterized and the extent to which stress-induced transcriptional changes differ across qualitatively different stress types is largely unexplored. the current study examines the molecular stress response of the soybean aphid (aphis glycines) using rna sequencing and compares tr ... | 2014 | 25538100 |
| a substrate ambiguous enzyme facilitates genome reduction in an intracellular symbiont. | genome evolution in intracellular microbial symbionts is characterized by gene loss, generating some of the smallest and most gene-poor genomes known. as a result of gene loss these genomes commonly contain metabolic pathways that are fragmented relative to their free-living relatives. the evolutionary retention of fragmented metabolic pathways in the gene-poor genomes of endosymbionts suggests that they are functional. however, it is not always clear how they maintain functionality. to date, th ... | 2014 | 25527092 |
| extensive duplication of the wolbachia dna in chromosome four of drosophila ananassae. | lateral gene transfer (lgt) from bacterial wolbachia endosymbionts has been detected in ~20% of arthropod and nematode genome sequencing projects. many of these transfers are large and contain a substantial part of the wolbachia genome. | 2014 | 25496002 |
| inference of the oxidative stress network in anopheles stephensi upon plasmodium infection. | ookinete invasion of anopheles midgut is a critical step for malaria transmission; the parasite numbers drop drastically and practically reach a minimum during the parasite's whole life cycle. at this stage, the parasite as well as the vector undergoes immense oxidative stress. thereafter, the vector undergoes oxidative stress at different time points as the parasite invades its tissues during the parasite development. the present study was undertaken to reconstruct the network of differentially ... | 2014 | 25474020 |
| plant immunity in plant-aphid interactions. | aphids are economically important pests that cause extensive feeding damage and transmit viruses. while some species have a broad host range and cause damage to a variety of crops, others are restricted to only closely related plant species. while probing and feeding aphids secrete saliva, containing effectors, into their hosts to manipulate host cell processes and promote infestation. aphid effector discovery studies pointed out parallels between infection and infestation strategies of plant pa ... | 2014 | 25520727 |
| comparative transcriptomic analyses revealed divergences of two agriculturally important aphid species. | grain aphid (sitobion avenae f) and pea aphid (acyrthosiphon pisum) are two agriculturally important pest species, which cause significant yield losses to crop plants each year by inflicting damage both through the direct effects of feeding and by vectoring debilitating plant viruses. although a close phylogenetic relationship between grain aphid and pea aphid was proposed, the biological variations between these two aphid species are obvious. while the host ranges of grain aphid is restricted t ... | 2014 | 25424897 |
| adenine methylation may contribute to endosymbiont selection in a clonal aphid population. | the pea aphid acyrthosiphon pisum has two modes of reproduction: parthenogenetic during the spring and summer and sexual in autumn. this ability to alternate between reproductive modes and the emergence of clonal populations under favorable conditions make this organism an interesting model for genetic and epigenetic studies. the pea aphid hosts different types of endosymbiotic bacteria within bacteriocytes which help the aphids survive and adapt to new environmental conditions and habitats. the ... | 2014 | 25406741 |
| average oxidation state of carbon in proteins. | the formal oxidation state of carbon atoms in organic molecules depends on the covalent structure. in proteins, the average oxidation state of carbon (z(c)) can be calculated as an elemental ratio from the chemical formula. to investigate oxidation-reduction (redox) patterns, groups of proteins from different subcellular locations and phylogenetic groups were selected for comparison. extracellular proteins of yeast have a relatively high oxidation state of carbon, corresponding with oxidizing co ... | 2014 | 25165594 |
| identification and expression analysis of aquaporins in the potato psyllid, bactericera cockerelli. | aquaporin (aqps) proteins transport water and uncharged low molecular-weight solutes across biological membranes. six to 8 aqp genes have been identified in many insect species, but presently only three aquaporins have been characterized in phloem feeding insects. the objective of this study was to identify candidate aqps in the potato psyllid, bactericera cockerelli. herein, we identified four candidate aquaporin cdnas in b. cockerelli transcriptome. phylogenetic analysis showed that candidate ... | 2014 | 25354208 |
| natural volcanic co2 seeps reveal future trajectories for host-microbial associations in corals and sponges. | atmospheric carbon dioxide (co2) levels are rapidly rising causing an increase in the partial pressure of co2 (pco2) in the ocean and a reduction in ph known as ocean acidification (oa). natural volcanic seeps in papua new guinea expel 99% pure co2 and thereby offer a unique opportunity to explore the effects of oa in situ. the corals acropora millepora and porites cylindrica were less abundant and hosted significantly different microbial communities at the co2 seep than at nearby control sites ... | 2014 | 25325380 |
| natural volcanic co2 seeps reveal future trajectories for host-microbial associations in corals and sponges. | atmospheric carbon dioxide (co2) levels are rapidly rising causing an increase in the partial pressure of co2 (pco2) in the ocean and a reduction in ph known as ocean acidification (oa). natural volcanic seeps in papua new guinea expel 99% pure co2 and thereby offer a unique opportunity to explore the effects of oa in situ. the corals acropora millepora and porites cylindrica were less abundant and hosted significantly different microbial communities at the co2 seep than at nearby control sites ... | 2014 | 25325380 |
| multiorganismal insects: diversity and function of resident microorganisms. | all insects are colonized by microorganisms on the insect exoskeleton, in the gut and hemocoel, and within insect cells. the insect microbiota is generally different from microorganisms in the external environment, including ingested food. specifically, certain microbial taxa are favored by the conditions and resources in the insect habitat, by their tolerance of insect immunity, and by specific mechanisms for their transmission. the resident microorganisms can promote insect fitness by contribu ... | 2014 | 25341109 |
| multiorganismal insects: diversity and function of resident microorganisms. | all insects are colonized by microorganisms on the insect exoskeleton, in the gut and hemocoel, and within insect cells. the insect microbiota is generally different from microorganisms in the external environment, including ingested food. specifically, certain microbial taxa are favored by the conditions and resources in the insect habitat, by their tolerance of insect immunity, and by specific mechanisms for their transmission. the resident microorganisms can promote insect fitness by contribu ... | 2014 | 25341109 |
| an exact arithmetic toolbox for a consistent and reproducible structural analysis of metabolic network models. | constraint-based models are currently the only methodology that allows the study of metabolism at the whole-genome scale. flux balance analysis is commonly used to analyse constraint-based models. curiously, the results of this analysis vary with the software being run, a situation that we show can be remedied by using exact rather than floating-point arithmetic. here we introduce mongoose, a toolbox for analysing the structure of constraint-based metabolic models in exact arithmetic. we apply m ... | 2014 | 25291352 |
| whole-genome re-sequencing of non-model organisms: lessons from unmapped reads. | unmapped reads are often discarded from the analysis of whole-genome re-sequencing, but new biological information and insights can be uncovered through their analysis. in this paper, we investigate unmapped reads from the re-sequencing data of 33 pea aphid genomes from individuals specialized on different host plants. the unmapped reads for each individual were retrieved following mapping to the acyrthosiphon pisum reference genome and its mitochondrial and symbiont genomes. these sets of unmap ... | 2014 | 25269379 |
| whole-genome re-sequencing of non-model organisms: lessons from unmapped reads. | unmapped reads are often discarded from the analysis of whole-genome re-sequencing, but new biological information and insights can be uncovered through their analysis. in this paper, we investigate unmapped reads from the re-sequencing data of 33 pea aphid genomes from individuals specialized on different host plants. the unmapped reads for each individual were retrieved following mapping to the acyrthosiphon pisum reference genome and its mitochondrial and symbiont genomes. these sets of unmap ... | 2014 | 25269379 |
| accumulation of 5-hydroxynorvaline in maize (zea mays) leaves is induced by insect feeding and abiotic stress. | plants produce a wide variety of defensive metabolites to protect themselves against herbivores and pathogens. non-protein amino acids, which are present in many plant species, can have a defensive function through their mis-incorporation during protein synthesis and/or inhibition of biosynthetic pathways in primary metabolism. 5-hydroxynorvaline was identified in a targeted search for previously unknown non-protein amino acids in the leaves of maize (zea mays) inbred line b73. accumulation of t ... | 2014 | 25271262 |
| accumulation of 5-hydroxynorvaline in maize (zea mays) leaves is induced by insect feeding and abiotic stress. | plants produce a wide variety of defensive metabolites to protect themselves against herbivores and pathogens. non-protein amino acids, which are present in many plant species, can have a defensive function through their mis-incorporation during protein synthesis and/or inhibition of biosynthetic pathways in primary metabolism. 5-hydroxynorvaline was identified in a targeted search for previously unknown non-protein amino acids in the leaves of maize (zea mays) inbred line b73. accumulation of t ... | 2014 | 25271262 |
| differential genome evolution between companion symbionts in an insect-bacterial symbiosis. | obligate symbioses with bacteria allow insects to feed on otherwise unsuitable diets. some symbionts have extremely reduced genomes and have lost many genes considered to be essential in other bacteria. to understand how symbiont genome degeneration proceeds, we compared the genomes of symbionts in two leafhopper species, homalodisca vitripennis (glassy-winged sharpshooter [gwss]) and graphocephala atropunctata (blue-green sharpshooter [bgss]) (hemiptera: cicadellidae). each host species is asso ... | 2014 | 25271287 |
