Mutational Pressure Drives Differential Genome Conservation in Two Bacterial Endosymbionts of Sap-Feeding Insects.

ABSTRACT: Compared with free-living bacteria, endosymbionts of sap-feeding insects have tiny and rapidly evolving genomes. Increased genetic drift, high mutation rates, and relaxed selection associated with host control of key cellular functions all likely contribute to genome decay. Phylogenetic comparisons have revealed massive variation in endosymbiont evolutionary rate, but such methods make it difficult to partition the effects of mutation versus selection. For example, the ancestor of Auchenorrhynchan insects contained two obligate endosymbionts, Sulcia and a betaproteobacterium (BetaSymb; called Nasuia in leafhoppers) that exhibit divergent rates of sequence evolution and different propensities for loss and replacement in the ensuing ∼300 Ma. Here, we use the auchenorrhynchan leafhopper Macro

SUBMITTER: Waneka G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7952229 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature