Endosymbiotic interactions in freshwater invertebrates: what are the microbes doing?
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Liverpool
Department Name: Institute of Integrative Biology
Abstract
All animals have the potential to form intimate relationships with other organisms, a process called symbiosis (literally, living together). Symbiotic partners can be extremely beneficial to their host, from the production of vital nutrients, to increased reproduction, and defence. Equally, they can have detrimental effects such as lowering life expectancy, reducing fecundity and manipulation the reproduction of their host. This project aims to develop a new model for symbioses in freshwater. Freshwater habitats are rich in microbes, but they are overlooked in terms of how symbiosis with bacterial affect the organisms that make it their home. Ongoing research has indicated that bacteria of the closely related genera Rickettsia and Megaira are extremely common as a symbiont of freshwater invertebrates and protists respectively. In this project, we will establish how these symbionts affect their individual host, and ultimately the community of hosts with which they interact. Understanding these interactions will aid our understanding of how these systems function, which is required for securing the ecosystem services they provide.
People |
ORCID iD |
| Gregory Hurst (Primary Supervisor) | |
| Helen Davison (Student) |
Studentship Projects
| Project Reference | Relationship | Related To | Start | End | Student Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NE/W503083/1 | 01/04/2021 | 31/03/2022 | |||
| 2112588 | Studentship | NE/W503083/1 | 01/10/2018 | 31/10/2022 | Helen Davison |
| Description | Bacteria that live inside other organisms can influence how they reproduce and interact with the environment and are known as symbionts. Symbionts can alter the evolution and ecology of their hosts, and in some cases can be inherited across generations. Despite the huge impact symbionts can have, our knowledge of these bacteria is limited to certain bacterial species. In this award we explored other likely symbiotic bacteria in Rickettsiaceae and Parachlamydiales to see what organisms they are found in and what potential impact they might have. We produced over 30 new symbiont genomes associated with invertebrate, algal and ciliate hosts, including a 10-fold increase in genomes available for one group, Candidatus Tisiphia (formerly Torix group Rickettsia). We found that they have the potential to influence defence against natural enemies and, in some cases, vitamin production. We also showed that Ca. Tisiphia forms symbiosis with a mosquito species (Anopheles plumbeus) that can be passed from mother to offspring and is found in >95% of individuals across Germany. This is important because Anopheles mosquitoes only have one other proven symbiont infection, and these symbionts can alter how well they carry disease. In other mosquito species, symbiotic bacteria (Wolbachia) have been used to prevent the spread of Dengue fever, but Anopheles species have been resistant to most efforts in this area. 'Ca. Tisiphia' infection in Anopheles plumbeus provides an opportunity for further research in understanding the basic biology of the system in natural and transinfected hosts, especially in relation to reproductive fitness and disease carrying and transmission. |
| Exploitation Route | 1. Establishment of whole organism laboratory models to further explore the impact of the bacteria on their hosts (specifically Anopheles plumbeus, but this may also be possible with the algae, cilliates and other invertebrate hosts found.) 2. Establishment of cell lines for Ca. Tisiphia to examine the function of the bacteria and allow transinfection into other species of interest 3. Massive expansion of phylogenetic information that will aid classification of new genomes produced in the future for massively diverse clades (Ca. Tisiphia, Ca. Megaira, Simikaniaceaee, Rhabdochlamydiales). |
| Sectors | Agriculture, Food and Drink,Environment,Pharmaceuticals and Medical Biotechnology |
| Description | Anopheles plumbeus material gathering |
| Organisation | Leibniz Association |
| Department | Leibniz-Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research |
| Country | Germany |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Sequencing and analysis |
| Collaborator Contribution | Provision of material |
| Impact | Contributed to the production of one paper 'Candidatus Tisiphia' is a widespread Rickettsiaceae symbiont in the mosquito Anopheles plumbeus (Diptera: Culicidae) Helen R. Davison, Jessica Crozier, Stacy Pirro, Doreen Werner, Gregory D.D. Hurst bioRxiv 2023.02.27.529723; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.02.27.529723 |
| Start Year | 2020 |