0000000000546913
AUTHOR
Stefano Colella
The transposable element-rich genome of the cereal pest Sitophilus oryzae
AbstractBackgroundThe rice weevil Sitophilus oryzae is one of the most important agricultural pests, causing extensive damage to cereal in fields and to stored grains. S. oryzae has an intracellular symbiotic relationship (endosymbiosis) with the Gram-negative bacterium Sodalis pierantonius and is a valuable model to decipher host-symbiont molecular interactions.ResultsWe sequenced the Sitophilus oryzae genome using a combination of short and long reads to produce the best assembly for a Curculionidae species to date. We show that S. oryzae has undergone successive bursts of transposable element (TE) amplification, representing 72% of the genome. In addition, we show that many TE families a…
The competitiveness to form nodules shapes the capacities of Rhizobium leguminosarum sv viciae communities to promote symbiosis with specific hosts
National audience; Cultivated fabeae legumes (pea, fababean, lentil) develop root nodules resulting from the symbiotic interaction with Rhizobium leguminosarum sv. viciae (Rlv). Individual Rlv bacteria are able to associate with various potential hosts, but in soil they are in mixture and they display a wide range of competitiveness to form nodules (CFN). Because in Rlv, CFN and capacity to fix nitrogen are genetically independent, CFN limits the effectiveness of inoculation strategies as efficient bacteria are often outcompeted by poorly efficient Rlv bacteria of the soil community. We developed a strategy to identify bacterial genes controlling CFN. A worldwide collection of 240 Rlv isola…
A genomic reappraisal of symbiotic function in the aphid/Buchnera symbiosis: reduced transporter sets and variable membrane organisations.
International audience; Buchnera aphidicola is an obligate symbiotic bacterium that sustains the physiology of aphids by complementing their exclusive phloem sap diet. In this study, we reappraised the transport function of different Buchnera strains, from the aphids Acyrthosiphon pisum, Schizaphis graminum, Baizongia pistaciae and Cinara cedri, using the re-annotation of their transmembrane proteins coupled with an exploration of their metabolic networks. Although metabolic analyses revealed high interdependencies between the host and the bacteria, we demonstrate here that transport in Buchnera is assured by low transporter diversity, when compared to free-living bacteria, being mostly bas…