Cladogenesis and Genomic Streamlining in Extracellular Endosymbionts of Tropical Stink Bugs.

ABSTRACT: Phytophagous stink bugs are globally distributed and many harbor vertically inherited bacterial symbionts that are extracellular, yet little is known about how the symbiont's genomes have evolved under this transmission strategy. Genome reduction is common in insect intracellular symbionts but limited genome sampling of the extracellular symbionts of distantly related stink bugs has precluded inferring patterns of extracellular symbiont genome evolution. To address this knowledge gap, we completely sequenced the genomes of the uncultivable bacterial symbionts of four neotropical stink bugs of the Edessa genus. Phylogenetic and comparative analyses indicated that the symbionts form a clade within the Pantoea genus and their genomes are highly reduced (∼0.8 Mb). Furthermore, genome synteny a

SUBMITTER: Otero-Bravo A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5822708 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature