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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Evolution of Prokaryote-Animal Symbiosis from a Genomics Perspective

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description

Symbioses involving prokaryotes living in close relationship with eukaryotic cells have been widely studied from a genomic perspective, especially in the case of insects. In the process toward host accommodation, symbionts experience major genetic and phenotypic changes that can be detected in comparison with free-living relatives. But, as expected, several scenarios allowed the evolution of symbiotic associations, from the first stages of free-living bacteria, through secondary and facultative symbiosis, towards the final point of obligate primary endosymbiosis. Particular relevance has the association formed by the coexistence of several symbionts into a given host. A summary of findings in this field, as well as an evolutionary scenario to explain these changes, is presented in this chapter.