Project description:Yellow proteins are best known for their roles in pigmentation, behavior, and development across insects. Here, we uncover their striking evolutionary co-option for a wholly distinct function: sustaining a Paleocene-aged digestive symbiosis in tortoise beetles. We show that a female-specific Yellow forms the gelatinous spheres that encapsulate the bacterium Stammera during vertical transmission, allowing it to subsist extracellularly despite its drastically reduced genome (0.24 Mb) and limited metabolic capacity. Yellow expression is highly localized to symbiont-harboring glands in the ovaries, where the protein is assembled into a matrix and secreted during egg-laying. Functional knockdown of yellow disrupts sphere integrity and compromises symbiont viability under dry conditions, underscoring the protein’s embedding properties and protective role for Stammera. These findings reveal an unreported function for an ancient gene family and demonstrate how tortoise beetles have repurposed Yellows to overcome the extreme metabolic constraints faced by their symbionts during extracellular transmission.
Project description:The presence of DNA methylation in beetles (Coleoptera) has only been investigated with bisulfite sequencing of Tribolium castaneum, which produced no evidence of DNA methylation. Here, we used whole genome bisulfite sequencing to assay if DNA methylation was present in another beetle, Nicrophorus vespilloides. We used T. castaneum as a negative control.
Project description:This series examines gene expression in the anterior midgut at several time points (2, 4, 8, & 16 h) after topical application of juvenile hormone III (JHIII) or acetone (control) to adult beetles of both sexes. Keywords = North American pine engraver beetle Keywords = anterior midgut Keywords = juvenile hormone Keywords = pheromone biosynthesis Keywords = Coleoptera Keywords = Scolytidae Keywords: other
Project description:We report the temporal dynamics of differential gene expression between primed and unprimed beetles infected with the entomopathogen Bt
Project description:This series examines gene expression in the anterior midgut at several time points (2, 4, 8, & 16 h for males, 8 h for females) after topical application of juvenile hormone III (JHIII) or acetone (control) to adult beetles. In addition, gene expression in male anterior midguts were examined 24 h after phloem feeding or in unfed beetles. Keywords: North American pine engraver beetle; anterior midgut; juvenile hormone; pheromone biosynthesis; Coleoptera; Scolytidae Publication reference: Reference Type: Book Section Authors: Tittiger, Claus; Keeling, Christopher I.; Blomquist, Gary J. Year: 2005 Title: Some insights into the remarkable metabolism of the bark beetle midgut. Editor: Romeo, J.T. Book Title: Chemical ecology and phytochemistry of forest ecosystems City: Toronto Publisher: Elsevier Volume: 39 Pages: 57-78 Series Title: Recent Advances in Phytochemistry Keywords: other
Project description:Proteomic analysis of the microbiome of beetle intestinal content from wood eating beetles as related to lignocellulose deconstruction and colony subsistence