Comparative genomics of Arsenophonus, a bacterial symbiont of arthropods

节肢动物细菌共生体 Arsenophonus 的比较基因组学

基本信息

批准号：
NE/F010974/1
负责人：
Gregory Hurst
金额：
$ 6.3万
依托单位：
University of Liverpool
依托单位国家：
英国
项目类别：
Research Grant
财政年份：
2008
资助国家：
英国
起止时间：
2008 至无数据
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=NE%2FF010974%2F1
关键词：
Comparative genomics Arsenophonus bacterial symbiont

项目摘要

One of the first things I learnt at University was that bacteria could do amazing things. They could degrade crude oil. They could live in hot springs, or places with extreme salt concentrations. They could adapt to virtually everything, and make a living there. This makes them a crucial part of the processes in the natural environment, and also potential very useful sources of new capabilities. Bacteria also are a very important part of animal life. Our digestive function is changed by probiotics, indicating bacteria are important in good digestive health. In cows, gut bacteria are of vital importance in making the nutrients in grass usable by the animal. More widely, many insects carry inherited bacteria. These can be of three kinds- a) required by the insect for it to grow and reproduce. In this case, the bacteria are responsible for the synthesis of nutrients not available in the diet. b) Helpful to the insect in some circumstances-for instance, they increase resistance to pathogens and parasites. c) Parasitic, manipulating the biology of the insect to their own ends. How bacteria carry out functions for the insect-and how they manipulate their biology-are issues that are important for our understanding of insect function in the natural environment-but these questions are not well resolved. In this project, we examine how bacteria that are beneficial and parasitic differ, examining the genomes of two different bacteria that are related, but have very different interactions with their host. One of these-Arsenophonus nasoniae, is a parasite, and has been sequenced previously. In this project, we will sequence Arsenophonus triatominarum, a bacterium that lives in a blood sucking bug, Triatoma infestans, where it is a beneficial passenger. First, we will complete the genome sequence of A. triatominarum, using new technology based on firefly enzymes that can produce a draft genome in just one or two weeks. We will then compare its genome to A. nasoniae. This comparison will immediately highlight genes of importance. Genes that are shared by the two bacteria but have diverged significantly are likely essential to many host-bacteria interactions. The subset of genes that are found in one but not the other, represent those likely to be important in parasitism/host function (if in the parasite only) and in producing host benefit (if present in the beneficial bacterium only). The genome sequence of A. triatominarum will also be of direct interest, as its host-the bug Triatoma infestans-is a vector of chagas disease, transferring disease causing trypanosomes to humans. In understanding the partners of the triatomine bug more fully, we may be able to devise new methods to control the triatomine population size, or curtail its ability to transmit pathogens.

我在大学学到的第一件事就是细菌可以做出惊人的事情。它们可以降解原油。它们可能生活在温泉或盐浓度极高的地方。他们几乎可以适应一切，并在那里谋生。这使它们成为自然环境过程的重要组成部分，也是潜在的非常有用的新功能来源。细菌也是动物生命中非常重要的一部分。益生菌改变了我们的消化功能，这表明细菌对于良好的消化健康非常重要。对于奶牛来说，肠道细菌对于使草中的营养物质可供动物利用至关重要。更广泛地说，许多昆虫携带遗传细菌。这些可以分为三种 - a) 昆虫生长和繁殖所需的。在这种情况下，细菌负责合成饮食中无法提供的营养物质。 b) 在某些情况下对昆虫有帮助——例如，它们增加对病原体和寄生虫的抵抗力。 c) 寄生，操纵昆虫的生物学来达到自己的目的。细菌如何为昆虫发挥功能，以及它们如何操纵其生物学功能，对于我们了解昆虫在自然环境中的功能非常重要，但这些问题尚未得到很好的解决。在这个项目中，我们研究有益细菌和寄生细菌有何不同，检查两种相关但与宿主的相互作用截然不同的不同细菌的基因组。其中一种——Arsenophonus nasoniae，是一种寄生虫，之前已被测序。在这个项目中，我们将对 Arsenophonus triatominarum 进行测序，这是一种生活在吸血虫 Triatoma infestans 体内的细菌，它是一种有益的乘客。首先，我们将使用基于萤火虫酶的新技术完成锥虫的基因组序列，该技术可以在短短一两周内产生基因组草案。然后我们将其基因组与 A. nasoniae 进行比较。这种比较将立即突出重要的基因。这两种细菌共有但存在显着差异的基因可能对于许多宿主与细菌的相互作用至关重要。在一个基因中发现但在另一个基因中没有发现的基因子集代表了那些可能对寄生/宿主功能（如果仅在寄生虫中）和产生宿主益处（如果仅存在于有益细菌中）重要的基因。锥蝽的基因组序列也将引起人们的直接兴趣，因为它的宿主——致病锥蝽——是南美锥虫病的载体，将引起锥虫的疾病传染给人类。在更全面地了解锥蝽虫的伙伴后，我们也许能够设计出新方法来控制锥蝽种群规模，或削弱其传播病原体的能力。