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Xiong Q, Sopko B, Klimov PB, Hubert J. A novel Bartonella-like bacterium forms an interdependent mutualistic symbiosis with its host, the stored-product mite Tyrophagus putrescentiae. mSystems 2024; 9:e0082923. [PMID: 38380907 PMCID: PMC10949449 DOI: 10.1128/msystems.00829-23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2023] [Accepted: 01/31/2024] [Indexed: 02/22/2024] Open
Abstract
A novel Bartonella-like symbiont (BLS) of Tyrophagus putrescentiae was characterized. BLS formed a separate cluster from the Bartonella clade together with an ant symbiont. BLS was present in mite bodies (103 16S DNA copies/mite) and feces but was absent in eggs. This indicated the presence of the BLS in mite guts. The BLS showed a reduction in genome size (1.6 Mb) and indicates gene loss compared to Bartonella apis. The BLS can be interacted with its host by using host metabolic pathways (e.g., the histidine and arginine metabolic pathways) as well as by providing its own metabolic pathways (pantothenate and lipoic acid) to the host, suggesting the existence of a mutualistic association. Our experimental data further confirmed these potential mutualistic nutritional associations, as cultures of T. putrescentiae with low BLS abundance showed the strongest response after the addition of vitamins. Despite developing an arguably tight dependency on its host, the BLS has probably retained flagellar mobility, as evidenced by the 32 proteins enriched in KEGG pathways associated with flagellar assembly or chemotaxis (e.g., fliC, flgE, and flgK, as highly expressed genes). Some of these proteins probably also facilitate adhesion to host gut cells. The microcin C transporter was identified in the BLS, suggesting that microcin C may be used in competition with other gut bacteria. The 16S DNA sequence comparison indicated a mite clade of BLSs with a broad host range, including house dust and stored-product mites. Our phylogenomic analyses identified a unique lineage of arachnid specific BLSs in mites and scorpions.IMPORTANCEA Bartonella-like symbiont was found in an astigmatid mite of allergenic importance. We assembled the genome of the bacterium from metagenomes of different stored-product mite (T. putrescentiae) cultures. The bacterium provides pantothenate and lipoic acid to the mite host. The vitamin supply explains the changes in the relative abundance of BLSs in T. putrescentiae as the microbiome response to nutritional or pesticide stress, as observed previously. The phylogenomic analyses of available 16S DNA sequences originating from mite, scorpion, and insect samples identified a unique lineage of arachnid specific forming large Bartonella clade. BLSs associated with mites and a scorpion. The Bartonella clade included the previously described Ca. Tokpelaia symbionts of ants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qing Xiong
- School of Biomedical Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
- Department of Health Technology and Informatics, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China
| | | | - Pavel B. Klimov
- Purdue University, Lilly Hall of Life Sciences, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA
| | - Jan Hubert
- Department of Microbiology, Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, Czechia
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Caty SN, Alvarez-Buylla A, Vasek C, Tapia EE, Martin NA, McLaughlin T, Weber PK, Mayali X, Coloma LA, Morris MM, O'Connell LA. A toxic environment selects for specialist microbiome in poison frogs. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.01.10.574901. [PMID: 38260330 PMCID: PMC10802471 DOI: 10.1101/2024.01.10.574901] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2024]
Abstract
Shifts in microbiome community composition can have large effects on host health. It is therefore important to understand how perturbations, like those caused by the introduction of exogenous chemicals, modulate microbiome community composition. In poison frogs within the family Dendrobatidae, the skin microbiome is exposed to the alkaloids that the frogs sequester from their diet and use for defense. Given the demonstrated antimicrobial effects of these poison frog alkaloids, these compounds may be structuring the skin microbial community. To test this, we first characterized microbial communities from chemically defended and closely related non-defended frogs from Ecuador. Then we conducted a laboratory experiment to monitor the effect of the alkaloid decahydroquinoline (DHQ) on the microbiome of a single frog species. In both the field and lab experiments, we found that alkaloid-exposed microbiomes are more species rich and phylogenetically diverse, with an increase in rare taxa. To better understand the strain-specific behavior in response to alkaloids, we cultured microbial strains from poison frog skin and found the majority of strains exhibited either enhanced growth or were not impacted by the addition of DHQ. Additionally, stable isotope tracing coupled to nanoSIMS suggests that some of these strains are able to metabolize DHQ. Taken together, these data suggest that poison frog chemical defenses open new niches for skin-associated microbes with specific adaptations, including the likely metabolism of alkaloids, that enable their survival in this toxic environment. This work helps expand our understanding of how exposure to exogenous compounds like alkaloids can impact host microbiomes.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Cooper Vasek
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford CA, USA
| | - Elicio E Tapia
- Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change Martin-Luther-King-Platz 3 20146 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Nora A Martin
