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Genetic analyses show how symbiotic bacteria in termite gut has changed over course of evolution
Porotermes adamsoni—one of the more original termite species that thrive exclusively on wood with the help of symbiotic microorganisms in their digestive tract. Credit: Czech University of Life Sciences/Jan Šobotník
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Porotermes adamsoni—one of the more original termite species that thrive exclusively on wood with the help of symbiotic microorganisms in their digestive tract. Credit: Czech University of Life Sciences/Jan Šobotník
Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology in Marburg, Germany, have analyzed the evolutionary development of symbiotic bacteria in the intestines of termites with regard to their metabolic capabilities.
Horizontal gene transfer provides new metabolic capabilities
"By receiving genes from other bacteria in their environment, the bacteria were better able to switch their metabolism to utilize other energy supplies such as sugar phosphates," says Mies. "This result emphasizes how important this
The data also show how, in the course of this evolution, there was a shift in energy metabolism from glucose to sugar phosphates and eventually a complete loss of the ability to break down sugar.
Instead, the bacteria acquired a transport mechanism for the uptake of energy-rich compounds (ATP/ADP antiporters) from the host environment, as is typical for parasitic bacteria. "The loss of almost all biosynthetic capabilities in some endomicrobial lineages and the acquisition of the transporter indicate that the originally mutually beneficial relationship between the bacteria and the gut-dwelling flagellates may be in decline," explains Brune.
"In a next step, we now want to investigate the extent to which the original tasks of the endomicrobial symbionts are being replaced by other, secondary symbionts. This will contribute to the general understanding of how nature avoids dead ends in the evolution of symbioses."
More information:
Undine S. Mies et al, Genome reduction and horizontal gene transfer in the evolution of Endomicrobia—rise and fall of an intracellular symbiosis with termite gut flagellates, mBio (2024). DOI: 10.1128/mbio.00826-24