ArticleBMC biology2021
Horizontally acquired antibacterial genes associated with adaptive radiation of ladybird beetles.
Article in BMC biology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 20 citations in OpenAlex.
- Gut Microbe-Driven Resistance Mechanisms in Propylea Japonica: Insights from Horizontal Gene Transfer and Oxidative Phosphorylation.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- Comparative analysis of 163 ant genomes reveals recurrent horizontal gene transfer from bacteria to ants.GigaScience · 2026Article
- Molecular evolution of dietary shifts in ladybird beetles (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae): from fungivory to carnivory and herbivory.BMC biology · 2025Article
- Experimental horizontal transfer of phage-derived genes to Drosophila confers innate immunity to parasitoids.Current biology : CB · 2025Article
- Metabolic enhancement contributed by horizontal gene transfer is essential for dietary specialization in leaf beetles.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025Article
- PhyloAln: A Convenient Reference-Based Tool to Align Sequences and High-Throughput Reads for Phylogeny and Evolution in the Omic Era.Molecular biology and evolution · 2024Article
- Chromosome-level genome assembly of the giant ladybug Megalocaria dilatata.Scientific data · 2024Article
- A chromosome-level genome assembly of the Henosepilachna vigintioctomaculata provides insights into the evolution of ladybird beetles.DNA research : an international journal for rapid publication of reports on genes and genomes · 2023Article
- The genome sequence of the orange ladybird,Wellcome open research · 2023Article
- Genomic insight into the scale specialization of the biological control agent Novius pumilus (Weise, 1892).BMC genomics · 2022Article
- Horizontal Transfer of Microbial Toxin Genes to Gall Midge Genomes.Genome biology and evolution · 2021Article
- Genomic insight into diet adaptation in the biological control agent Cryptolaemus montrouzieri.BMC genomics · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
14 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundHorizontal gene transfer (HGT) has been documented in many herbivorous insects, conferring the ability to digest plant material and promoting their remarkable ecological diversification. Previous reports suggest HGT of antibacterial enzymes may have contributed to the insect immune response and limit bacterial growth. Carnivorous insects also display many evolutionary successful lineages, but in contrast to the plant feeders, the potential role of HGTs has been less well-studied.
resultsUsing genomic and transcriptomic data from 38 species of ladybird beetles, we identified a set of bacterial cell wall hydrolase (cwh) genes acquired by this group of beetles. Infection with Bacillus subtilis led to upregulated expression of these ladybird cwh genes, and their recombinantly produced proteins limited bacterial proliferation. Moreover, RNAi-mediated cwh knockdown led to downregulation of other antibacterial genes, indicating a role in antibacterial immune defense. cwh genes are rare in eukaryotes, but have been maintained in all tested Coccinellinae species, suggesting that this putative immune-related HGT event played a role in the evolution of this speciose subfamily of predominant predatory ladybirds.
conclusionOur work demonstrates that, in a manner analogous to HGT-facilitated plant feeding, enhanced immunity through HGT might have played a key role in the prey adaptation and niche expansion that promoted the diversification of carnivorous beetle lineages. We believe that this represents the first example of immune-related HGT in carnivorous insects with an association with a subsequent successful species radiation.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.