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford CA, USA
| | - Theresa McLaughlin
- Stanford University Mass Spectrometry, Stanford University, Stanford CA, USA
| | - Peter K Weber
- Physical and Life Sciences Directorate, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore CA, USA
| | - Xavier Mayali
- Physical and Life Sciences Directorate, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore CA, USA
| | - Luis A Coloma
- Centro Jambatu de Investigación y Conservación de Anfibios, Fundación Jambatu, San Rafael, Quito, Ecuador
| | - Megan M Morris
- Physical and Life Sciences Directorate, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore CA, USA
| | - Lauren A O'Connell
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford CA, USA
- Sarafan ChEM-H, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
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Xia K, Feng Z, Zhang X, Zhou Y, Zhu H, Yao Q. Potential functions of the shared bacterial taxa in the citrus leaf midribs determine the symptoms of Huanglongbing. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2023; 14:1270929. [PMID: 38034569 PMCID: PMC10682189 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1270929] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2023] [Accepted: 10/30/2023] [Indexed: 12/02/2023]
Abstract
Instruction Citrus is a globally important fruit tree whose microbiome plays a vital role in its growth, adaptability, and resistance to stress. Methods With the high throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA genes, this study focused on analyzing the bacterial community, especially in the leaf midribs, of healthy and Huanglongbing (HLB)-infected plants. Results We firstly identified the shared bacterial taxa in the midribs of both healthy and HLB-infected plants, and then analyzed their functions. Results showed that the shared bacterial taxa in midribs belonged to 62 genera, with approximately 1/3 of which modified in the infected samples. Furthermore, 366 metabolic pathways, 5851 proteins, and 1833 enzymes in the shared taxa were predicted. Among these, three metabolic pathways and one protein showed significant importance in HLB infection. With the random forest method, six genera were identified to be significantly important for HLB infection. Notably, four of these genera were also among the significantly different shared taxa. Further functional characterization of these four genera revealed that Pseudomonas and Erwinia likely contributed to plant defense against HLB, while Streptomyces might have implications for plant defense against HLB or the pathogenicity of Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas). Disccusion Overall, our study highlights that the functions of the shared taxa in leaf midribs are distinguished between healthy and HLB-infected plants, and these microbiome-based findings can contribute to the management and protection of citrus crops against CLas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaili Xia
- Key Laboratory of Biology and Genetic Improvement of Horticultural Crops (South China), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Microbial Signals and Disease Control, College of Horticulture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiomics and Precision Application (MARA), Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Microbial Culture Collection and Application, Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiome (MARA), State Key Laboratory of Applied Microbiology Southern China, Institute of Microbiology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
| | - Zengwei Feng
- Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiomics and Precision Application (MARA), Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Microbial Culture Collection and Application, Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiome (MARA), State Key Laboratory of Applied Microbiology Southern China, Institute of Microbiology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xianjiao Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Biology and Genetic Improvement of Horticultural Crops (South China), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Microbial Signals and Disease Control, College of Horticulture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiomics and Precision Application (MARA), Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Microbial Culture Collection and Application, Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiome (MARA), State Key Laboratory of Applied Microbiology Southern China, Institute of Microbiology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yang Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiomics and Precision Application (MARA), Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Microbial Culture Collection and Application, Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiome (MARA), State Key Laboratory of Applied Microbiology Southern China, Institute of Microbiology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
| | - Honghui Zhu
- Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiomics and Precision Application (MARA), Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Microbial Culture Collection and Application, Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiome (MARA), State Key Laboratory of Applied Microbiology Southern China, Institute of Microbiology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
| | - Qing Yao
- Key Laboratory of Biology and Genetic Improvement of Horticultural Crops (South China), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Microbial Signals and Disease Control, College of Horticulture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
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