Gordon Bennett
@symboevo.bsky.social
Study of insects, symbionts, evolution, etc. Parent, educator, and other things.
So excited to announce our search for 4 postdocs (funded by the Simons Foundation) who will use genomics to "test how ecological interactions, natural selection, natural enemies, hybridization & environmental gradients shape...tropical tree communities" in Panama: stri.si.edu/story/bci-ev... ...1
stri.si.edu
What happens when a psyllid’s menu changes? 🍽️Our new paper (from two phenomenal honors students) reveals that differences in essential amino acids in plant diets reshapes symbiotic organ structure and alters insect fitness. Dive in: doi.org/10.1016/j.is...
Redirecting
doi.org
I’m excited to share a new paper out today led by Dr. Younghwan Kwak. Cool story on symbiont genomic variation within individual hosts. (And, also, just an impressive display of -omics skill). academic.oup.com/mbe/advance-...
Intrahost mutational dynamics parallel long-term genome evolution in endosymbionts
Abstract. Obligate endosymbionts of insects undergo extreme genome evolution, marked by accelerated molecular evolution, severe base-pair compositional bia
academic.oup.com
It’s tough lesson to learn that you’ve been living your entire life the wrong way…
The New York Times@nytimes.com · 5mo agoSorry, but that T-shirt hem is not cutting it. Grease and grime can be harmful to eyeglass lenses. Here’s how to clean your glasses properly. nyti.ms/4ssxgRK
Deadline soon! Registration is now FREE for graduate students and postdocs for the 14th Annual Yosemite Symbiosis workshop. THANKS to the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation! Space is limited. Learn more and REGISTER here snri.ucmerced.edu/form/symbios... We've upgraded to a new conference location!
How a tiny bacterium turns itself into a “tunneling machine” http://dlvr.it/TRGZ7c http://dlvr.it/TRGZ7k
How a tiny bacterium turns itself into a “tunneling machine”
Some symbiotic bacteria can invade micron-scale host passages by wrapping their flagella around themselves and moving like a tunneling machine. Our study reveals how this clever motion enables them to overcome extreme confinement and successfully colonize their hosts.
dlvr.it
Calling all researchers working on *Genomics of Adaptation to Extreme Thermal Environments* I'm serving as a guest editor of an upcoming collection in BMC Genomics and am eager to read your submission! More on scope and how to contribute here: bit.ly/4kH3PIx 🧪 @springer.springernature.com
Genomics of adaptation to extreme thermal environments
As climate change continues to influence ecosystems around the globe, understanding the genomics of adaptation to hot and cold environments is becoming ...
bit.ly
How specific are heritable symbioses? And what can we learn from swapping obligate symbionts across host species? We address this in our latest, led by @inespons.bsky.social & in our collaboration w/ @microbiome.bsky.social 🦠🪲 Out today in @natcomms.nature.com! 1/n www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Our new paper in @natcomms.nature.com is now online-early! We describe independent evolution of bacterial genomes of only ~50–52 kb — the smallest known outside cellular organelles — revealing striking convergence toward minimal gene sets. 🔗 doi.org/10.1038/s414...
NEW: Registration is now FREE for graduate students and postdocs for the 14th Annual Yosemite Symbiosis workshop. THANKS to the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation! Space is limited. Learn more and REGISTER here: snri.ucmerced.edu/form/symbios...
Please join the @symbiosisalumni.bsky.social during our next Alumni Network seminar to learn about the origin and complexities of mealybug endosymbioses from @filiphusnik.bsky.social: 🗓️ February 25th 🕥 8am WET 📍on zoom (PM for link) symbnet.bsky.social moorefound.bsky.social mblscience.bsky.social
Had a blast nerding out about beetles (& The Beatles) on Switzerland’s daily news program/Tagesschau 🪲 Thankful for the chance to wax lyrical about our favorite bugs at the Aha Festival, and with the wonderful folks of Lucerne 🇨🇭
Can plant pathogens boost vector fitness? Together with @hassansalem.bsky.social, we review how phytopathogens can spread further by moonlighting as insect symbionts 🪲 More on this nifty lifestyle in @annualreviews.bsky.social! www.annualreviews.org/content/jour...
Plant Pathogens Moonlighting as Beneficial Insect Symbionts
Herbivorous insects can shape the epidemiology of disease in plants by vectoring numerous phytopathogens. While the consequences of infection are often well-characterized in the host plant, the extent...
annualreviews.org
*correct link Very excited to share a preprint from stellar lab postdoc, Dr. Younghwan Kwak. “Intrahost mutational dynamics parallel long-term genome evolution in endosymbionts” Cool, skillful work and a nifty story! #symbiosis #insects #evolution www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
biorxiv.org
Very excited to share a preprint from stellar lab postdoc, Dr. Younghwan Kwak. “Intrahost mutational dynamics parallel long-term genome evolution in endosymbionts” Cool, skillful work and a nifty story! #symbiosis #insects #evolution www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
biorxiv.org
New preprint! Symbionts provide critical functions—but how do they impact host phenotypes in nature? We show a horizontally transferred plasmid in a heritable symbiont drives divergence in defensive traits across insect populations, revealing how mobile DNA rapidly shapes pathogen resistance. 👇
Phenotypic divergence is driven by mobile genetic elements in a heritable insect symbiont
Heritable microbes profoundly influence insect biology, yet the traits they confer often evolve rapidly and differ among closely related symbiont strains. Despite their importance, we lack a clear understanding of how novel traits arise in symbiosis and how this diversity influences host ecology in natural populations. The aphid facultative symbiont Regiella insecticola is ideally suited to this question because of its strong lineage-specific variation in host benefits. By generating 20 high-quality genomes, we found that Regiella ’s evolution is driven largely by gene gains mediated by mobile genetic elements. We identified a plasmid (pRILSR1) that encodes a type IV secretion system and a highly expressed predicted effector that has been convergently acquired by Regiella strains from pea aphids. Notably, only pRILSR1-bearing strains confer protection against the specialist fungal pathogen Pandora neoaphidis , indicating that gains and losses of the plasmid underlie the evolution of this key defensive phenotype. Using a multi-year field study, we further show that the pRILSR1 plasmid is strongly associated with Regiella found in pea aphid populations adapted to specific host plants, driving variation in symbiont-mediated defense across populations. Together, our results show that mobile genetic elements generate key adaptive traits in microbial symbionts and, in doing so, drive phenotypic divergence among host populations. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest.
biorxiv.org
A little late due to re-establishing a Bluesky presence… but! here is another recent pub from a terrific and talented grad student. A fun project from a beautiful place. Love (y)our National Parks! #nationaparks #symbiosis #insects academic.oup.com/jeb/article/...
Hidden genetic diversity among Blochmanniella endosymbionts of closely related carpenter ant populations
Abstract. Carpenter ants (Family Formicidae; Genus Camponotus) are a globally distributed, arboreal clade. They harbor an intracellular obligate bacterial
academic.oup.com
Gunasekaran, Sicard, Almeida & @symboevo.bsky.social report a novel symbiotic interaction between a leafhopper and a bacterium; they analyse the genome of the bacterium, inferring it is in the early stages of establishing a host-dependent symbiosis. 🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/... #genome #evolution
Characterizing a Novel Symbiopectobacterium purcellii MEX Strain at the Early Stages of Establishing a Symbiotic Relationship
Abstract. Insects ally with microbial symbionts for a diversity of services. The range of these interactions is wide, spanning from beneficial to pathogeni
doi.org
Happy to share this work with Virginia Sanchez-Puerta (not on bsky) and colleagues on how loss of photosynthesis in these (strange!) plants affects translation and tRNAs in plastids and mitochondria.... www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... 1/n
I’m excited to share a new paper by a super talented graduate-student-now-postdoc. Grateful to work with old and new collaborators! Characterizing a novel Symbiopectobacterium MEX strain at the early stages of establishing a symbiotic relationship url: academic.oup.com/gbe/article/...
Characterizing a novel Symbiopectobacterium purcellii MEX strain at the early stages of establishing a symbiotic relationship
Abstract. Insects ally with microbial symbionts for a diversity of services. The range of these interactions is wide, spanning from beneficial to pathogeni
academic.oup.com
