Metabolic potential of insect endosymbiotic bacteria

Symbiotic associations involving bacteria are ubiquitous. Associations between animals and microbes are omnipresent as animal bodies form multiple ecological niches that microbes could dwell in (oral cavity, gastrointestinal tract, reproductive system). Some microbes, however, have pushed their associations with their hosts (insects in particular) even further: so-called endosymbiotic bacteria colonise the inside of host cells. The ecological effects to both parties are very disproportional: endosymbiosis provides access to the nutrient-rich, stable environment of the host cytosol to bacteria. On the contrary, effects to the host cover the whole spectrum from parasitism to mutualism. Even more, some endosymbionts may infect multiple hosts, e.g., some insect endosymbiotic bacteria can be transferred to humans, causing disease.

How did insect endosymbioses come into life? Progressive genome reduction (streamlining) leads free-living bacteria to unilateral obligacy on the host, and paves the way towards symbiosis with the host. How does that impact their functional capacity? To assess this, I have crafted genome-scale metabolic models of insect endosymbiotic bacteria at high throughput, and compared the metabolic capacity of the networks themselves.

You can read the Version #1 of the story here, and stay tuned for more updates!