| matching the supply of bacterial nutrients to the nutritional demand of the animal host. | various animals derive nutrients from symbiotic microorganisms with much-reduced genomes, but it is unknown whether, and how, the supply of these nutrients is regulated. here, we demonstrate that the production of essential amino acids (eaas) by the bacterium buchnera aphidicola in the pea aphid acyrthosiphon pisum is elevated when aphids are reared on diets from which that eaa are omitted, demonstrating that buchnera scale eaa production to host demand. quantitative proteomics of bacteriocytes ... | 2014 | 25080346 |
| signs of neutralization in a redundant gene involved in homologous recombination in wolbachia endosymbionts. | genomic reduction in bacterial endosymbionts occurs through large genomic deletions and long-term accumulation of mutations. the latter process involves successive steps including gene neutralization, pseudogenization, and gradual erosion until complete loss. although many examples of pseudogenes at various levels of degradation have been reported, neutralization cases are scarce because of the transient nature of the process. gene neutralization may occur due to relaxation of selection in nones ... | 2014 | 25230723 |
| genome sequence of candidatus riesia pediculischaeffi, endosymbiont of chimpanzee lice, and genomic comparison of recently acquired endosymbionts from human and chimpanzee lice. | the obligate-heritable endosymbionts of insects possess some of the smallest known bacterial genomes. this is likely due to loss of genomic material during symbiosis. the mode and rate of this erosion may change over evolutionary time: faster in newly formed associations and slower in long-established ones. the endosymbionts of human and anthropoid primate lice present a unique opportunity to study genome erosion in newly established (or young) symbionts. this is because we have a detailed phylo ... | 2014 | 25213693 |
| diversification of mif immune regulators in aphids: link with agonistic and antagonistic interactions. | the widespread use of genome sequencing provided evidences for the high degree of conservation in innate immunity signalling pathways across animal phyla. however, the functioning and evolutionary history of immune-related genes remains unknown for most invertebrate species. a striking observation coming from the analysis of the pea aphid acyrthosiphon pisum genome is the absence of important conserved genes known to be involved in the antimicrobial responses of other insects. this reduction in ... | 2014 | 25193628 |
| factors limiting the spread of the protective symbiont hamiltonella defensa in aphis craccivora aphids. | many insects are associated with heritable symbionts that mediate ecological interactions, including host protection against natural enemies. the cowpea aphid, aphis craccivora, is a polyphagous pest that harbors hamiltonella defensa, which defends against parasitic wasps. despite this protective benefit, this symbiont occurs only at intermediate frequencies in field populations. to identify factors constraining h. defensa invasion in ap. craccivora, we estimated symbiont transmission rates, per ... | 2014 | 25015890 |
| ends of the line for tmrna-smpb. | genes for the rna tmrna and protein smpb, partners in the trans-translation process that rescues stalled ribosomes, have previously been found in all bacteria and some organelles. during a major update of the tmrna website (relocated to http://bioinformatics.sandia.gov/tmrna), including addition of an smpb sequence database, we found some bacteria that lack functionally significant regions of smpb. three groups with reduced genomes have lost the central loop of smpb, which is thought to improve ... | 2014 | 25165464 |
| the impact of transmission mode on the evolution of benefits provided by microbial symbionts. | while past work has often examined the effects of transmission mode on virulence evolution in parasites, few studies have explored the impact of horizontal transmission on the evolution of benefits conferred by a symbiont to its host. here, we identify three mechanisms that create a positive covariance between horizontal transmission and symbiont-provided benefits: pleiotropy within the symbiont genome, partner choice by the host, and consumption of host waste by-products by symbionts. we modify ... | 2014 | 25535552 |
| symbiont polyphyly, co-evolution, and necessity in pentatomid stinkbugs from costa rica. | interdomain symbioses with bacteria allow insects to take advantage of underutilized niches and provide the foundation for their evolutionary success in neotropical ecosystems. the gut microbiota of 13 micro-allopatric tropical pentatomid species, from a costa rican lowland rainforest, was characterized and compared with insect and host plant phylogenies. like other families within the pentatomomorpha, these insects (within seven genera-antiteuchus, arvelius, edessa, euschistus, loxa, mormidea, ... | 2014 | 25076943 |
