CONTRIBUTIONS OF CHEMICAL PHYSIOLOGY TO THE PROBLEM OF REVERSIBILITY IN EVOLUTION

XXII.—The Structure and Function of the Alimentary Canal of some Tectibranch Molluscs, with a Note on Excretion

Owing to the comparatively rare occurrence of most tectibranchs it is perhaps not surprising to find that, in spite of the ever-increasing knowledge of the histological structure and functioning of the alimentary canal of molluscs, little attention has been paid in this respect to these forms. The structure of the radula and gizzard has previously aroused interest, but so far as the rest of the alimentary canal is concerned most workers have been content with a somewhat superficial description of the gross morphology such as was given by Vayssière (1880), Bouvier (1893), Pelseneer (1893, 1894), and Guiart (1901). A more recent account of the digestive tract of Philine aperta has been given by Brown (1934), but this includes no histological or physiological consideration.

Metabolic stasis in an ancient symbiosis: genome-scale metabolic networks from two Blattabacterium cuenoti strains, primary endosymbionts of cockroaches

BACKGROUND

Cockroaches are terrestrial insects that strikingly eliminate waste nitrogen as ammonia instead of uric acid. Blattabacterium cuenoti (Mercier 1906) strains Bge and Pam are the obligate primary endosymbionts of the cockroaches Blattella germanica and Periplaneta americana, respectively. The genomes of both bacterial endosymbionts have recently been sequenced, making possible a genome-scale constraint-based reconstruction of their metabolic networks. The mathematical expression of a metabolic network and the subsequent quantitative studies of phenotypic features by Flux Balance Analysis (FBA) represent an efficient functional approach to these uncultivable bacteria.

RESULTS

We report the metabolic models of Blattabacterium strains Bge (iCG238) and Pam (iCG230), comprising 296 and 289 biochemical reactions, associated with 238 and 230 genes, and 364 and 358 metabolites, respectively. Both models reflect both the striking similarities and the singularities of these microorganisms. FBA was used to analyze the properties, potential and limits of the models, assuming some environmental constraints such as aerobic conditions and the net production of ammonia from these bacterial systems, as has been experimentally observed. In addition, in silico simulations with the iCG238 model have enabled a set of carbon and nitrogen sources to be defined, which would also support a viable phenotype in terms of biomass production in the strain Pam, which lacks the first three steps of the tricarboxylic acid cycle. FBA reveals a metabolic condition that renders these enzymatic steps dispensable, thus offering a possible evolutionary explanation for their elimination. We also confirm, by computational simulations, the fragility of the metabolic networks and their host dependence.

CONCLUSIONS

The minimized Blattabacterium metabolic networks are surprisingly similar in strains Bge and Pam, after 140 million years of evolution of these endosymbionts in separate cockroach lineages. FBA performed on the reconstructed networks from the two bacteria helps to refine the functional analysis of the genomes enabling us to postulate how slightly different host metabolic contexts drove their parallel evolution.

Evolutionary convergence and nitrogen metabolism in Blattabacterium strain Bge, primary endosymbiont of the cockroach Blattella germanica

Bacterial endosymbionts of insects play a central role in upgrading the diet of their hosts. In certain cases, such as aphids and tsetse flies, endosymbionts complement the metabolic capacity of hosts living on nutrient-deficient diets, while the bacteria harbored by omnivorous carpenter ants are involved in nitrogen recycling. In this study, we describe the genome sequence and inferred metabolism of Blattabacterium strain Bge, the primary Flavobacteria endosymbiont of the omnivorous German cockroach Blattella germanica. Through comparative genomics with other insect endosymbionts and free-living Flavobacteria we reveal that Blattabacterium strain Bge shares the same distribution of functional gene categories only with Blochmannia strains, the primary Gamma-Proteobacteria endosymbiont of carpenter ants. This is a remarkable example of evolutionary convergence during the symbiotic process, involving very distant phylogenetic bacterial taxa within hosts feeding on similar diets. Despite this similarity, different nitrogen economy strategies have emerged in each case. Both bacterial endosymbionts code for urease but display different metabolic functions: Blochmannia strains produce ammonia from dietary urea and then use it as a source of nitrogen, whereas Blattabacterium strain Bge codes for the complete urea cycle that, in combination with urease, produces ammonia as an end product. Not only does the cockroach endosymbiont play an essential role in nutrient supply to the host, but also in the catabolic use of amino acids and nitrogen excretion, as strongly suggested by the stoichiometric analysis of the inferred metabolic network. Here, we explain the metabolic reasons underlying the enigmatic return of cockroaches to the ancestral ammonotelic state.

Diel variation in ammonia excretion, glutamine levels, and hydration status in two species of terrestrial isopods

Terrestrial isopods (suborder Oniscidea) excrete most nitrogen diurnally as volatile ammonia, and ammonia-loaded animals accumulate nonessential amino acids, which may constitute the major nocturnal nitrogen pool. This study explored the relationship between ammonia excretion, glutamine storage/mobilization, and water balance, in two sympatric species Ligidium lapetum (section Diplocheta), a hygric species; and Armadillidium vulgare (Section Crinocheta), a xeric species capable of water-vapor absorption (WVA). Ammonia excretion (12-h), tissue glutamine levels, and water contents were measured following field collection of animals at dusk and dawn. In both species, diurnal ammonia excretion exceeded nocturnal excretion four- to fivefold while glutamine levels increased four- to sevenfold during the night. Most glutamine was accumulated in the somatic tissues ("body wall"). While data support the role of glutamine in nocturnal nitrogen storage, potential nitrogen mobilization from glutamine breakdown (162 micromol g(-1) in A. vulgare) exceeds measured ammonia excretion (2.5 micromol g(-1)) over 60-fold. This may serve to generate the high hemolymph ammonia concentrations (and high P(NH3)) seen during volatilization. The energetic cost of ammonia volatilization is discussed in the light of these findings. Mean water contents were similar at dusk and dawn in both species, indicating that diel cycles of water depletion and replenishment were not occurring.

Nitrogen Excretion in Cockroaches: Uric Acid Is Not a Major Product

Thin-layer chromatographic and enzymatic spectrophotometric analyses have failed to detect uric acid in fecal extracts from American cockroaches on specified diets. Uric acid appears in the excreta when it is a dietary constituent, although most of it is apparently absorbed and stored internally. Surprisingly, ammonia is a major excretory product.