Search results for "SYMBIOSIS"
showing 10 items of 627 documents
Seasonal Changes in the Endosymbiotic Consortia of Aphids from the Genus <i>Cinara</i>
2016
Buchnera aphidicola is the primary endosymbiont of aphids with which it maintains an obligate mutualistic symbiotic relationship. Insects also maintain facultative symbiotic relationships with secondary symbionts, and Serratia symbiotica is the most common in aphids. The presence of both symbionts in aphids of the subfamily Lachninae has been widely studied by our group. We examined two closely related aphids, Cinara tujafilina and C. cedri in the present study. Even though both B. aphidicola strains have similar genome sizes and gene contents, the genomes of the two S. symbiotica strains were markedly different. The SCc strain has the smallest genome known for this species, while SCt posse…
The Interplay between Nutrition, Innate Immunity, and the Commensal Microbiota in Adaptive Intestinal Morphogenesis
2021
The gastrointestinal tract is a functionally and anatomically segmented organ that is colonized by microbial communities from birth. While the genetics of mouse gut development is increasingly understood, how nutritional factors and the commensal gut microbiota act in concert to shape tissue organization and morphology of this rapidly renewing organ remains enigmatic. Here, we provide an overview of embryonic mouse gut development, with a focus on the intestinal vasculature and the enteric nervous system. We review how nutrition and the gut microbiota affect the adaptation of cellular and morphologic properties of the intestine, and how these processes are interconnected with innate immunit…
How Hosts Taxonomy, Trophy, and Endosymbionts Shape Microbiome Diversity in Beetles.
2019
Bacterial communities play a crucial role in the biology, ecology, and evolution of multicellular organisms. In this research, the microbiome of 24 selected beetle species representing five families (Carabidae, Staphylinidae, Curculionidae, Chrysomelidae, Scarabaeidae) and three trophic guilds (carnivorous, herbivorous, detrivorous) was examined using 16S rDNA sequencing on the Illumina platform. The aim of the study was to compare diversity within and among species on various levels of organization, including evaluation of the impact of endosymbiotic bacteria. Collected data showed that beetles possess various bacterial communities and that microbiota of individuals of particular species h…
Tracking zoonotic pathogens using blood-sucking flies as 'flying syringes'
2017
About 60% of emerging infectious diseases in humans are of zoonotic origin. Their increasing number requires the development of new methods for early detection and monitoring of infectious agents in wildlife. Here, we investigated whether blood meals from hematophagous flies could be used to identify the infectious agents circulating in wild vertebrates. To this aim, 1230 blood-engorged flies were caught in the forests of Gabon. Identified blood meals (30%) were from 20 vertebrate species including mammals, birds and reptiles. Among them, 9% were infected by different extant malaria parasites among which some belonged to known parasite species, others to new parasite species or to parasite …
Unexpected associated microalgal diversity in the lichen Ramalina farinacea is uncovered by pyrosequencing analyses
2017
The current literature reveals that the intrathalline coexistence of multiple microalgal taxa in lichens is more common than previously thought, and additional complexity is supported by the coexistence of bacteria and basidiomycete yeasts in lichen thalli. This replaces the old paradigm that lichen symbiosis occurs between a fungus and a single photobiont. The lichen Ramalina farinacea has proven to be a suitable model to study the multiplicity of microalgae in lichen thalli due to the constant coexistence of Trebouxia sp. TR9 and T. jamesii in long-distance populations. To date, studies involving phycobiont diversity within entire thalli are based on Sanger sequencing, but this method see…
Unexpected Bacterial Origin of the Antibiotic Icosalide: Two-Tailed Depsipeptide Assembly in Multifarious Burkholderia Symbionts.
2018
Icosalide is an unusual two-tailed lipocyclopeptide antibiotic that was originally isolated from a fungal culture. Yet, its biosynthesis and ecological function have remained enigmatic. By genome mining and metabolic profiling of a bacterial endosymbiont ( Burkholderia gladioli) of the pest beetle Lagria villosa, we unveiled a bacterial origin of icosalide. Functional analysis of the biosynthetic gene locus revealed an unprecedented nonribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS) that incorporates two β-hydroxy acids by means of two starter condensation domains in different modules. This unusual assembly line, which may inspire new synthetic biology approaches, is widespread among many symbiotic Bur…
Native arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis alters foliar bacterial community composition.
2017
The effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi on plant-associated microbes are poorly known. We tested the hypothesis that colonization by an AM fungus affects microbial species richness and microbial community composition of host plant tissues. We grew the grass, Deschampsia flexuosa in a greenhouse with or without the native AM fungus, Claroideoglomus etunicatum. We divided clonally produced tillers into two parts: one inoculated with AM fungus spores and one without AM fungus inoculation (non-mycorrhizal, NM). We characterized bacterial (16S rRNA gene) and fungal communities (internal transcribed spacer region) in surface-sterilized leaf and root plant compartments. AM fungus inoculat…
The dawn of a golden age in mathematical insect sociobiology
2009
23 pages; It is bold. It is also arguably overly grand and it may be illusory. History alone will judge if this is the dawn of a golden age in mathematical sociobiology. To be sure, mathematical biology has already seen a number of false dawns. It may appear, for example, that both catastrophe theory and chaos theory each have enjoyed almost all of their 15 minutes of fame. However, it is right and proper that a wave of initial excitement, or indeed, hyperbole, is followed by slower and steadier progress as a field matures. So what justifies our unbridled optimism? The first answer is demonstrable progress. Self-organization theory and complex systems theory coupled with pioneering experime…
De novo biosynthesis of simple aromatic compounds by an arthropod ( Archegozetes longisetosus )
2020
The ability to synthesize simple aromatic compounds is well known from bacteria, fungi and plants, which all share an exclusive biosynthetic route—the shikimic acid pathway. Some of these organisms further evolved the polyketide pathway to form core benzenoids via a head-to-tail condensation of polyketide precursors. Arthropods supposedly lack the ability to synthesize aromatics and instead rely on aromatic amino acids acquired from food, or from symbiotic microorganisms. The few studies purportedly showing de novo biosynthesis via the polyketide synthase (PKS) pathway failed to exclude endosymbiotic bacteria, so their results are inconclusive. We investigated the biosynthesis of aromatic …
Defoliation effects on Plantago lanceolata resource allocation and soil decomposers in relation to AM symbiosis and fertilization
2009
Plants can mediate interactions between aboveground herbivores and belowground decomposers as both groups depend on plant-provided organic carbon. Most vascular plants also form symbiosis with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), which compete for plant carbon too. Our aim was to reveal how defoliation (trimming of plant leaves twice to 6 cm above the soil surface) and mycorrhizal infection (inoculation of the fungus Glomus claroideum BEG31), in nutrient poor and fertilized conditions, affect plant growth and resource allocation. We also tested how these effects can influence the abundance of microbial-feeding animals and nitrogen availability in the soil. We established a 12-wk microcosm st…