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Béchade B, Cabuslay CS, Hu Y, Mendonca CM, Hassanpour B, Lin JY, Su Y, Fiers VJ, Anandarajan D, Lu R, Olson CJ, Duplais C, Rosen GL, Moreau CS, Aristilde L, Wertz JT, Russell JA. Physiological and evolutionary contexts of a new symbiotic species from the nitrogen-recycling gut community of turtle ants. ISME J 2023; 17:1751-1764. [PMID: 37558860 PMCID: PMC10504363 DOI: 10.1038/s41396-023-01490-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2023] [Revised: 07/21/2023] [Accepted: 07/27/2023] [Indexed: 08/11/2023]
Abstract
While genome sequencing has expanded our knowledge of symbiosis, role assignment within multi-species microbiomes remains challenging due to genomic redundancy and the uncertainties of in vivo impacts. We address such questions, here, for a specialized nitrogen (N) recycling microbiome of turtle ants, describing a new genus and species of gut symbiont-Ischyrobacter davidsoniae (Betaproteobacteria: Burkholderiales: Alcaligenaceae)-and its in vivo physiological context. A re-analysis of amplicon sequencing data, with precisely assigned Ischyrobacter reads, revealed a seemingly ubiquitous distribution across the turtle ant genus Cephalotes, suggesting ≥50 million years since domestication. Through new genome sequencing, we also show that divergent I. davidsoniae lineages are conserved in their uricolytic and urea-generating capacities. With phylogenetically refined definitions of Ischyrobacter and separately domesticated Burkholderiales symbionts, our FISH microscopy revealed a distinct niche for I. davidsoniae, with dense populations at the anterior ileum. Being positioned at the site of host N-waste delivery, in vivo metatranscriptomics and metabolomics further implicate I. davidsoniae within a symbiont-autonomous N-recycling pathway. While encoding much of this pathway, I. davidsoniae expressed only a subset of the requisite steps in mature adult workers, including the penultimate step deriving urea from allantoate. The remaining steps were expressed by other specialized gut symbionts. Collectively, this assemblage converts inosine, made from midgut symbionts, into urea and ammonia in the hindgut. With urea supporting host amino acid budgets and cuticle synthesis, and with the ancient nature of other active N-recyclers discovered here, I. davidsoniae emerges as a central player in a conserved and impactful, multipartite symbiosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benoît Béchade
- Department of Biology, Drexel University, 3245 Chestnut St., Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA.
| | - Christian S Cabuslay
- Department of Biology, Drexel University, 3245 Chestnut St., Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Yi Hu
- Department of Biology, Drexel University, 3245 Chestnut St., Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
- State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology and Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, 100875, Beijing, China
| | - Caroll M Mendonca
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
| | - Bahareh Hassanpour
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
| | - Jonathan Y Lin
- Department of Biology, Calvin University, 1726 Knollcrest Circle SE, Grand Rapids, MI, 49546-4402, USA
| | - Yangzhou Su
- Department of Biology, Calvin University, 1726 Knollcrest Circle SE, Grand Rapids, MI, 49546-4402, USA
| | - Valerie J Fiers
- Department of Biology, Drexel University, 3245 Chestnut St., Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Dharman Anandarajan
- Department of Biology, Drexel University, 3245 Chestnut St., Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Richard Lu
- Department of Biology, Drexel University, 3245 Chestnut St., Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Chandler J Olson
- Department of Biology, Drexel University, 3245 Chestnut St., Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alabama, 1325 Hackberry Ln, Tuscaloosa, AL, 35487, USA
| | - Christophe Duplais
- Department of Entomology, Cornell University, Cornell AgriTech, Geneva, NY, 14456, USA
| | - Gail L Rosen
- Ecological and Evolutionary Signal-Processing and Informatics Laboratory, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Drexel University, 3141 Chestnut St., Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Corrie S Moreau
- Department of Entomology, Cornell University, Cornell AgriTech, Geneva, NY, 14456, USA
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA
| | - Ludmilla Aristilde
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
| | - John T Wertz
- Department of Biology, Calvin University, 1726 Knollcrest Circle SE, Grand Rapids, MI, 49546-4402, USA
| | - Jacob A Russell
- Department of Biology, Drexel University, 3245 Chestnut St., Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
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Hu Y, D'Amelio CL, Béchade B, Cabuslay CS, Łukasik P, Sanders JG, Price S, Fanwick E, Powell S, Moreau CS, Russell JA. Partner fidelity and environmental filtering preserve stage‐specific turtle ant gut symbioses for over 40 million years. ECOL MONOGR 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/ecm.1560] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Yi Hu
- State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology and Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, College of Life Sciences Beijing Normal University Beijing China
- Department of Biology Drexel University Philadelphia PA USA
| | | | - Benoît Béchade
- Department of Biology Drexel University Philadelphia PA USA
| | | | - Piotr Łukasik
- Department of Biology Drexel University Philadelphia PA USA
| | - Jon G. Sanders
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Cornell University Ithaca NY USA
| | - Shauna Price
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Cornell University Ithaca NY USA
| | - Emily Fanwick
- Department of Biology Drexel University Philadelphia PA USA
| | - Scott Powell
