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opencc-by-4.0May 2020View details →

Response of psychrophilic plant endosymbionts to experimental temperature increase

Countless uncertainties remain regarding the effects of global warming on biodiversity, including the ability of organisms to adapt and how that will affect obligate symbiotic relationships. The present study aimed to determine the consequences of temperature increase on the adaptation of plant endosymbionts (endophytes) that grow better at low temperatures (psychrophilic). We isolated fungal endophytes from a high-elevation (paramo) endemic plant. Initial growth curves were constructed at different temperatures (4–25°C). Then, experiments were carried in which only the psychrophilic isolates were subjected to repeated increments in temperature. After the experiments, the final growth curves showed significantly slower growth than the initial curves, and some isolates even ceased to grow. While most studies suggest that the distribution of microorganisms will expand as temperatures increase because most of these organisms grow better at 25°C, the results from our experiments demonstrate that psychrophilic fungi were negatively affected by temperature increases. These outcomes raise questions concerning the potential adaptation of beneficial endosymbiotic fungi in the already threatened plant ecosystems. Assessing the consequences of global warming at all trophic levels is urgent because many species on Earth depend on their microbial symbionts for survival. Associations are mutually beneficial, results from our study have implications on the potential survival of these plants and high-elevation ecosystems.

opencc-by-4.0Mar 2022View details →

One to host them all: genomics of the diverse bacterial endosymbionts of the spider Oedothorax gibbosus

Bacterial endosymbionts of the groups Wolbachia, Cardinium and Rickettsiaceae are well-known for their diverse effects on their arthropod hosts, ranging from mutualistic relationships to reproductive phenotypes. Here, we analyzed a unique system in which the dwarf spider Oedothorax gibbosus is co-infected with up to five different endosymbionts affiliated with Wolbachia, ‘Candidatus Tisiphia’ (formerly Torix group Rickettsia), Cardinium, and Rhabdochlamydia. Using short-read genome sequencing data, we show that the endosymbionts are heterogeneously distributed among O. gibbosus populations and are frequently found co-infecting spider individuals. To study this intricate host-endosymbiont system on a genome resolved level, we used long-read sequencing to reconstruct closed genomes of the Wolbachia, ‘Ca. Tisiphia’ and Cardinium endosymbionts. We provide insights in the ecology and evolution of the endosymbionts and shed light on the interactions with their spider host. We detected high quantities of transposable elements in all endosymbiont genomes and provide evidence that ancestors of the Cardinium, ‘Ca. Tisiphia’ and Wolbachia endosymbionts have co-infected the same hosts in the past. Our findings contribute to broadening our knowledge about endosymbionts infecting one of the largest animal phyla on earth, and show the usefulness of transposable elements as an evolutionary “contact-tracing” tool.

opencc-by-4.0Nov 2008View details →

Fig. 3 in The Wolbachia endosymbiont of Brugia malayi has an active phosphoglycerate mutase: a candidate target for anti-filarial therapies

Fig. 3 Activity of recombinant wBm–iPGM. Conversion of 3-PG to 2-PG by MBP–wBm–iPGM (filled circle) is measured indirectly by a decrease in NADH concentration, determined spectrophotometrically at 340 nm. Consumption of NADH is directly proportional to PGM activity. A baseline control lacking wBm–iPGM (open circle) is shown

opencc-by-4.0Nov 2008View details →

Fig. 1 in The Wolbachia endosymbiont of Brugia malayi has an active phosphoglycerate mutase: a candidate target for anti-filarial therapies

Fig. 1 Alignment of the deduced amino acid sequences of various iPGM enzymes. The sequence of iPGM from the Wolbachia endosymbiont of Brugia malayi (wBm; GenBank accession no. AAW70991) is aligned with the extensively studied and structurally characterized iPGM from Bacillus stearothermophilus (Bs; GenBank accession no. Q9X519; Jedrzejas et al. 2000a,b) and the characterized iPGM from Brugia malayi (Bm; GenBank accession no. AAQ97626; Zhang et al. 2004; Raverdy et al. 2007). Residues that are identical in at least two of the three sequences are shaded in black, while conserved amino acid changes are grey. The catalytic serine (@) and 13 other residues (*) involved in catalysis (Jedrzejas 2000) are conserved in all three enzymes. Alignment generated with ClustalW and displayed with BOXSHADE (www.ch.embnet.org/software/ BOX_form.html)

opencc-by-4.0Nov 2008View details →

Fig. 2 in The Wolbachia endosymbiont of Brugia malayi has an active phosphoglycerate mutase: a candidate target for anti-filarial therapies

Fig. 2 Purification of MBP–wBm–iPGM expressed intracellularly in the yeast K. lactis. Fractions from the purification were analyzed by SDS-PAGE and the gel stained with Coomassie Blue. Lane 1 Protein Ladder (New England Biolabs), lane 2 K. lactis lysate, lane 3 supernatant of K. lactis lysate, lane 4 pellet of K. lactis lysate, lane 5 flow-through from amylose column, lane 6 column wash, lanes 7, 8, and 9, elution fractions. The arrowhead indicates the protein band corresponding to recombinant MBP–wBm–iPGM

opencc-by-4.0Jul 2021View details →

Fig. 3 in Molecular detection of Wolbachia endosymbiont in reptiles and their ectoparasites

Fig. 3 Phylogenetic relationship of Wolbachia detected in this study (in bold) and other available from GenBank belonging to different supergroups based on a partial sequence of the 16S rRNA gene. Evolutionary analysis was conducted on 1000 bootstrap replications using Maximum Likelihood method and Kimura 2-parameter model with discrete Gamma distribution (+ G) to model evolutionary rate differences among sites selected by best-fit model. GenBank accession number and host species are indicated

opencc-by-4.0Dec 2023View details →

Fig. 3 in Mansonella sp. and associated Wolbachia endosymbionts in ring-tailed coatis (Nasua nasua) in periurban areas from Midwestern Brazil

Fig. 3. Phylogenetic tree based on Maximum likelihood method from 16S rRNA of Wolbachia sp. detected in blood samples from coatis (Nasua nasua) from Campo Grande city, Mato Grosso do Sul state, Brazil. Rickettsia sp. was used as outgroup. Analyses were performed based on an alignment of 337 bp and K2P + G4 as evolutionary model.

opencc-by-4.0Dec 2023View details →

Fig. 2 in Mansonella sp. and associated Wolbachia endosymbionts in ring-tailed coatis (Nasua nasua) in periurban areas from Midwestern Brazil

Fig. 2. Phylogenetic tree based on Maximum likelihood method from filarioids detected in blood samples from coatis (Nasua nasua) from Campo Grande city, Mato Grosso do Sul state, Brazil. A) cox1 gene, Thelazia callipaeda was used as outgroup (alignment of 681 bp and TIM3+G as evolutionary model); accession numbers from the sequences detected at the present study: OQ261670-OQ261693; B) myoHC gene, Filaria latala and Protospirura muricola were used as outgroups (alignment of 480 pb and HKY + G as evolutionary model); C) hsp70 gene, Protospirura muricola was used as outgroup (alignment of 545 pb and TN + G as evolutionary model).

opencc-by-4.0Dec 2023View details →

Fig. 1 in Mansonella sp. and associated Wolbachia endosymbionts in ring-tailed coatis (Nasua nasua) in periurban areas from Midwestern Brazil

Fig. 1. Microfilaria of Mansonella sp. from a coati (Nasua nasua) blood smear stained with Diffy Quicky. Body of the microfilariae with compact column of the nuclei purple in color, sparse osmogenes in the region of the inner body with exception of two big round areas without nuclei (arrow head), with anterior end rounded with short head space and cephalic space with scattered fine nuclei (arrow). (For interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the Web version of this article.)

opencc-by-4.0Jan 2021View details →

Fig. 1 in Polymerase chain reaction and gyrA nucleotide sequence analysis of Wolbachia endosymbionts (Rickettsiales: Anaplasmataceae) in various species of Culicidae, Cimex lectularius (Hemiptera: Cimicidae) and Dirofilaria immitis (Rhabditida: Onchocercidae)

Fig. 1. Phylogenetic tree based on Maximum Likelihood depicting the grouping of Wolbachia from various hosts based on analysis of the gyrA gene. The numerical value displayed on branches is the bootstrap value (1,000 replicates), and branches with values below 50% are collapsed. The tree illustrates that gyrA sequences distinguish Wolbachia subtypes based on host taxonomy, demonstrating that this gene may contribute to Wolbachia strain typing projects and future phylogenetic analysis.

opencc-zeroOct 2023View details →

Influence of endosymbionts on the reproductive fitness of the tick Ornithodoros moubata tested through elimination of the microbiota using antibiotic treatments

Over the past ten years, many studies demonstrated the crucial role of the tick microbiome in tick biology. The soft tick Ornithodoros moubata is a hematophagous ectoparasite of Suidae particularly known to transmit the African swine fever virus. Its bacterial microbiota is characterized by a high prevalence of Francisella-like and Rickettsia endosymbionts. The present study aims to better understand the potential influence of the microbiota on the reproductive fitness of O. moubata. A total of 132 adult female ticks were treated using gentamycin or rifampicin added to the blood meal. Half of the ticks also received a supplementation with B vitamins to address the nutritional role of endosymbionts. Over two periods of 50 days, several traits related to reproductive fitness were monitored to investigate the importance of Francisella and Rickettsia for those traits. It appeared that most of the considered reproductive parameters were not affected. However, antibiotic treatments induced an increase in the tick survival indicating a potential fitness cost of harboring endosymbionts for ticks during the reproduction period. Similarly, 366 first-stage nymphs of Ornithodoros moubata were exposed to the same treatments for molecular quantification of both endosymbionts. Results from qPCR suggested that treatments produced a bacteriostatic effect on endosymbionts without fully eliminating Francisella or Rickettsia.

publicDec 2019View details →

Free‐living and symbiotic lifestyles of a thermotolerant coral endosymbiont display profoundly distinct transcriptomes under both stable and heat stress conditions

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publicOct 2023View details →

Influence of endosymbionts on the reproductive fitness of the tick Ornithodoros moubata tested through elimination of the microbiota using antibiotic treatments

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publicMar 2024View details →

Wolbachia endosymbionts manipulate the self-renewal and differentiation of germline stem cells to reinforce fertility of their fruit fly host

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opencc-zeroDec 2017View details →

Data from: Systematic revision of Symbiodiniaceae highlights the antiquity and diversity of coral endosymbionts

The advent of molecular data has transformed the science of organizing and studying life on Earth. Genetics-based evidence provides fundamental insights into the diversity, ecology, and origins of many biological systems, including the mutualisms between metazoan hosts and their micro-algal partners. A well-known example is the dinoflagellate endosymbionts ("zooxanthellae") that power the growth of stony corals and coral reef ecosystems. Once assumed to encompass a single panmictic species, genetic evidence has revealed a divergent and rich diversity within the zooxanthella genus Symbiodinium. Despite decades of reporting on the significance of this diversity, the formal systematics of these eukaryotic microbes have not kept pace, and a major revision is long overdue. With the consideration of molecular, morphological, physiological, and ecological data, we propose that evolutionarily divergent Symbiodinium "clades" are equivalent to genera in the family Symbiodiniaceae, and we provide formal descriptions for seven of them. Additionally, we recalibrate the molecular clock for the group and amend the date for the earliest diversification of this family to the middle of the Mesozoic Era (∼160 mya). This timing corresponds with the adaptive radiation of analogs to modern shallow-water stony corals during the Jurassic Period and connects the rise of these symbiotic dinoflagellates with the emergence and evolutionary success of reef-building corals. This improved framework acknowledges the Symbiodiniaceae's long evolutionary history while filling a pronounced taxonomic gap. Its adoption will facilitate scientific dialog and future research on the physiology, ecology, and evolution of these important micro-algae.

opencc-zeroJan 2020View details →

Data from: Endosymbiont diversity in natural populations of Tetranychus mites is rapidly lost under laboratory conditions

Although the diversity of bacterial endosymbionts in arthropods is well documented, whether and how such diversity is maintained remains an open question. We investigated the temporal changes occurring in the prevalence and composition of endosymbionts after transferring natural populations of Tetranychus spider-mites from the field to the laboratory. These populations, belonging to three different Tetranychus species (T. urticae, T. ludeni and T. evansi) carried variable infection frequencies of Wolbachia, Cardinium, and Rickettsia. We report a rapid change of the infection status of these populations after only 6 months of laboratory rearing, with an apparent loss of Rickettsia and Cardinium, while Wolbachia apparently either reached fixation or was lost. We show that Wolbachia had variable effects on host longevity and fecundity, and induced variable levels of cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI) in each fully infected population, despite no sequence divergence in the markers used and full CI rescue between all populations. This suggests that such effects are largely dependent upon the host genotype. Subsequently, we used these data to parameterize a theoretical model for the invasion of CI-inducing symbionts in haplodiploids, which shows that symbiont effects are sufficient to explain their dynamics in the laboratory. This further suggests that symbiont diversity and prevalence in the field are likely maintained by environmental heterogeneity, which is reduced in the laboratory. Overall, this study highlights the lability of endosymbiont infections and draws attention to the limitations of laboratory studies to understand host-symbiont interactions in natural populations.

opencc-zeroJun 2021View details →

Combined responses of primary coral polyps and their algal endosymbionts to decreasing seawater pH

With coral reefs declining globally, resilience of these ecosystems hinges on successful coral recruitment. However, knowledge of the acclimatory and/or adaptive potential in response to environmental challenges such as ocean acidification (OA) in earliest life stages is limited. Our combination of physiological measurements, microscopy, computed tomography techniques and gene expression analysis allowed us to thoroughly elucidate the mechanisms underlying the response of early life stages of corals, together with their algal partners, to the projected decline in oceanic pH. We observed extensive physiological, morphological and transcriptional changes in surviving recruits, and the transition to a less-skeleton/more-tissue phenotype. We found that decreased pH conditions stimulate photosynthesis and endosymbiont growth, and gene expression potentially linked to photosynthates translocation. Our unique holistic study discloses the previously unseen intricate net of interacting mechanisms that regulate the performance of these organisms in response to OA.