ArticleGenome biology2001
The process of genome shrinkage in the obligate symbiont Buchnera aphidicola.
Article in Genome biology, 2001. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 121 papers.
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Who cites it
121 citing papers in PubMed.
- Two D-loop resolution systems enable natural genetic transformation in bacteria.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026Article
- Symbiotic weaponry: the role of bacterial mediators in aphid-plant defense conflicts.Archives of microbiology · 2026Review
- Prevalence and Evolutionary Implications of Genome Rearrangements in Bacteria.Genome biology and evolution · 2026Article
- Adaptation During the Shift from Entomopathogen to Endosymbiont Is Accompanied by Gene Loss and Intensified Selection.Genome biology and evolution · 2024Article
- Genome Streamlining: Effect of Mutation Rate and Population Size on Genome Size Reduction.Genome biology and evolution · 2024Article
- Two male-killingRoyal Society open science · 2024Article
- Coordination of host and endosymbiont gene expression governs endosymbiont growth and elimination in the cereal weevil Sitophilus spp.Microbiome · 2023Article
- Chance Favors the Prepared Genomes: Horizontal Transfer Shapes the Emergence of Antibiotic Resistance Mutations in Core Genes.Molecular biology and evolution · 2023Article
- Article
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- Nutrition or nature: using elementary flux modes to disentangle the complex forces shaping prokaryote pan-genomes.BMC ecology and evolution · 2022Article
- The C-Terminal Repeat Units of SpaA Mediate Adhesion ofBiology · 2022Article
- Genome size distributions in bacteria and archaea are strongly linked to evolutionary history at broad phylogenetic scales.PLoS genetics · 2022Article
- Tightly Constrained Genome Reduction and Relaxation of Purifying Selection during Secondary Plastid Endosymbiosis.Molecular biology and evolution · 2022Article
- Assemblies of the genomes of parasitic wasps using meta-assembly and scaffolding with genetic linkage.G3 (Bethesda, Md.) · 2022Article
- Facultative symbionts are potential agents of symbiont-mediated RNAi in aphids.Frontiers in microbiology · 2022Review
- Metabolic relay gene of aphid and primary symbiont as RNAi target loci for aphid control.Frontiers in plant science · 2022Article
- Evolutionarily recent dual obligatory symbiosis among adelgids indicates a transition between fungus- and insect-associated lifestyles.The ISME journal · 2022Article
- Review
- Growing Ungrowable Bacteria: Overview and Perspectives on Insect Symbiont Culturability.Microbiology and molecular biology reviews : MMBR · 2020Review
61 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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2 authors.
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundVery small genomes have evolved repeatedly in eubacterial lineages that have adopted obligate associations with eukaryotic hosts. Complete genome sequences have revealed that small genomes retain very different gene sets, raising the question of how final genome content is determined. To examine the process of genome reduction, the tiny genome of the endosymbiont Buchnera aphidicola was compared to the larger ancestral genome, reconstructed on the basis of the phylogenetic distribution of gene orthologs among fully sequenced relatives of Escherichia coli and Buchnera.
resultsThe reconstructed ancestral genome contained 2,425 open reading frames (ORFs). The Buchnera genome, containing 564 ORFs, consists of 153 fragments of 1-34 genes that are syntenic with reconstructed ancestral regions. On the basis of this reconstruction, 503 genes were eliminated within syntenic fragments, and 1,403 genes were lost from the gaps between syntenic fragments, probably in connection with genome rearrangements. Lost regions are sometimes large, and often span functionally unrelated genes. In addition, individual genes and regulatory regions have been lost or eroded. For the categories of DNA repair genes and rRNA genes, most lost loci fall in regions between syntenic fragments. This history of gene loss is reflected in the sequences of intergenic spacers at positions where genes were once present.
conclusionsThe most plausible interpretation of this reconstruction is that Buchnera lost many genes through the fixation of large deletions soon after the acquisition of an obligate endosymbiotic lifestyle. An implication is that final genome composition may be partly the chance outcome of initial deletions and that neighboring genes influence the likelihood of loss of particular genes and pathways.
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