Multiple origins of obligate nematode and insect symbionts by a clade of bacteria closely related to plant pathogens.

ABSTRACT: Obligate symbioses involving intracellular bacteria have transformed eukaryotic life, from providing aerobic respiration and photosynthesis to enabling colonization of previously inaccessible niches, such as feeding on xylem and phloem, and surviving in deep-sea hydrothermal vents. A major challenge in the study of obligate symbioses is to understand how they arise. Because the best studied obligate symbioses are ancient, it is especially challenging to identify early or intermediate stages. Here we report the discovery of a nascent obligate symbiosis in Howardula aoronymphium, a well-studied nematode parasite of Drosophila flies. We have found that Haoronymphium and its sister species harbor a maternally inherited intracellular bacterial symbiont. We never find

SUBMITTER: Martinson VG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7749356 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature