Intracellular defensive symbiont is culturable and capable of transovarial, vertical transmission.

ABSTRACT: Insects frequently form heritable associations with beneficial bacteria that are vertically transmitted from parent to offspring. Long-term vertical transmission has repeatedly resulted in genome reduction and gene loss, rendering many such bacteria incapable of establishment in axenic culture. Among aphids, heritable endosymbionts often provide context-specific benefits to their hosts. Although these associations have large impacts on host phenotypes, experimental approaches are often limited by an inability to cultivate these microbes. Here, we report the axenic culture of Candidatus Fukatsuia symbiotica strain WIR, a heritable bacterial endosymbiont of the pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum. Whole-genome sequencing revealed similar genomic features and high sequence similarity

SUBMITTER: Maeda GP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11237597 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature