Published in

American Society for Microbiology, mBio, 2(11), 2020

DOI: 10.1128/mbio.02590-19

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The Hypercomplex Genome of an Insect Reproductive Parasite Highlights the Importance of Lateral Gene Transfer in Symbiont Biology

This paper is made freely available by the publisher.
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.

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Abstract

The biology of many bacteria is critically dependent on genes carried on plasmid and phage mobile elements. These elements shuttle between microbial species, thus providing an important source of biological innovation across taxa. It has recently been recognized that mobile elements are also important in symbiotic bacteria, which form long-lasting interactions with their host. In this study, we report a bacterial symbiont genome that carries a highly complex array of these elements. Arsenophonus nasoniae is the son-killer microbe of the parasitic wasp Nasonia vitripennis and exists with the wasp throughout its life cycle. We completed its genome with the aid of recently developed long-read technology. This assembly contained over 50 chromosomal regions of phage origin and 17 extrachromosomal elements within the genome, encoding many important traits at the host-microbe interface. Thus, the biology of this symbiont is enabled by a complex array of mobile elements.