Discovery of Early-Branching Wolbachia Reveals Functional Enrichment on Horizontally Transferred Genes.

ABSTRACT: Wolbachia is a widespread endosymbiont of insects and filarial nematodes that profoundly influences host biology. Wolbachia has also been reported in rhizosphere hosts, where its diversity and function remain poorly characterized. The discovery that plant-parasitic nematodes (PPNs) host Wolbachia strains with unknown roles is of interest evolutionarily, ecologically, and for agriculture as a potential target for developing new biological controls. The goal of this study was to screen communities for PPN endosymbionts and analyze genes and genomic patterns that might indicate their role. Genome assemblies revealed 1 out of 16 sampled sites had nematode communities hosting a Wolbachia strain, designated wTex, that has highly diverged as one of the early sup

SUBMITTER: Weyandt N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9084900 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature