Nitrogen recycling and nutritional provisioning by Blattabacterium, the cockroach endosymbiont.

ABSTRACT: Nitrogen acquisition and assimilation is a primary concern of insects feeding on diets largely composed of plant material. Reclaiming nitrogen from waste products provides a rich reserve for this limited resource, provided that recycling mechanisms are in place. Cockroaches, unlike most terrestrial insects, excrete waste nitrogen within their fat bodies as uric acids, postulated to be a supplement when dietary nitrogen is limited. The fat bodies of most cockroaches are inhabited by Blattabacterium, which are vertically transmitted, Gram-negative bacteria that have been hypothesized to participate in uric acid degradation, nitrogen assimilation, and nutrient provisioning. We have sequenced completely the Blattabacterium genome from Periplaneta americana. Genomic analysis confirms that Blatt

SUBMITTER: Sabree ZL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2780778 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature