Publications

4375

Abstract Many insects engage in stable nutritional symbioses with bacteria that supplement limiting essential nutrients to their host. While several plant sap-feeding Hemipteran lineages are known to be simultaneously associated with two or more endosymbionts with complementary biosynthetic pathways to synthesize amino acids or vitamins, such co-obligate symbioses have not been functionally characterized in other insect orders. Here, we report on the characterization of a dual co-obligate, bacteriome-localized symbiosis in a family of xylophagous beetles using comparative genomics, fluorescence microscopy, and phylogenetic analyses. Across the beetle family Bostrichidae, most investigated species harbored the Bacteroidota symbiont Shikimatogenerans bostrichidophilus that encodes the shikimate pathway to produce tyrosine precursors in its severely reduced genome, likely supplementing the beetles’ cuticle biosynthesis, sclerotisation, and melanisation. One clade of Bostrichid beetles additionally housed the co-obligate symbiont Bostrichicola ureolyticus that is inferred to complement the function of Shikimatogenerans by recycling urea and provisioning the essential amino acid lysine, thereby providing additional benefits on nitrogen-poor diets. Both symbionts represent ancient associations within the Bostrichidae that have subsequently experienced genome erosion and co-speciation with their hosts. While Bostrichicola was repeatedly lost, Shikimatogenerans has been retained throughout the family and exhibits a perfect pattern of co-speciation. Our results reveal that co-obligate symbioses with complementary metabolic capabilities occur beyond the well-known sap-feeding Hemiptera and highlight the importance of symbiont-mediated cuticle supplementation and nitrogen recycling for herbivorous beetles.

Biological nitrogen fixation plays a crucial role in the marine nitrogen cycle, impacting global marine productivity and related carbon fluxes. The strains were analyzed by gene annotation, growth conditions and phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences.These two strains were isolated from the coastal sediment at Xiaoshi Island in Weihai, China. The strains were analyzed by gene annotation, growth conditions and phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences. It was revealed that strains D04T and AATT contain a set of nif gene clusters responsible for nitrogen fixation. Cell are yellow-colored, Gram-stain-negative, facultatively anaerobic, and rod-shaped bacteria. The optimal growth conditions for strain D04T were found to be at 33 °C, pH 7.0, and in 2% (w/v) NaCl, while strain AATT prefers growth conditions at 33 °C, pH 6.5, and in 3% (w/v) NaCl. The highest similarity of strains D04T and AATT was to Saccharicrinis fermentans NBRC 15936T, with a similarity of 94.1% and 94.8%, respectively. The 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity between the two strains was 96.6%. These novel strains were found to represent new taxa of the Marinilabiliaceae family, and we propose the names Plebeiobacterium marinum gen. nov., sp. nov. and Plebeiobacterium sediminum sp. nov. with type strains D04T (MCCC 1H00493T = KCTC 92026T) and AATT (MCCC 1H00485T = KCTC 92028T), respectively. In this study, nitrogen fixation genes were predicted for 53 strains from the whole order Marinilabiliales and it was found that nitrogen fixation gene clusters were present in 26 strains. These gene clusters were found in every family in the order, highlighting that the presence of nitrogen-fixing gene clusters in the order is common. Nitrogen-fixing bacteria in sediments play an important role in various biogeochemical cycles. Thus, understanding the oceanic nitrogen cycle can provide insights into the energy flow of marine systems.

In this paper, a comprehensive overview of the ‘Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum’ presence in Europe was provided. The analyzed findings revealed that, since the first appearance of this pathogen in Finland and Spain in 2008, it has spread to 13 new European countries. Therefore, ‘Ca. L. solanacearum’ has spread very quickly across the European continent, as evident from the emergence of new host plants within the Apiaceae, Urticaceae, and Polygonaceae families, as well as new haplotypes of this pathogen. Thus far, 5 of the 15 ‘Ca. L. solanacearum’ haplotypes determined across the globe have been confirmed in Europe (haplotypes C, D, E, U, and H). Fully competent ‘Ca. L. solanacearum’ vectors include Bactericera cockerelli, Trioza apicalis, and B. trigonica; however, only T. apicalis and B. trigonica are presently established in Europe and are very important for plants from the Apiaceae family in particular. Moreover, psyllid species such as B. tremblayi, T. urticae, and T. anthrisci have also been confirmed positive for ‘Ca. L. solanacearum’. Constant monitoring of its spread in the field (in both symptomatic and asymptomatic plants), use of sensitive molecular diagnostic techniques, and application of timely management strategies are, therefore, of utmost importance for the control of this destructive pathogen.

Abstract Na.no.clep'ta. Gr. masc. n. nânos, a dwarf; Gr. masc. n. kleptês, a thief; N.L. masc. n. Nanoclepta, a small thief, a small organism that steals from its host. The genus Candidatus Nanoclepta currently comprises a single species, Candidatus Nanoclepta minutus Ncl‐1, an anaerobic hyperthermophile (optimal growth observed from 80 to 85°C) cultivated from a New Zealand hot spring. Cells are ultra‐small cocci (∼200 nm) with archaeal flagella and are cultivated in near‐neutral pH conditions (pH ∼6.0). Like several other Nanoarchaeota , Ca . N. minutus cells are epibionts on the surface of a host from the Crenarchaeota . Although this symbiosis is obligate for Ca . N. minutus, the relationship is not required for the host, Zestosphaera tikiterensis NZ3 T , which can survive as a free‐living organism. Ca . N. minutus has a highly reduced genome (∼0.58 Mb) with minimal biosynthetic potential and no detected ATP synthase genes, and Ca . Nanoclepta cells likely rely on their host for many metabolic precursors. DNA G + C content (mol%) : 32.2 (genome analysis). Type species : Candidatus Nanoclepta minutus St. John et al. 2019a. Taxonomic and Nomenclature Notes According to the List of Prokaryotic names with Standing in Nomenclature (LPSN), the taxonomic status of the genus Candidatus Nanoclepta is: preferred name (not correct name) (last update, February 2025) * . LPSN classification: Archaea / Nanobdellati / Nanobdellota / Nanobdellia / Nanobdellales / Nanobdellaceae / Candidatus Nanoclepta The genus Candidatus Nanoclepta can also be recovered in the Genome Taxonomy Database (GTDB) as g__Nanoclepta (version v220) ** . GTDB classification: d__Archaea / p__Nanoarchaeota / c__Nanoarchaeia / o__Nanoarchaeales / f__Nanopusillaceae / g__Nanoclepta * Meier‐Kolthoff et al. ( 2022 ). Nucleic Acids Res , 50 , D801 – D807 ; DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkab902 ** Parks et al. ( 2022 ). Nucleic Acids Res , 50 , D785 – D794 ; DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkab776