| graph-based analysis of the metabolic exchanges between two co-resident intracellular symbionts, baumannia cicadellinicola and sulcia muelleri, with their insect host, homalodisca coagulata. | endosymbiotic bacteria from different species can live inside cells of the same eukaryotic organism. metabolic exchanges occur between host and bacteria but also between different endocytobionts. since a complete genome annotation is available for both, we built the metabolic network of two endosymbiotic bacteria, sulcia muelleri and baumannia cicadellinicola, that live inside specific cells of the sharpshooter homalodisca coagulata and studied the metabolic exchanges involving transfers of carb ... | 2010 | 20838465 |
| convergent evolution of metabolic roles in bacterial co-symbionts of insects. | a strictly host-dependent lifestyle has profound evolutionary consequences for bacterial genomes. most prominent is a sometimes-dramatic amount of gene loss and genome reduction. recently, highly reduced genomes from the co-resident intracellular symbionts of sharpshooters were shown to exhibit a striking level of metabolic interdependence. one symbiont, called sulcia muelleri (bacteroidetes), can produce eight of the 10 essential amino acids, despite having a genome of only 245 kb. the other, b ... | 2009 | 19706397 |
| parallel genomic evolution and metabolic interdependence in an ancient symbiosis. | obligate symbioses with nutrient-provisioning bacteria have originated often during animal evolution and have been key to the ecological diversification of many invertebrate groups. to date, genome sequences of insect nutritional symbionts have been restricted to a related cluster within gammaproteobacteria and have revealed distinctive features, including extreme reduction, rapid evolution, and biased nucleotide composition. using recently developed sequencing technologies, we show that sulcia ... | 2007 | 18048332 |
| co-cladogenesis spanning three phyla: leafhoppers (insecta: hemiptera: cicadellidae) and their dual bacterial symbionts. | endosymbioses are a major form of biological complexity affecting the ecological and evolutionary diversification of many eukaryotic groups. these associations are exemplified by nutritional symbioses of insects for which phylogenetic studies have demonstrated numerous cases of long-term codiversification between a bacterial and a host lineage. some insects, including most leafhoppers (insecta: hemiptera: cicadellidae), have more than one bacterial symbiont within specialized host cells, raising ... | 2006 | 17054511 |
| metabolic complementarity and genomics of the dual bacterial symbiosis of sharpshooters. | mutualistic intracellular symbiosis between bacteria and insects is a widespread phenomenon that has contributed to the global success of insects. the symbionts, by provisioning nutrients lacking from diets, allow various insects to occupy or dominate ecological niches that might otherwise be unavailable. one such insect is the glassy-winged sharpshooter (homalodisca coagulata), which feeds on xylem fluid, a diet exceptionally poor in organic nutrients. phylogenetic studies based on rrna have sh ... | 2006 | 16729848 |