| widespread expression of conserved small rnas in small symbiont genomes. | genome architecture of a microbe markedly changes when it transitions from a free-living lifestyle to an obligate symbiotic association within eukaryotic cells. these symbiont genomes experience numerous rearrangements and massive gene loss, which is expected to radically alter gene regulatory networks compared with those of free-living relatives. as such, it remains unclear whether and how these small symbiont genomes regulate gene expression. here, using a label-free mass-spec quantification a ... | 2014 | 25012903 |
| small but powerful, the primary endosymbiont of moss bugs, candidatus evansia muelleri, holds a reduced genome with large biosynthetic capabilities. | moss bugs (coleorrhyncha: peloridiidae) are members of the order hemiptera, and like many hemipterans, they have symbiotic associations with intracellular bacteria to fulfill nutritional requirements resulting from their unbalanced diet. the primary endosymbiont of the moss bugs, candidatus evansia muelleri, is phylogenetically related to candidatus carsonella ruddii and candidatus portiera aleyrodidarum, primary endosymbionts of psyllids and whiteflies, respectively. in this work, we report the ... | 2014 | 25115011 |
| divergence of substrate specificity and function in the escherichia coli hotdog-fold thioesterase paralogs ydii and ybdb. | the work described in this paper, and its companion paper (wu, r., latham, j. a., chen, d., farelli, j., zhao, h., matthews, k. allen, k. n., and dunaway-mariano, d. (2014) structure and catalysis in the escherichia coli hotdog-fold thioesterase paralogs ydii and ybdb. biochemistry, doi: 10.1021/bi500334v), focuses on the evolution of a pair of paralogous hotdog-fold superfamily thioesterases of e. coli, ybdb and ydii, which share a high level of sequence identity but perform different biologica ... | 2014 | 24992697 |
| transcriptome analysis of "candidatus liberibacter solanacearum" in its psyllid vector, bactericera cockerelli. | "candidatus liberibacter solanacearum" (lso) is an emergent pathogen of carrots in europe and solanaceous plants in north and central america and new zealand. this bacterium is closely related to other pathogenic candidatus liberibacter spp., all vectored by psyllids. in order to understand the molecular interaction of this pathogen and its psyllid vector, bactericera cockerelli, illumina sequencing of psyllid harboring lso was performed to determine if this approach could be used to assess the ... | 2014 | 24992557 |
| suppression of plant defenses by a myzus persicae (green peach aphid) salivary effector protein. | the complex interactions between aphids and their host plant are species-specific and involve multiple layers of recognition and defense. aphid salivary proteins, which are released into the plant during phloem feeding, are a likely mediator of these interactions. in an approach to identify aphid effectors that facilitate feeding from host plants, eleven myzus persicae (green peach aphid) salivary proteins and the groel protein of buchnera aphidicola, a bacterial endosymbiont of this aphid speci ... | 2014 | 24654979 |
| the cockroach blattella germanica obtains nitrogen from uric acid through a metabolic pathway shared with its bacterial endosymbiont. | uric acid stored in the fat body of cockroaches is a nitrogen reservoir mobilized in times of scarcity. the discovery of urease in blattabacterium cuenoti, the primary endosymbiont of cockroaches, suggests that the endosymbiont may participate in cockroach nitrogen economy. however, bacterial urease may only be one piece in the entire nitrogen recycling process from insect uric acid. thus, in addition to the uricolytic pathway to urea, there must be glutamine synthetase assimilating the released ... | 2014 | 25079497 |
| in silico detection and typing of plasmids using plasmidfinder and plasmid multilocus sequence typing. | in the work presented here, we designed and developed two easy-to-use web tools for in silico detection and characterization of whole-genome sequence (wgs) and whole-plasmid sequence data from members of the family enterobacteriaceae. these tools will facilitate bacterial typing based on draft genomes of multidrug-resistant enterobacteriaceae species by the rapid detection of known plasmid types. replicon sequences from 559 fully sequenced plasmids associated with the family enterobacteriaceae i ... | 2014 | 24777092 |
| settling down: the genome of serratia symbiotica from the aphid cinara tujafilina zooms in on the process of accommodation to a cooperative intracellular life. | particularly interesting cases of mutualistic endosymbioses come from the establishment of co-obligate associations of more than one species of endosymbiotic bacteria. throughout symbiotic accommodation from a free-living bacterium, passing through a facultative stage and ending as an obligate intracellular one, the symbiont experiences massive genomic losses and phenotypic adjustments. here, we scrutinized the changes in the coevolution of serratia symbiotica and buchnera aphidicola endosymbion ... | 2014 | 24951564 |
| genomic characterization of salmonella cerro st367, an emerging salmonella subtype in cattle in the united states. | within the last decade, salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar cerro (s. cerro) has become one of the most common serovars isolated from cattle and dairy farm environments in the northeastern us. the fact that this serovar is commonly isolated from subclinically infected cattle and is rarely associated with human disease, despite its frequent isolation from cattle, has led to the hypothesis that this emerging serovar may be characterized by reduced virulence. we applied comparative and popu ... | 2014 | 24898914 |
