A natural co-obligate aphid endosymbiont consortium in the cedar aphid Cinara cedri, composed of Buchnera aphidicola BCc and Serratia symbiotica SCc. Genome-based metabolic inference shows that Buchnera BCc has lost some ancestral nutritional functions, while Serratia SCc retains or takes over functions needed by the host-associated consortium, including shared tryptophan biosynthesis and broader metabolic complementation.
Taxonomy
| Taxon | Ontology ID | Functional Roles | Abundance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buchnera aphidicola BCc | NCBITaxon:372461 |
CROSS_FEEDER
SYNTROPHIC_PARTNER
|
N/A |
|
|||
| Serratia symbiotica SCc | NCBITaxon:138074 |
CROSS_FEEDER
SYNTROPHIC_PARTNER
|
N/A |
|
|||
Ecological Interactions
Shared Tryptophan Biosynthesis
SYNTROPHYSource Taxon: Buchnera aphidicola BCc
Target Taxon: Serratia symbiotica SCc
Metabolites: L-tryptophan (CHEBI:16828)
Biological Processes:
- tryptophan biosynthetic process (GO:0000162)
Evidence
-
doi:10.1371/journal.pgen.1002357 - SUPPORT (COMPUTATIONAL)"the biosynthesis of tryptophan is shared with the endosymbiont Serratia symbiotica SCc"
-
doi:10.1371/journal.pgen.1002357 - SUPPORT (COMPUTATIONAL)"both bacteria are involved in the synthesis of tryptophan"
Serratia Takeover of Lost Buchnera Functions
CROSS_FEEDINGSource Taxon: Serratia symbiotica SCc
Target Taxon: Buchnera aphidicola BCc
Metabolites: riboflavin (CHEBI:17015)
Evidence
-
doi:10.1371/journal.pgen.1002357 - SUPPORT (COMPUTATIONAL)"taken over by S. symbiotica"
-
doi:10.1371/journal.pgen.1002357 - SUPPORT (COMPUTATIONAL)"not able to synthesize tryptophan and riboflavin"
Stable Co-obligate Metabolic Complementation
MUTUALISMSource Taxon: Buchnera aphidicola BCc
Target Taxon: Serratia symbiotica SCc
Evidence
-
doi:10.1371/journal.pgen.1002357 - SUPPORT (COMPUTATIONAL)"metabolic complementation giving functional stability to the whole consortium"
-
doi:10.1371/journal.pgen.1002357 - SUPPORT (COMPUTATIONAL)"both bacteria are evolving together towards the establishment of a powerful consortium"
Associated Datasets
| Dataset | Type | Repository | Accession |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Buchnera aphidicola BCc genome project
NCBI BioProject for the Buchnera aphidicola BCc genome from Cinara cedri. |
GENOME | NCBI_BIOPROJECT | NCBI BioProject 16372 |
|
Serratia symbiotica SCc genome project
NCBI BioProject for Serratia symbiotica from Cinara cedri. |
GENOME | NCBI_BIOPROJECT | NCBI BioProject 32211 |
Environmental Factors
| Factor | Value | Unit |
|---|---|---|
| aphid phloem-sap nutritional constraint | nutrient-deficient phloem diet | N/A |
|
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