- Department of Biological Sciences George Washington University Washington DC USA
| | - Corrie S. Moreau
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Cornell University Ithaca NY USA
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Béchade B, Hu Y, Sanders JG, Cabuslay CS, Łukasik P, Williams BR, Fiers VJ, Lu R, Wertz JT, Russell JA. Turtle ants harbor metabolically versatile microbiomes with conserved functions across development and phylogeny. FEMS Microbiol Ecol 2022; 98:6602351. [PMID: 35660864 DOI: 10.1093/femsec/fiac068] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2022] [Revised: 05/16/2022] [Accepted: 06/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Gut bacterial symbionts can support animal nutrition by facilitating digestion and providing valuable metabolites. However, changes in symbiotic roles between immature and adult stages are not well documented, especially in ants. Here, we explored the metabolic capabilities of microbiomes sampled from herbivorous turtle ant (Cephalotes sp.) larvae and adult workers through (meta)genomic screening and in vitro metabolic assays. We reveal that larval guts harbor bacterial symbionts with impressive metabolic capabilities, including catabolism of plant and fungal recalcitrant dietary fibers and energy-generating fermentation. Additionally, several members of the specialized adult gut microbiome, sampled downstream of an anatomical barrier that dams large food particles, show a conserved potential to depolymerize many dietary fibers. Symbionts from both life stages have the genomic capacity to recycle nitrogen and synthesize amino acids and B-vitamins. With help of their gut symbionts, including several bacteria likely acquired from the environment, turtle ant larvae may aid colony digestion and contribute to colony-wide nitrogen, B-vitamin and energy budgets. In addition, the conserved nature of the digestive capacities among adult-associated symbionts suggests that nutritional ecology of turtle ant colonies has long been shaped by specialized, behaviorally-transferred gut bacteria with over 45 million years of residency.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benoît Béchade
- Department of Biology, Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Yi Hu
- Department of Biology, Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America.,State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology and Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Jon G Sanders
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, United States of America
| | - Christian S Cabuslay
- Department of Biology, Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Piotr Łukasik
- Institute of Environmental Sciences, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland
| | - Bethany R Williams
- Department of Biology, Calvin College, Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States of America
| | - Valerie J Fiers
- Department of Biology, Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Richard Lu
- Department of Biology, Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - John T Wertz
- Department of Biology, Calvin College, Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States of America
| | - Jacob A Russell
- Department of Biology, Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America
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Van Steenwyk RA, Siegel JP, Bisabri B, Cabuslay CS, Choi JM, Steggall JW, Mace KC, Blecker SW, Poe PA, Peters-Collaer SR, Klassen P. Spray drift mitigation using opposing synchronized air-blast sprayers. Pest Manag Sci 2021; 77:895-905. [PMID: 32949089 DOI: 10.1002/ps.6094] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2020] [Revised: 08/18/2020] [Accepted: 09/19/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Pesticide drift is a serious environmental and safety concern that affects all of US agriculture. A number of mitigation techniques to reduce pesticide drift have been recommended by industry, academic and government agencies. These techniques are very costly or reduce the efficacy of the pest control product and have not been implemented by US agriculture. RESULTS When using a novel spray technique (Air-in), pesticide drift was significantly reduced by between 53% and 99% at 7.6 m from the orchard drip line when compared to the grower standard. This technique not only reduced pesticide drift, but also maintained or improved the amount of pesticide residue deposited (by 0.7-2.6-fold) and the percentage pesticide coverage (by 1.0-1.4-fold) with different air-blast speed sprayers on almond, walnut and pistachio. CONCLUSION The Air-in technique shows great promise in reducing pesticide drift while maintaining or improving pesticide coverage with minimal cost to the grower.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert A Van Steenwyk
- Department of Environmental Science Policy and Management, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | | | | | - Christian S Cabuslay
- Department of Environmental Science Policy and Management, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Jaimie M Choi
- Department of Environmental Science Policy and Management, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - J W Steggall
- Department of Food and Agriculture, Sacramento, CA, USA
- Department of Land, Air, Water Resources, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Kevi C Mace
- Department of Food and Agriculture, Sacramento, CA, USA
- Department of Agricultural Resource Economics, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Steve W Blecker
- Department of Food and Agriculture, Sacramento, CA, USA
- Department of Agricultural Resource Economics, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Perry A Poe
- Department of Food and Agriculture, Sacramento, CA, USA
| | - Stephen R Peters-Collaer
- Department of Environmental Science Policy and Management, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
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