Adenine methylation may contribute to endosymbiont selection in a clonal aphid population.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The pea aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum has two modes of reproduction: parthenogenetic during the spring and summer and sexual in autumn. This ability to alternate between reproductive modes and the emergence of clonal populations under favorable conditions make this organism an interesting model for genetic and epigenetic studies. The pea aphid hosts different types of endosymbiotic bacteria within bacteriocytes which help the aphids survive and adapt to new environmental conditions and habitats. The obligate endosymbiont Buchnera aphidicola has a drastically reduced and stable genome, whereas facultative endosymbionts such as Regiella insecticola have large and dynamic genomes due to phages, mobile elements and high levels of genetic recombination. In previous work, selectio

SUBMITTER: Reingold V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4246565 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature