Leclercq Sébastien, Dittmer Jessica, Bouchon Didier, Cordaux Richard
Université de Poitiers, UMR CNRS 7267 Ecologie et Biologie des Interactions, Equipe Ecologie Evolution Symbiose, Poitiers, France.
Genome Biol Evol. 2014 Feb;6(2):407-15. doi: 10.1093/gbe/evu020.
Bacterial gut communities of arthropods are highly diverse and tightly related to host feeding habits. However, our understanding of the origin and role of the symbionts is often hindered by the lack of genetic information. "Candidatus Hepatoplasma crinochetorum" is a Mollicutes symbiont found in the midgut glands of terrestrial isopods. The only available nucleotide sequence for this symbiont is a partial 16S rRNA gene sequence. Here, we present the 657,101 bp assembled genome of Candidatus Hepatoplasma crinochetorum isolated from the terrestrial isopod Armadillidium vulgare. While previous 16S rRNA gene-based analyses have provided inconclusive results regarding the phylogenetic position of Candidatus Hepatoplasma crinochetorum within Mollicutes, we performed a phylogenomic analysis of 127 Mollicutes orthologous genes which confidently branches the species as a sister group to the Hominis group of Mycoplasma. Several genome properties of Candidatus Hepatoplasma crinochetorum are also highlighted compared with other Mollicutes genomes, including adjacent tryptophan tRNA genes, which further our understanding of the evolutionary dynamics of these genes in Mollicutes, and the presence of a probably inactivated CRISPR/Cas system, which constitutes a testimony of past interactions between Candidatus Hepatoplasma crinochetorum and mobile genetic elements, despite their current lack in this streamlined genome. Overall, the availability of the complete genome sequence of Candidatus Hepatoplasma crinochetorum paves the way for further investigation of its ecology and evolution.
节肢动物的肠道细菌群落高度多样,且与宿主的摄食习惯密切相关。然而,由于缺乏遗传信息,我们对这些共生体的起源和作用的理解常常受到阻碍。“嗜蟹肝原体(Candidatus Hepatoplasma crinochetorum)”是一种在陆生等足类动物中肠腺中发现的柔膜菌纲共生体。该共生体唯一可用的核苷酸序列是部分16S rRNA基因序列。在此,我们展示了从陆生等足动物普通卷甲虫(Armadillidium vulgare)中分离出的嗜蟹肝原体的657,101 bp组装基因组。虽然先前基于16S rRNA基因的分析对于嗜蟹肝原体在柔膜菌纲中的系统发育位置得出了不确定的结果,但我们对127个柔膜菌纲直系同源基因进行了系统基因组分析,结果明确将该物种作为支原体人型群(Mycoplasma Hominis group)的姐妹群进行了分支。与其他柔膜菌纲基因组相比,嗜蟹肝原体的几个基因组特性也得到了突出显示,包括相邻的色氨酸tRNA基因,这进一步加深了我们对这些基因在柔膜菌纲中进化动态的理解,以及存在一个可能失活的CRISPR/Cas系统,这证明了嗜蟹肝原体与移动遗传元件过去的相互作用,尽管在这个精简的基因组中目前不存在这些元件。总体而言,嗜蟹肝原体完整基因组序列的可得性为进一步研究其生态学和进化铺平了道路。