Immunity and other defenses in pea aphids, Acyrthosiphon pisum

2010

Background Recent genomic analyses of arthropod defense mechanisms suggest conservation of key elements underlying responses to pathogens, parasites and stresses. At the center of pathogen-induced immune responses are signaling pathways triggered by the recognition of fungal, bacterial and viral signatures. These pathways result in the production of response molecules, such as antimicrobial peptides and lysozymes, which degrade or destroy invaders. Using the recently sequenced genome of the pea aphid (Acyrthosiphon pisum), we conducted the first extensive annotation of the immune and stress gene repertoire of a hemipterous insect, which is phylogenetically distantly related to previously ch…

Additional file 1 of The genome sequence of the grape phylloxera provides insights into the evolution, adaptation, and invasion routes of an iconic p…

2020

Additional file 1: Figures. S1-S22, Table S1-S20, Methods and Results. Figure S1. Mitochondrial genome view of grape phylloxera. Figure S2. Proportion of transposable elements (TE) in the genome. Figure S3. GO terms of phylloxera-specific genes. Figure S4. Enriched GO terms in the phylloxera genome with and without TEs. Figure S5. Gene gain/loss at different nodes or branches. Figure S6. Species phylogenetic tree based on insect genomes and the transcriptomes of Planoccoccus citri and Adelges tsugae. Figure S7. Diagram of the gap-filling and annotation process. Figure S8. Urea cycle in D. vitifoliae and A. pisum. Figure S9. IMD immune pathway in D. vitifoliae.Figure S10. Phylogenetic tree o…

Applying Biomimicry to Cities: The Forest as Model for Urban Planning and Design

2021

International audience; The idea of applying biomimicry to cities is attracting increasing attention as a way of achieving sustainability. Undoubtedly the most frequently evoked natural model in this context is the forest, though it has not yet been investigated with any great scientific rigour. To overcome this lacuna, we provide: first, a justification of the model of the forest via what we call the arguments from “fittingness”, “scale”, and “complexity”; second, an exploration of various key innovations made possible by this model in the fields of urban planning, urban water systems, urban energy and transport systems, and urban food and nutrient systems.

Additional file 1 of The genome sequence of the grape phylloxera provides insights into the evolution, adaptation, and invasion routes of an iconic p…

2020

Additional file 1: Figures. S1-S22, Table S1-S20, Methods and Results. Figure S1. Mitochondrial genome view of grape phylloxera. Figure S2. Proportion of transposable elements (TE) in the genome. Figure S3. GO terms of phylloxera-specific genes. Figure S4. Enriched GO terms in the phylloxera genome with and without TEs. Figure S5. Gene gain/loss at different nodes or branches. Figure S6. Species phylogenetic tree based on insect genomes and the transcriptomes of Planoccoccus citri and Adelges tsugae. Figure S7. Diagram of the gap-filling and annotation process. Figure S8. Urea cycle in D. vitifoliae and A. pisum. Figure S9. IMD immune pathway in D. vitifoliae.Figure S10. Phylogenetic tree o…

The genome sequence of the grape phylloxera provides insights into the evolution, adaptation, and invasion routes of an iconic pest

2020

Background: Although native to North America, the invasion of the aphid-like grape phylloxera Daktulosphaira vitifoliae across the globe altered the course of grape cultivation. For the past 150 years, viticulture relied on grafting-resistant North American Vitis species as rootstocks, thereby limiting genetic stocks tolerant to other stressors such as pathogens and climate change. Limited understanding of the insect genetics resulted in successive outbreaks across the globe when rootstocks failed. Here we report the 294-Mb genome of D. vitifoliae as a basic tool to understand host plant manipulation, nutritional endosymbiosis, and enhance global viticulture. Results: Using a combination of…

A genomic reappraisal of symbiotic function in the aphid/Buchnera symbiosis: reduced transporter sets and variable membrane organisations.

2011

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…

Effects of Bacillus thuringiensis δ-Endotoxins on the Pea Aphid ( Acyrthosiphon pisum )

2009

ABSTRACT Four Bacillus thuringiensis δ-endotoxins, Cry3A, Cry4Aa, Cry11Aa, and Cyt1Aa, were found to exhibit low to moderate toxicity on the pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum , in terms both of mortality and growth rate. Cry1Ab was essentially nontoxic except at high rates. To demonstrate these effects, we had to use exhaustive buffer-based controls.

2006

Aphids are the leading pests in agricultural crops. A large-scale sequencing of 40,904 ESTs from the pea aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum was carried out to define a catalog of 12,082 unique transcripts. A strong AT bias was found, indicating a compositional shift between Drosophila melanogaster and A. pisum. An in silico profiling analysis characterized 135 transcripts specific to pea-aphid tissues (relating to bacteriocytes and parthenogenetic embryos). This project is the first to address the genetics of the Hemiptera and of a hemimetabolous insect.