| dna barcoding and the associated phylaphidb@se website for the identification of european aphids (insecta: hemiptera: aphididae). | aphids constitute a diverse group of plant-feeding insects and are among the most important crop pests in temperate regions. their morphological identification is time-consuming and requires specific knowledge, training and skills that may take years to acquire. we assessed the advantages and limits of dna barcoding with the standard coi barcode fragment for the identification of european aphids. we constructed a large reference dataset of barcodes from 1020 specimens belonging to 274 species an ... | 2014 | 24896814 |
| groel from the endosymbiont buchnera aphidicola betrays the aphid by triggering plant defense. | aphids are sap-feeding plant pests and harbor the endosymbiont buchnera aphidicola, which is essential for their fecundity and survival. during plant penetration and feeding, aphids secrete saliva that contains proteins predicted to alter plant defenses and metabolism. plants recognize microbe-associated molecular patterns and induce pattern-triggered immunity (pti). no aphid-associated molecular pattern has yet been identified. by mass spectrometry, we identified in saliva from potato aphids (m ... | 2014 | 24927572 |
| predicting the minimal translation apparatus: lessons from the reductive evolution of mollicutes. | mollicutes is a class of parasitic bacteria that have evolved from a common firmicutes ancestor mostly by massive genome reduction. with genomes under 1 mbp in size, most mollicutes species retain the capacity to replicate and grow autonomously. the major goal of this work was to identify the minimal set of proteins that can sustain ribosome biogenesis and translation of the genetic code in these bacteria. using the experimentally validated genes from the model bacteria escherichia coli and baci ... | 2014 | 24809820 |
| depletion of host cell riboflavin reduces wolbachia levels in cultured mosquito cells. | wolbachia is an obligate intracellular alphaproteobacterium that occurs in arthropod and nematode hosts. wolbachia presumably provides a fitness benefit to its hosts, but the basis for its retention and spread in host populations remains unclear. wolbachia genomes retain biosynthetic pathways for some vitamins, and the possibility that these vitamins benefit host cells provides a potential means of selecting for wolbachia-infected cell lines. to explore whether riboflavin produced by wolbachia i ... | 2014 | 24789726 |
| the molecular basis of bacterial-insect symbiosis. | insects provide experimentally tractable and cost-effective model systems to investigate the molecular basis of animal-bacterial interactions. recent research is revealing the central role of the insect innate immune system, especially anti-microbial peptides and reactive oxygen species, in regulating the abundance and composition of the microbiota in various insects, including drosophila and the mosquitoes aedes and anopheles. interactions between the immune system and microbiota are, however, ... | 2014 | 24735869 |
| cooperation, communication, and co-evolution: grand challenges in microbial symbiosis research. | | 2014 | 24782852 |
| reduction in fecundity and shifts in cellular processes by a native virus on an invasive insect. | pathogens and their vectors have coevolutionary histories that are intricately intertwined with their ecologies, environments, and genetic interactions. the soybean aphid, aphis glycines, is native to east asia but has quickly become one of the most important aphid pests in soybean-growing regions of north america. in this study, we used bioassays to examine the effects of feeding on soybean infected with a virus it vectors (soybean mosaic virus [smv]) and a virus it does not vector (bean pod mo ... | 2014 | 24682151 |
| obligate insect endosymbionts exhibit increased ortholog length variation and loss of large accessory proteins concurrent with genome shrinkage. | extreme genome reduction has been observed in obligate intracellular insect mutualists and is an assumed consequence of fixed, long-term host isolation. rapid accumulation of mutations and pseudogenization of genes no longer vital for an intracellular lifestyle, followed by deletion of many genes, are factors that lead to genome reduction. size reductions in individual genes due to small-scale deletions have also been implicated in contributing to overall genome shrinkage. conserved protein func ... | 2014 | 24671745 |
| location of symbionts in the whitefly bemisia tabaci affects their densities during host development and environmental stress. | bacterial symbionts often enhance the physiological capabilities of their arthropod hosts and enable their hosts to expand into formerly unavailable niches, thus leading to biological diversification. many arthropods, including the worldwide invasive whitefly bemisia tabaci, have individuals simultaneously infected with symbionts of multiple genera that occur in different locations in the host. this study examined the population dynamics of symbionts that are located in different areas within b. ... | 2014 | 24632746 |