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. 2005 Apr 12;102(15):5477-82.
doi: 10.1073/pnas.0409034102. Epub 2005 Mar 30.

Transcriptome analysis of the aphid bacteriocyte, the symbiotic host cell that harbors an endocellular mutualistic bacterium, Buchnera

Atsushi Nakabachi  1 , Shuji Shigenobu, Naoko Sakazume, Toshiyuki Shiraki, Yoshihide Hayashizaki, Piero Carninci, Hajime Ishikawa, Toshiaki Kudo, Takema Fukatsu
Affiliations

Transcriptome analysis of the aphid bacteriocyte, the symbiotic host cell that harbors an endocellular mutualistic bacterium, Buchnera

Atsushi Nakabachi et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. .

Abstract

Aphids possess bacteriocytes, cells specifically differentiated to harbor obligatory mutualistic bacteria of the genus Buchnera, which have lost many genes that are essential for common bacterial functions. To understand the host's role in maintaining the symbiotic relationship, bacteriocytes were isolated from the pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum, and the host transcriptome was investigated by using EST analysis and real-time quantitative RT-PCR. A number of genes were highly expressed specifically in the bacteriocyte, including (i) genes for amino acid metabolism, including those for biosynthesis of amino acids that Buchnera cannot produce, and those for utilization of amino acids that Buchnera can synthesize; (ii) genes related to transport, including genes for mitochondrial transporters and a gene encoding Rab, a G protein that regulates vesicular transport; and (iii) genes for putative lysozymes that degrade bacterial cell walls. Significant up-regulation of i clearly indicated that the bacteriocyte is involved in the exchange of amino acids between the host aphid and Buchnera, the key metabolic process in the symbiotic system. Conspicuously high expression of ii and iii shed light on previously unknown aspects of the host-Buchnera interactions in the symbiotic system.

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Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Quantitative RT-PCR of aphid genes expressed in the bacteriocyte. (A) Genes related to amino acid metabolism: GS2, CAT2, GCVT, Henna, GCDH, and PSAT. (B) Genes related to transport: ANT2, PC, OT, AS, Ras-like Rab GTPase, and GC. (C) Genes related to defense response: LSZ and HSC70. White columns, expression levels in the whole body; black columns, expression levels in the bacteriocyte; bars, SE (n = 10). The expression levels are shown in terms of mRNA copies of target genes per copy of mRNA for RpL7. Asterisks indicate statistically significant differences (Mann–Whitney U test; *, P < 0.05; **, P < 0.01).
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