Bacterial endosymbionts in animals

Current Opinion in Microbiology

Volumn 3, Issue 3, 2000, Pages 270-275

  Moran, Nancy A ^a   Baumann, Paul ^b  

^a University of Arizona   (United States)

^b UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

GENE AMPLIFICATION; GENETIC ANALYSIS; GENOME; NONHUMAN; PHYLOGENY; REVIEW; SEQUENCE ANALYSIS; SYMBIOSIS; VERTICAL TRANSMISSION;

ANIMALIA; BACTERIA (MICROORGANISMS); INVERTEBRATA;

EID: 0034082435     PISSN: 13695274     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/S1369-5274(00)00088-6     Document Type: Review

References (57)

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32. Clark M.A., Baumann L., Baumann P. Buchnera aphidicola (aphid endosymbiont) contains genes encoding enzymes of histidine biosynthesis. Curr Microbiol. 36:1998;356-358.
33. Baumann L., Baumann P., Thao M.L. Detection of messenger RNA transcribed from genes encoding enzymes of amino acid biosynthesis in Buchnera aphidicola (endosymbiont of aphids). Curr Microbiol. 38:1999;135-136. Using RNA isolations from aphids and reverse transcriptase based on primers for amino acid biosynthetic genes, the presence of mRNA is demonstrated for eight genes involved in synthesis of essential amino acids. This indicates that these pathways, which underlie production of nutrients limiting to host growth, are active in Buchnera.
34. Nakabachi A., Ishikawa H. Provision of riboflavin to the host aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum, by endosymbiotic bacteria, Buchnera. J Insect Physiol. 45:1999;1-6.
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36. Andersson J.O., Andersson S.G.E. Insights into the evolutionary process of genome degradation. Curr Opin Genet Dev. 9:1999;664-671.
37. Rouhbakhsh D., Clark M.A., Baumann L., Moran N.A., Baumann P. Evolution of the tryptophan biosynthetic pathway in Buchnera (aphid endosymbionts): studies of plasmid-associated trpEG within the genus Uroleucon. Mol Phylogenet Evol. 8:1997;167-176.
38. van Ham R.C.H.J., Martinez-Torres D., Moya A., Latorre A. Plasmid-encoded anthranilate synthase (TrpEG) in Buchnera aphidicola from aphids of the family Pemphigidae. Appl Environ Microbiol. 65:1999;117-125. Plasmids having a similar genetic organization and encoding multiple copies of trpEG were initially discovered in Buchnera of aphids of the family Aphididae; in this paper, a new plasmid type is described from Buchnera of the distantly related family Pemphigidae. In addition to trpEG, this plasmid also contains trpEG pseudogenes indicating the widespread distribution of gene silencing in Buchnera.
39. van Ham R.C.H.J., Moya A., Latorre A. Putative evolutionary origin of plasmids carrying the genes involved in leucine biosynthesis in Buchnera aphidicola (endosymbiont of aphids). J Bacteriol. 179:1997;4768-4777.
40. Baumann L., Baumann P., Moran N.A., Sandstrom J., Thao M.L. Genetic characterization of plasmids containing genes encoding enzymes of leucine biosynthesis in endosymbionts (Buchnera) of aphids. J Mol Evol. 48:1999;77-85. Molecular characterization of plasmids bearing leucine genes supports recruitment of the genes to the plasmid location followed by strictly vertical transmission and limited rearrangements of plasmid-borne genes.
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43. Lai C.-Y., Baumann P., Moran N. The endosymbiont (Buchnera) of the aphid Diuraphis noxia contains plasmids consisting of trpEG and tandem repeats of trpEG pseudogenes. Appl Environ Microbiol. 62:1996;332-339.
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53. Hogenhout S.A., van der Wilk F., Verbeek M., Goldbach R.W., van den Heuvel J.F. Potato leafroll virus binds to the equatorial domain of the aphid endosymbiotic GroEL homolog. J Virol. 72:1998;358-365. Some of the GroEL protein produced by Buchnera in aphids is transferred to the haemolymph where it binds to certain viruses allowing them to persist in the host. Thus, the endosymbionts play a role in the capacity of the aphid to vector plant viral diseases.
54. van der Wilk F., Dullemans A.M., Verbeek M., van den Heuvel J.F.J.M. Isolation and characterization of PSE-1, a bacteriophage infecting the secondary endosymbiont of Acrythosiphon pisum. Virology. 262:1999;104-113.
55. Werngreen J.J., Moran N.A. Decay of mutalistic potential in aphid endosymbionts through silencing of biosynthetic loci: Buchnera of Diuraphis. Proc R Soc Lond B. 2000;. in press. Molecular phylogenic studies have shown that, in the Buchnera of the aphid genus Diuraphis, plasmid-bourne trpEG pseudogenes have evolved multiple times, and they persist in Buchnera of D. noxia collected from geographically diverse populations. These pseudogenes appear to represent a reduction of symbiotic contributions based on the observation of unusually low levels of circulating tryptophan in these hosts compared to insects in which Buchnera retain only functional trpEG copies.
56. Werngreen J.J., Ochman H., Jones I., Moran N.A. The decoupling of genome size and sequence divergence in a symbiotic bacterium. J Bacteriol. 2000;. in press. Genome size is remarkable conserved within Buchnera suggesting that there is little or no turnover in gene content of Buchnera genomes.
57. Thao M.L., Moran N.A., Abbot P., Brennan E.B., Burckhardt D., Baumann P. Cospeciation of psyllids and their primary prokaryotic endosymbionts. Appl Environ Microbiol. 2000;. in press. This is the most extensive study to date for the bacteriocyte-associates of psyllids, a group of plant sap-feeding insects. Full 16S-23S rDNA sequences for symbionts of 28 psyllid species indicate a well defined clade of bacteria with extreme AT-bias and fast sequence evolution. Phylogenetic trees based on host nuclear gene sequences show the same branching pattern as those based on bacterial genes.