Comparative Transcriptomics of Fat Bodies between Symbiotic and Quasi-Aposymbiotic Adult Females of with Emphasis on the Metabolic Integration with Its Endosymbiont and Its Immune System.

We explored the metabolic integration of and its obligate endosymbiont by the transcriptomic analysis of the fat body of quasi-aposymbiotic cockroaches, where the endosymbionts were almost entirely removed with rifampicin. Fat bodies from quasi-aposymbiotic insects displayed large differences in gene expression compared to controls. In quasi-aposymbionts, the metabolism of phenylalanine and tyrosine involved in cuticle sclerotization and pigmentation increased drastically to compensate for the deficiency in the biosynthesis of these amino acids by the endosymbionts.

Gut Microbiota Is Not Essential for Survival and Development in , but Affects Uric Acid Storage.

Cockroaches harbor two coexisting symbiotic systems: the obligate endosymbiont , and a complex gut microbiota. is the only bacterium present in the eggs, as the gut microbiota is acquired by horizontal transmission after hatching, mostly through coprophagy. , a cosmopolitan omnivorous cockroach living in intimate association with humans, is an appropriate model system for studying whether the gut microbiota is essential for the cockroach's survival, development, or welfare.

Identification of the Gene Repertoire of the IMD Pathway and Expression of Antimicrobial Peptide Genes in Several Tissues and Hemolymph of the Cockroach .

Antimicrobial peptide (AMP) genes, triggered by Toll and IMD pathways, are essential components of the innate immune system in the German cockroach . Besides their role in killing pathogenic bacteria, AMPs could be involved in controlling its symbiotic systems (endosymbiont and microbiota). We found that the IMD pathway was active in the adult female transcriptomes of six tissues (salivary glands, foregut, midgut, hindgut, Malpighian tubules and fat body) and hemolymph.

Of Cockroaches and Symbionts: Recent Advances in the Characterization of the Relationship between and Its Dual Symbiotic System.

Mutualistic stable symbioses are widespread in all groups of eukaryotes, especially in insects, where symbionts have played an essential role in their evolution. Many insects live in obligate relationship with different ecto- and endosymbiotic bacteria, which are needed to maintain their hosts' fitness in their natural environment, to the point of even relying on them for survival. The case of cockroaches (Blattodea) is paradigmatic, as both symbiotic systems coexist in the same organism in two separated compartments: an intracellular endosymbiont () inside bacteriocytes located in the fat body, and a rich and complex microbiota in the hindgut.

Gut Microbiota Cannot Compensate the Impact of (quasi) Aposymbiosis in .

presents a very complex symbiotic system, involving the following two kinds of symbionts: the endosymbiont and the gut microbiota. Although the role of the endosymbiont has been fully elucidated, the function of the gut microbiota remains unclear. The study of the gut microbiota will benefit from the availability of insects deprived of Our goal is to determine the effect of the removal (or, at least, the reduction) of the endosymbiont population on the cockroach's fitness, in a normal gut microbiota community.

Interkingdom Gut Microbiome and Resistome of the Cockroach .

Cockroaches are intriguing animals with two coexisting symbiotic systems, an endosymbiont in the fat body, involved in nitrogen metabolism, and a gut microbiome whose diversity, complexity, role, and developmental dynamics have not been fully elucidated. In this work, we present a metagenomic approach to study populations not treated, treated with kanamycin, and recovered after treatment, both naturally and by adding feces to the diet, with the aim of better understanding the structure and function of its gut microbiome along the development as well as the characterization of its resistome. For the first time, we analyze the interkingdom hindgut microbiome of this species, including bacteria, fungi, archaea, and viruses.

Erratum: gNOMO: a multi-omics pipeline for integrated host and microbiome analysis of non-model organisms.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1093/nargab/lqaa058.].

gNOMO: a multi-omics pipeline for integrated host and microbiome analysis of non-model organisms.

The study of bacterial symbioses has grown exponentially in the recent past. However, existing bioinformatic workflows of microbiome data analysis do commonly not integrate multiple meta-omics levels and are mainly geared toward human microbiomes. Microbiota are better understood when analyzed in their biological context; that is together with their host or environment.

Insects' potential: Understanding the functional role of their gut microbiome.

The study of insect-associated microbial communities is a field of great importance in agriculture, principally because of the role insects play as pests. In addition, there is a recent focus on the potential of the insect gut microbiome in areas such as biotechnology, given some microorganisms produce molecules with biotechnological and industrial applications, and also in biomedicine, since some bacteria and fungi are a reservoir of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). To date, most studies aiming to characterize the role of the gut microbiome of insects have been based on high-throughput sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene and/or metagenomics.

Unraveling Assemblage, Functions and Stability of the Gut Microbiota of by Antibiotic Treatment.

Symbiosis between prokaryotes and eukaryotes is a widespread phenomenon that has contributed to the evolution of eukaryotes. In cockroaches, two types of symbionts coexist: an endosymbiont in the fat body (), and a rich gut microbiota. The transmission mode of is vertical, while the gut microbiota of a new generation is mainly formed by bacterial species present in feces.

Methanogenesis on Early Stages of Life: Ancient but Not Primordial.

Of the six known autotrophic pathways, the Wood-Ljungdahl pathway (WL) is the only one present in both the acetate producing Bacteria (homoacetogens) and the methane producing Archaea (hydrogenotrophic methanogens), and it has been suggested that WL is one of the oldest metabolic pathways. However, only the so-called carbonyl branch is shared by Archaea and Bacteria, while the methyl branch is different, both in the number of reactions and enzymes, which are not homologous among them. In this work we show that some parts of the methyl branch of archaeal Wood-Ljungdahl pathway (MBWL) are present in bacteria as well as in non-methanogen archaea, although the tangled evolutionary history of MBWL cannot be traced back to the Last Common Ancestor.

Molecular strategies to increase yeast iron accumulation and resistance.

All eukaryotic organisms rely on iron as an essential micronutrient for life because it participates as a redox-active cofactor in multiple biological processes. However, excess iron can generate reactive oxygen species that damage cellular macromolecules. The low solubility of ferric iron under physiological conditions increases the prevalence of iron deficiency anemia.

Rifampicin treatment of Blattella germanica evidences a fecal transmission route of their gut microbiota.

Eukaryotes have established symbiotic relationship with microorganisms, which enables them to accomplish functions that they cannot perform alone. In the German cockroach, Blattella germanica, the obligate endosymbiont Blattabacterium coexists with a rich gut microbiota. The transmission of Blattabacterium is vertical, but little is known about how the gut microbiota colonizes newborn individuals.

A phylogenetic approach to the early evolution of autotrophy: the case of the reverse TCA and the reductive acetyl-CoA pathways.

In recent decades, a number of hypotheses on the autotrophic origin of life have been presented. These proposals invoke the emergence of reaction networks leading from CO or CO₂ to the organic molecules required for life. It has also been suggested that the last (universal) common ancestor (LCA or LUCA) of all extant cell lineages was a chemolitho-autotrophic thermophilic anaerobe.