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Abstract
Buchnera aphidicola is an obligate endosymbiont of aphids that cannot be cultured outside of hosts. It exists as diverse strains in different aphid species, and phylogenetic reconstructions show that it has been maternally transmitted in aphids for >100 million years. B. aphidicola genomes are highly reduced and show conserved gene order and no gene acquisition, but encoded proteins undergo rapid evolution. Aphids depend on B. aphidicola for biosynthesis of essential amino acids and as an integral part of embryonic development. How B. aphidicola populations are regulated within hosts remains little known.
- Received:
- Accepted:
- Published Online:
Keyword(s):
amino acid provisioning
,
bacterial endosymbiont
,
codiversification
,
genome reduction
,
insect symbiosis
and
maternal transmission
Funding
-
National Science Foundation
(Award 1551092)
- Principle Award Recipient: NancyA Moran
-
National Institutes of Health
(Award R35GM1317)
- Principle Award Recipient: NancyA Moran