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Science 13 October 2006:
Vol. 314. no. 5797, p. 220
DOI: 10.1126/science.314.5797.220i
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This Week in Science

Figure 1 Aphid insect pests on plants possess a selection of symbionts in specific organs called bacteriomes. The composition of the symbiont flora varies between species and strains of aphid, and the bacteria show an intriguing range of degrees of genome reduction. Pérez-Brocal et al. (p. 312; see the Perspective by Andersson) have been investigating the genome of Buchnera aphidicola BCc, which inhabits the aphid Cinara cedri, along with the cohabiting secondary symbiont Serratia symbiotica. They found a highly reduced genome, of about 420 kilobases and 362 protein-coding genes, that is only two-thirds the size of Buchnera strains in other aphids. Compared with its symbiont partners, it has lost many functions. Instead, the cohabiting Serratia seems to have taken over the "lost" metabolic functions, and indeed, seems to be supporting the tiny genome as well as the host, which may mean that Buchnera aphidicola BCc has embarked on a path to extinction. In Brevia, Nakabachi et al. (p. 267) describe the limited genome of another bacterial endosymbiont, Carsonella ruddii.

CREDIT: OLA LUNDSTROM




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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)