Dataset Information

One to host them all: genomics of the diverse bacterial endosymbionts of the spider Oedothorax gibbosus.

ABSTRACT: Bacterial endosymbionts of the groups Wolbachia, Cardinium and Rickettsiaceae are well known for their diverse effects on their arthropod hosts, ranging from mutualistic relationships to reproductive phenotypes. Here, we analysed a unique system in which the dwarf spider Oedothorax gibbosus is co-infected with up to five different endosymbionts affiliated with Wolbachia, 'Candidatus Tisiphia' (formerly Torix group Rickettsia), Cardinium and Rhabdochlamydia. Using short-read genome sequencing data, we show that the endosymbionts are heterogeneously distributed among O. gibbosus populations and are frequently found co-infecting spider individuals. To study this intricate host-endosymbiont system on a genome-resolved level, we used long-read sequencing to reconstruct closed genomes of the Wolbachia, 'Ca. Tisiphia' and Cardinium endosymbionts. We provide insights into the ecology and evolution of the endosymbionts and shed light on the interactions with their spider host. We detected high quantities of transposable elements in all endosymbiont genomes and provide evidence that ancestors of the Cardinium, 'Ca. Tisiphia' and Wolbachia endosymbionts have co-infected the same hosts in the past. Our findings contribute to broadening our knowledge about endosymbionts infecting one of the largest animal phyla on Earth and show the usefulness of transposable elements as an evolutionary 'contact-tracing' tool.

SUBMITTER: Halter T

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9997750 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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One to host them all: genomics of the diverse bacterial endosymbionts of the spider Oedothorax gibbosus.

Halter Tamara T Köstlbacher Stephan S Rattei Thomas T Hendrickx Frederik F Manzano-Marín Alejandro A Horn Matthias M

Microbial genomics 20230201 2

Bacterial endosymbionts of the groups Wolbachia, Cardinium and Rickettsiaceae are well known for their diverse effects on their arthropod hosts, ranging from mutualistic relationships to reproductive phenotypes. Here, we analysed a unique system in which the dwarf spider Oedothorax gibbosus is co-infected with up to five different endosymbionts affiliated with Wolbachia, 'Candidatus Tisiphia' (formerly Torix group Rickettsia), Cardinium and ...[more]

PMID: 36757767

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Project description:Facultative bacterial endosymbionts can protect their aphid hosts from natural enemies such as hymenopteran parasitoids. As such, they have the capability to modulate interactions between aphids, parasitoids and hyperparasitoids. However, the magnitude of these effects in natural aphid populations and their associated parasitoid communities is currently unknown. Moreover, environmental factors such as plant fertilization and landscape complexity are known to affect aphid-parasitoid interactions but it remains unclear how such environmental factors affect the interplay between aphids, parasitoids and endosymbionts. Here, we tested whether facultative endosymbionts confer protection to parasitoids in natural populations of the English grain aphid, Sitobion avenae, and if this is affected by plant fertilization and landscape complexity. Furthermore, we examined whether the effects of facultative endosymbionts can cascade up to the hyperparasitoid level and increase primary-hyperparasitoid food web specialization. Living aphids and mummies were collected in fertilized and unfertilized plots within 13 wheat fields in Central Germany. We assessed the occurrence of primary parasitoid, hyperparasitoid and endosymbiont species in aphids and mummies using a newly established molecular approach. Facultative endosymbiont infection rates were high across fields (~80%), independent of whether aphids were parasitized or unparasitized. Aphid mummies exhibited a significantly lower share of facultative endosymbiont infection (~38%). These findings suggest that facultative endosymbionts do not affect parasitoid oviposition behaviour, but decrease parasitoid survival in the host. Facultative endosymbiont infection rates were lower in mummies collected from fertilized compared to unfertilized plants, indicating that plant fertilization boosts the facultative endosymbiont protective effect. Furthermore, we found strong evidence for species-specific and negative cascading effects of facultative endosymbionts on primary and hyperparasitoids, respectively. Facultative endosymbionts impacted parasitoid assemblages and increased the specialization of primary-hyperparasitoid food webs: these effects were independent from and much stronger than other environmental factors. The current findings strongly suggest that facultative endosymbionts act as a driving force in aphid-parasitoid-hyperparasitoid networks: they shape insect community composition at different trophic levels and modulate, directly and indirectly, the interactions between aphids, parasitoids and their environment.

Dataset Information

One to host them all: genomics of the diverse bacterial endosymbionts of the spider Oedothorax gibbosus.

Publications

One to host them all: genomics of the diverse bacterial endosymbionts of the spider <i>Oedothorax gibbosus</i>.

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OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

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Dataset Information

One to host them all: genomics of the diverse bacterial endosymbionts of the spider Oedothorax gibbosus.

Publications

One to host them all: genomics of the diverse bacterial endosymbionts of the spider &lt;i&gt;Oedothorax gibbosus&lt;/i&gt;.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets

One to host them all: genomics of the diverse bacterial endosymbionts of the spider <i>Oedothorax gibbosus</i>.