Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science, University of Vienna. Djerassiplatz 1, 1030 Vienna, Austria.
Doctoral School in Microbiology and Environmental Science, University of Vienna. Universitätsring 1, 1010 Vienna, Austria.
Microb Genom. 2023 Feb;9(2). doi: 10.1099/mgen.0.000943.
Bacterial endosymbionts of the groups , and are well known for their diverse effects on their arthropod hosts, ranging from mutualistic relationships to reproductive phenotypes. Here, we analysed a unique system in which the dwarf spider is co-infected with up to five different endosymbionts affiliated with , ' Tisiphia' (formerly Torix group ), and . Using short-read genome sequencing data, we show that the endosymbionts are heterogeneously distributed among populations and are frequently found co-infecting spider individuals. To study this intricate host-endosymbiont system on a genome-resolved level, we used long-read sequencing to reconstruct closed genomes of the , '. Tisiphia' and endosymbionts. We provide insights into the ecology and evolution of the endosymbionts and shed light on the interactions with their spider host. We detected high quantities of transposable elements in all endosymbiont genomes and provide evidence that ancestors of the , '. Tisiphia' and endosymbionts have co-infected the same hosts in the past. Our findings contribute to broadening our knowledge about endosymbionts infecting one of the largest animal phyla on Earth and show the usefulness of transposable elements as an evolutionary 'contact-tracing' tool.
和 属的细菌内共生体以其对节肢动物宿主的多样化影响而闻名，从互利关系到生殖表型不等。在这里，我们分析了一个独特的系统，其中侏儒蜘蛛被多达五种不同的内共生体感染，这些内共生体与 、'Tisiphia'（以前的 Torix 组）和 有关。使用短读长基因组测序数据，我们表明内共生体在 种群中呈不均匀分布，并且经常发现它们共同感染蜘蛛个体。为了在基因组解析水平上研究这个复杂的宿主-内共生体系统，我们使用长读长测序技术重建了 、'. Tisiphia'和 内共生体的封闭基因组。我们深入了解了内共生体的生态学和进化，并揭示了它们与蜘蛛宿主的相互作用。我们在所有内共生体基因组中检测到大量的转座元件，并提供证据表明，'Tisiphia'和 内共生体的祖先过去曾共同感染过同一宿主。我们的研究结果有助于拓宽我们对感染地球上最大动物门之一的内共生体的了解，并展示了转座元件作为一种进化的“接触追踪”工具的有用性。
