The genetic properties of the primary endosymbionts of mealybugs differ from those of other endosymbionts of plant sap-sucking insects.

ABSTRACT: Mealybugs (Hemiptera, Coccoidea, Pseudococcidae), like aphids and psyllids, are plant sap-sucking insects that have an obligate association with prokaryotic endosymbionts that are acquired through vertical, maternal transmission. We sequenced two fragments of the genome of Tremblaya princeps, the endosymbiont of mealybugs, which is a member of the beta subdivision of the Proteobacteria. Each of the fragments (35 and 30 kb) contains a copy of 16S-23S-5S rRNA genes. A total of 37 open reading frames were detected, which corresponded to putative rRNA proteins, chaperones, and enzymes of branched-chain amino acid biosynthesis, DNA replication, protein translation, and RNA synthesis. The genome of T. princeps has a number of properties that distinguish it from the genomes of Buchnera aphidicola

SUBMITTER: Baumann L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC126778 | biostudies-literature | 2002 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature