| wigglesworthia gen. nov. and wigglesworthia glossinidia sp. nov., taxa consisting of the mycetocyte-associated, primary endosymbionts of tsetse flies. | the primary endosymbionts (p-endosymbionts) of tsetse flies (diptera: glossinidae) are harbored inside specialized cells (mycetocytes) in the anterior region of the gut, and these specialized cells form a white, u-shaped organelle called mycetome. the p-endosymbionts of five tsetse fly species belonging to the glossinidae have been characterized morphologically, and their 16s ribosomal dna sequences have been determined for phylogenetic analysis. these organisms were found to belong to a distinc ... | 1995 | 7547309 |
| genome rearrangement distances and gene order phylogeny in gamma-proteobacteria. | genome rearrangements have been studied in 30 gamma-proteobacterial complete genomes by comparing the order of a reduced set of genes on the chromosome. this set included those genes fulfilling several characteristics, the main ones being that an ortholog was present in every genome and that none of them had been acquired by horizontal gene transfer. genome rearrangement distances were estimated based on either the number of breakpoints or the minimal number of inversions separating two genomes. ... | 2005 | 15772379 |
| chance and necessity in the evolution of minimal metabolic networks. | it is possible to infer aspects of an organism's lifestyle from its gene content. can the reverse also be done? here we consider this issue by modelling evolution of the reduced genomes of endosymbiotic bacteria. the diversity of gene content in these bacteria may reflect both variation in selective forces and contingency-dependent loss of alternative pathways. using an in silico representation of the metabolic network of escherichia coli, we examine the role of contingency by repeatedly simulat ... | 2006 | 16572170 |
| nutrient provisioning facilitates homeostasis between tsetse fly (diptera: glossinidae) symbionts. | host-associated microbial interactions may involve genome complementation, driving-enhanced communal efficiency and stability. the tsetse fly (diptera: glossinidae), the obligate vector of african trypanosomes (trypanosoma brucei subspp.), harbours two enteric gammaproteobacteria symbionts: wigglesworthia glossinidia and sodalis glossinidius. host coevolution has streamlined the wigglesworthia genome to complement the exclusively sanguivorous tsetse lifestyle. comparative genomics reveal that th ... | 2010 | 20356887 |
| the tsetse fly glossina fuscipes fuscipes (diptera: glossina) harbours a surprising diversity of bacteria other than symbionts. | three different bacterial species are regularly described from tsetse flies. however, no broad screens have been performed to investigate the existence of other bacteria in this medically and agriculturally important vector insect. utilising both culture dependent and independent methods we show that kenyan populations of glossina fuscipes fuscipes harbour a surprising diversity of bacteria. bacteria were isolated from 72% of flies with 23 different bacterial species identified. the firmicutes p ... | 2011 | 21203841 |
| dna replication and strand asymmetry in prokaryotic and mitochondrial genomes. | different patterns of strand asymmetry have been documented in a variety of prokaryotic genomes as well as mitochondrial genomes. because different replication mechanisms often lead to different patterns of strand asymmetry, much can be learned of replication mechanisms by examining strand asymmetry. here i summarize the diverse patterns of strand asymmetry among different taxonomic groups to suggest that (1) the single-origin replication may not be universal among bacterial species as the endos ... | 2012 | 22942672 |
| the genome sequence of blochmannia floridanus: comparative analysis of reduced genomes. | bacterial symbioses are widespread among insects, probably being one of the key factors of their evolutionary success. we present the complete genome sequence of blochmannia floridanus, the primary endosymbiont of carpenter ants. although these ants feed on a complex diet, this symbiosis very likely has a nutritional basis: blochmannia is able to supply nitrogen and sulfur compounds to the host while it takes advantage of the host metabolic machinery. remarkably, these bacteria lack all known ge ... | 2003 | 12886019 |
| tsetse-wolbachia symbiosis: comes of age and has great potential for pest and disease control. | tsetse flies (diptera: glossinidae) are the sole vectors of african trypanosomes, the causative agent of sleeping sickness in human and nagana in animals. like most eukaryotic organisms, glossina species have established symbiotic associations with bacteria. three main symbiotic bacteria have been found in tsetse flies: wigglesworthia glossinidia, an obligate symbiotic bacterium, the secondary endosymbiont sodalis glossinidius and the reproductive symbiont wolbachia pipientis. in the present rev ... | 2012 | 22835476 |
| [a symbiont of tsetse flies: wigglesworthia glossinidia]. | | 2003 | 12836409 |
| implications of microfauna-host interactions for trypanosome transmission dynamics in glossina fuscipes fuscipes in uganda. | tsetse flies (diptera: glossinidae) are vectors for african trypanosomes (euglenozoa: kinetoplastida), protozoan parasites that cause african trypanosomiasis in humans (hat) and nagana in livestock. in addition to trypanosomes, two symbiotic bacteria (wigglesworthia glossinidia and sodalis glossinidius) and two parasitic microbes, wolbachia and a salivary gland hypertrophy virus (sghv), have been described in tsetse. here we determined the prevalence of and coinfection dynamics between wolbachia ... | 2012 | 22544247 |
| intercommunity effects on microbiome and gpsghv density regulation in tsetse flies. | tsetse flies have a highly regulated and defined microbial fauna made of 3 bacterial symbionts (obligate wigglesworthia glossinidia, commensal sodalis glossinidius and parasitic wolbachia pipientis) in addition to a dna virus (glossina pallidipes salivary gland hypertrophy virus, gpsghv). it has been possible to rear flies in the absence of either wigglesworthia or in totally aposymbiotic state by dietary supplementation of tsetse's bloodmeal. in the absence of wigglesworthia, tsetse females are ... | 2012 | 22874746 |
| genome sequence of the endocellular obligate symbiont of tsetse flies, wigglesworthia glossinidia. | many insects that rely on a single food source throughout their developmental cycle harbor beneficial microbes that provide nutrients absent from their restricted diet. tsetse flies, the vectors of african trypanosomes, feed exclusively on blood and rely on one such intracellular microbe for nutritional provisioning and fecundity. as a result of co-evolution with hosts over millions of years, these mutualists have lost the ability to survive outside the sheltered environment of their host insect ... | 2002 | 12219091 |
| a novel application of gene arrays: escherichia coli array provides insight into the biology of the obligate endosymbiont of tsetse flies. | symbiotic associations with microorganisms are pivotal in many insects. yet, the functional roles of obligate symbionts have been difficult to study because it has not been possible to cultivate these organisms in vitro. the medically important tsetse fly (diptera: glossinidae) relies on its obligate endosymbiont, wigglesworthia glossinidia, a member of the enterobacteriaceae, closely related to escherichia coli, for fertility and possibly nutrition. we show here that the intracellular wiggleswo ... | 2001 | 11404467 |
| tissue tropism, transmission and expression of foreign genes in vivo in midgut symbionts of tsetse flies. | tsetse flies (diptera: glossinidae) harbour three different symbiotic organisms in addition to the pathogenic african trypanosomes they transmit. the two gut-associated symbionts (primary, p; secondary, s) are enteric and are nutritionally required, whereas the third microorganism wolbachia (family rickettsiaceae) affects the reproductive biology of the insects it infects. the bacteriome-associated p-symbiont (wigglesworthia glossinidia) displays a concordant phylogeny with its host tsetse speci ... | 1999 | 9927181 |
| concordant evolution of a symbiont with its host insect species: molecular phylogeny of genus glossina and its bacteriome-associated endosymbiont, wigglesworthia glossinidia. | many arthropods with restricted diets rely on symbiotic associations for full nutrition and fecundity. tsetse flies (diptera: glossinidae) harbor three symbiotic organisms in addition to the parasitic african trypanosomes they transmit. two of these microorganisms reside in different gut cells, while the third organism is harbored in reproductive tissues and belongs to the genus wolbachia. the primary symbiont (genus wigglesworthia glossinidia) lives in differentiated epithelial cells (bacterioc ... | 1999 | 9873076 |
| phylogeny and potential transmission routes of midgut-associated endosymbionts of tsetse (diptera:glossinidae). | many tsetse species (diptera: glossinidae) harbour two morphologically different intracellular endosymbiotic microorganisms associated with gut tissue: primary (p) and secondary (s) endosymbionts. the p-endosymbionts of tsetse (wigglesworthia glossinidia) are sequestered in specialized epithelial cells, bacteriocytes, which form a structure (bacteriome) in the anterior portion of the gut. phylogenetic characterization of p-endsymbionts from the three subgenera of genus glossina has shown that th ... | 1997 | 9099582 |
| presence of extensive wolbachia symbiont insertions discovered in the genome of its host glossina morsitans morsitans. | tsetse flies (glossina spp.) are the cyclical vectors of trypanosoma spp., which are unicellular parasites responsible for multiple diseases, including nagana in livestock and sleeping sickness in humans in africa. glossina species, including glossina morsitans morsitans (gmm), for which the whole genome sequence (wgs) is now available, have established symbiotic associations with three endosymbionts: wigglesworthia glossinidia, sodalis glossinidius and wolbachia pipientis (wolbachia). the prese ... | 2014 | 24763283 |
| conservation and role of electrostatics in thymidylate synthase. | conservation of function across families of orthologous enzymes is generally accompanied by conservation of their active site electrostatic potentials. to study the electrostatic conservation in the highly conserved essential enzyme, thymidylate synthase (ts), we conducted a systematic species-based comparison of the electrostatic potential in the vicinity of its active site. whereas the electrostatics of the active site of ts are generally well conserved, the tss from minimal organisms do not c ... | 2015 | 26612036 |
| Influence of host phylogeographic patterns and incomplete lineage sorting on within-species genetic variability in Wigglesworthia species, obligate symbionts of tsetse flies. | Vertical transmission of obligate symbionts generates a predictable evolutionary history of symbionts that reflects that of their hosts. In insects, evolutionary associations between symbionts and their hosts have been investigated primarily among species, leaving population-level processes largely unknown. In this study, we investigated the tsetse (Diptera: Glossinidae) bacterial symbiont, Wigglesworthia glossinidia, to determine whether observed codiversification of symbiont and tsetse host sp ... | 2011 | 21948847 |
| tsetse immune system maturation requires the presence of obligate symbionts in larvae. | beneficial microbial symbionts serve important functions within their hosts, including dietary supplementation and maintenance of immune system homeostasis. little is known about the mechanisms that enable these bacteria to induce specific host phenotypes during development and into adulthood. here we used the tsetse fly, glossina morsitans, and its obligate mutualist, wigglesworthia glossinidia, to investigate the co-evolutionary adaptations that influence the development of host physiological ... | 2011 | 21655301 |
| mobile genetic element proliferation and gene inactivation impact over the genome structure and metabolic capabilities of sodalis glossinidius, the secondary endosymbiont of tsetse flies. | genome reduction is a common evolutionary process in symbiotic and pathogenic bacteria. this process has been extensively characterized in bacterial endosymbionts of insects, where primary mutualistic bacteria represent the most extreme cases of genome reduction consequence of a massive process of gene inactivation and loss during their evolution from free-living ancestors. sodalis glossinidius, the secondary endosymbiont of tsetse flies, contains one of the few complete genomes of bacteria at t ... | 2010 | 20649993 |
| molecular characterization and localization of the obligate endosymbiotic bacterium in the birch catkin bug kleidocerys resedae (heteroptera: lygaeidae, ischnorhynchinae). | in contrast to specific bacterial symbionts of many stinkbugs, which are harboured extracellularly in the lumina of midgut sacs or tubular outgrowths, the obligate endosymbiont of birch catkin bug kleidocerys resedae (heteroptera: lygaeidae) resides in a red-coloured, raspberry-shaped mycetome, localized abdominally, close to the midgut section. phylogenetic analysis, based on the 16s rrna gene and the groel (chaperonin) gene, showed that the bacteria belong to the gamma-subdivision of the prote ... | 2010 | 20500529 |
| first isolation of enterobacter, enterococcus, and acinetobacter spp. as inhabitants of the tsetse fly (glossina palpalis palpalis) midgut. | this paper reports the first evidence of the presence of bacteria, other than the three previously described as symbionts, wigglesworthia glossinidia, wolbachia, and sodalis glossinidius, in the midgut of glossina palpalis palpalis, the tsetse fly, a vector of the chronic form of human african trypanosomiasis in sub-saharan african countries. based on the morphological, nutritional, physiological, and phylogenetic results, we identified enterobacter, enterococcus, and acinetobacter spp. as inhab ... | 2009 | 19800031 |
| the obligate mutualist wigglesworthia glossinidia influences reproduction, digestion, and immunity processes of its host, the tsetse fly. | tsetse flies (diptera: glossinidae) are vectors for trypanosome parasites, the agents of the deadly sleeping sickness disease in africa. tsetse also harbor two maternally transmitted enteric mutualist endosymbionts: the primary intracellular obligate wigglesworthia glossinidia and the secondary commensal sodalis glossinidius. both endosymbionts are transmitted to the intrauterine progeny through the milk gland secretions of the viviparous female. we administered various antibiotics either contin ... | 2008 | 18689507 |
| complete rpob gene sequencing as a suitable supplement to dna-dna hybridization for bacterial species and genus delineation. | dna-dna hybridization (ddh), the gold standard for bacterial species delineation, is a laborious method and the alternative, average nucleotide identity (ani), a genomic sequence-derived parameter, is not applicable to non-sequenced species. a universal cut-off value to delineate bacterial species does not exist, yet a ddh value <70 % and ani <95+/-0.5 % have proved useful in selected examples. we herein compare published values for ddh and ani with sequence similarity of rpob gene sequences ret ... | 2008 | 18676461 |
| dynamics of reductive genome evolution in mitochondria and obligate intracellular microbes. | reductive evolution in mitochondria and obligate intracellular microbes has led to a significant reduction in their genome size and guanine plus cytosine content (gc). we show that genome shrinkage during reductive evolution in prokaryotes follows an exponential decay pattern and provide a method to predict the extent of this decay on an evolutionary timescale. we validated predictions by comparison with estimated extents of genome reduction known to have occurred in mitochondria and buchnera ap ... | 2007 | 17108184 |
| tempo and mode of early gene loss in endosymbiotic bacteria from insects. | understanding evolutionary processes that drive genome reduction requires determining the tempo (rate) and the mode (size and types of deletions) of gene losses. in this study, we analysed five endosymbiotic genome sequences of the gamma-proteobacteria (three different buchnera aphidicola strains, wigglesworthia glossinidia, blochmannia floridanus) to test if gene loss could be driven by the selective importance of genes. we used a parsimony method to reconstruct a minimal ancestral genome of in ... | 2006 | 16848891 |
| interactions among multiple genomes: tsetse, its symbionts and trypanosomes. | insect-borne diseases exact a high public health burden and have a devastating impact on livestock and agriculture. to date, control has proved to be exceedingly difficult. one such disease that has plagued sub-saharan africa is caused by the protozoan african trypanosomes (trypanosoma species) and transmitted by tsetse flies (diptera: glossinidae). this presentation describes the biology of the tsetse fly and its interactions with trypanosomes as well as its symbionts. tsetse can harbor up to t ... | 2005 | 15894186 |
| increased expression of unusual ep repeat-containing proteins in the midgut of the tsetse fly (glossina) after bacterial challenge. | proteins containing a glutamic acid-proline (ep) repeat epitope were immunologically detected in midguts from eight species of glossina (tsetse flies). the molecular masses of the tsetse ep proteins differed among species groups. the amino acid sequence of one of these proteins, from glossina palpalis palpalis, was determined and compared to the sequence of a homologue, the tsetse midgut ep protein of glossina m. morsitans. the extended ep repeat domains comprised between 36% (g. m. morsitans) a ... | 2005 | 15804575 |
| a phylogenomic study of endosymbiotic bacteria. | endosymbiotic bacteria of aphids, buchnera aphidicola, and tsetse flies, wigglesworthia glossinidia, are descendents of free-living gamma-proteobacteria. the acceleration of sequence evolution in the endosymbiont genomes is here estimated from a phylogenomic analysis of the gamma-proteobacteria. the tree topologies associated with the most highly conserved genes suggest that the endosymbionts form a sister group with escherichia coli, salmonella sp., and yersinia pestis. our results indicate tha ... | 2004 | 15014155 |
| gene expression level influences amino acid usage, but not codon usage, in the tsetse fly endosymbiont wigglesworthia. | wigglesworthia glossinidia brevipalpis, the obligate bacterial endosymbiont of the tsetse fly glossina brevipalpis, is characterized by extreme genome reduction and at nucleotide composition bias. here, multivariate statistical analyses are used to test the hypothesis that mutational bias and genetic drift shape synonymous codon usage and amino acid usage of wigglesworthia. the results show that synonymous codon usage patterns vary little across the genome and do not distinguish genes of putativ ... | 2003 | 12949182 |
| comparative gene expression of wigglesworthia inhabiting non-infected and trypanosoma brucei gambiense-infected glossina palpalis gambiensis flies. | tsetse flies (glossina sp.) that transmit trypanosomes causing human (and animal) african trypanosomiasis (hat and aat, respectively) harbor symbiotic microorganisms, including the obligate primary symbiont wigglesworthia glossinidia. a relationship between wigglesworthia and tsetse fly infection by trypanosomes has been suggested, as removal of the symbiont results in a higher susceptibility to midgut infection in adult flies. to investigate this relationship and to decipher the role of w. glos ... | 2014 | 25452752 |
| wolbachia, sodalis and trypanosome co-infections in natural populations of glossina austeni and glossina pallidipes. | tsetse flies harbor at least three bacterial symbionts: wigglesworthia glossinidia, wolbachia pipientis and sodalis glossinidius. wigglesworthia and sodalis reside in the gut in close association with trypanosomes and may influence establishment and development of midgut parasite infections. wolbachia has been shown to induce reproductive effects in infected tsetse. this study was conducted to determine the prevalence of these endosymbionts in natural populations of g. austeni and g. pallidipes ... | 2013 | 23924682 |
| the major protein in the midgut of teneral glossina morsitans morsitans is a molecular chaperone from the endosymbiotic bacterium wigglesworthia glossinidia. | molecules in the midgut of the tsetse fly (diptera: glossinidiae) are thought to play an important role in the life cycle of african trypanosomes by influencing their initial establishment in the midgut and subsequent differentiation events that ultimately affect parasite transmission. it is thus important to determine the molecular composition of the tsetse midgut to aid in understanding disease transmission by these medically important insect vectors. here, we report that the most abundant pro ... | 2002 | 12530210 |
| genome evolution in bacterial endosymbionts of insects. | many insect species rely on intracellular bacterial symbionts for their viability and fecundity. large-scale dna-sequence analyses are revealing the forces that shape the evolution of these bacterial associates and the genetic basis of their specialization to an intracellular lifestyle. the full genome sequences of two obligate mutualists, buchnera aphidicola of aphids and wigglesworthia glossinidia of tsetse flies, reveal substantial gene loss and an integration of host and symbiont metabolic f ... | 2002 | 12415315 |
| new rickettsia sp. in tsetse flies from senegal. | tsetse flies are blood-sucking insects transmitting african trypanosomiasis. they are known to harbor also three intracellular bacteria that play important role in their lifecycle: wigglesworthia glossinidia, sodalis glossinidius and wolbachia sp. we have studied 78 glossina morsitans submorsitans collected in senegal. in all studied flies we amplified genes of bacterium phylogenetically close to obligate intracellular pathogen rickettsia felis, the agent of spotted fever in humans. we also visu ... | 2012 | 22277830 |
| vitamin b6 generated by obligate symbionts is critical for maintaining proline homeostasis and fecundity in tsetse flies. | the viviparous tsetse fly utilizes proline as a hemolymph-borne energy source. in tsetse, biosynthesis of proline from alanine involves the enzyme alanine-glyoxylate aminotransferase (agat), which requires pyridoxal phosphate (vitamin b6) as a cofactor. this vitamin can be synthesized by tsetse's obligate symbiont, wigglesworthia glossinidia. in this study, we examined the role of wigglesworthia-produced vitamin b6 for maintenance of proline homeostasis, specifically during the energetically exp ... | 2014 | 25038091 |
| the endosymbionts of tsetse flies: manipulating host-parasite interactions. | through understanding the mechanisms by which tsetse endosymbionts potentiate trypanosome susceptibility in tsetse, it may be possible to engineer modified endosymbionts which, when introduced into tsetse, render these insects incapable of transmitting parasites. in this study we have assayed the effect of three different antibiotics on the endosymbiotic microflora of tsetse (glossina morsitans morsitans). we showed that the broad-spectrum antibiotics, ampicillin and tetracycline, have a dramati ... | 2001 | 11334953 |
| population dynamics of glossina palpalis gambiensis symbionts, sodalis glossinidius, and wigglesworthia glossinidia, throughout host-fly development. | the tsetse fly (diptera: glossinidae), the vector of trypanosomes causing human and animal trypanosomiasis, harbors symbiotic microorganisms including the primary symbiont wigglesworthia glossinidia, involved in the fly's nutrition and fertility, and the secondary symbiont sodalis glossinidius, involved in the trypanosome establishment in the fly's midgut. both symbionts are maternally transmitted to the intrauterine progeny through the fly's milk gland secretions. in this study, we investigated ... | 2013 | 23107774 |
| tissue distribution and transmission routes for the tsetse fly endosymbionts. | the tsetse fly glossina is the vector of the protozoan trypanosoma brucei spp., which causes human and animal african trypanosomiasis in sub-saharan african countries. to supplement their unbalanced vertebrate bloodmeal diet, flies permanently harbor the obligate bacterium wigglesworthia glossinidia, which resides in bacteriocytes in the midgut bacteriome organ as well as in milk gland organ. tsetse flies also harbor the secondary facultative endosymbionts (s-symbiont) sodalis glossinidius that ... | 2013 | 22537833 |
| "wigglesworthia morsitans" folate (vitamin b9) biosynthesis contributes to tsetse host fitness. | closely related ancient endosymbionts may retain minor genomic distinctions through evolutionary time, yet the biological relevance of these small pockets of unique loci remains unknown. the tsetse fly (diptera: glossinidae), the sole vector of lethal african trypanosomes (trypanosoma spp.), maintains an ancient and obligate mutualism with species belonging to the gammaproteobacterium wigglesworthia. extensive concordant evolution with associated wigglesworthia species has occurred through tsets ... | 2015 | 26025907 |
| adenotrophic viviparity in tsetse flies: potential for population control and as an insect model for lactation. | tsetse flies (glossina spp.), vectors of african trypanosomes, are distinguished by their specialized reproductive biology, defined by adenotrophic viviparity (maternal nourishment of progeny by glandular secretions followed by live birth). this trait has evolved infrequently among insects and requires unique reproductive mechanisms. a key event in glossina reproduction involves the transition between periods of lactation and nonlactation (dry periods). increased lipolysis, nutrient transfer to ... | 2015 | 25341093 |
| technical data of the transcriptomic analysis performed on tsetse fly symbionts, sodalis glossinidius and wigglesworthia glossinidia, harbored, respectively by non-infected, trypanosoma brucei gambiense infected and self-cured glossina palpalis gambiensis tsetse flies. | microarray is a powerful and cheap method to identify and quantify gene expression in particular in a mix of total rna extracted from biological samples such as the tsetse fly gut, including several organisms (here, the fly tissue and the intestinal microorganisms). besides, biostatistics and bioinformatics allow comparing the transcriptomes from samples collected from differently treated flies, and thus to identify and quantify differential expressed genes. here, we describe in details a whole ... | 2015 | 26484198 |
| homoserine and quorum-sensing acyl homoserine lactones as alternative sources of threonine: a potential role for homoserine kinase in insect-stage trypanosoma brucei. | de novo synthesis of threonine from aspartate occurs via the β-aspartyl phosphate pathway in plants, bacteria and fungi. however, the trypanosoma brucei genome encodes only the last two steps in this pathway: homoserine kinase (hsk) and threonine synthase. here, we investigated the possible roles for this incomplete pathway through biochemical, genetic and nutritional studies. purified recombinant tbhsk specifically phosphorylates l-homoserine and displays kinetic properties similar to other hsk ... | 2015 | 25367138 |
| transgenerational transmission of the glossina pallidipes hytrosavirus depends on the presence of a functional symbiome. | the vertically transmitted endosymbionts (sodalis glossinidius and wigglesworthia glossinidia) of the tsetse fly (diptera: glossinidae) are known to supplement dietary deficiencies and modulate the reproductive fitness and the defense system of the fly. some tsetse fly species are also infected with the bacterium, wolbachia and with the glossina hytrosavirus (gpsghv). laboratory-bred g. pallidipes exhibit chronic asymptomatic and acute symptomatic gpsghv infection, with the former being the most ... | 2013 | 23613801 |