ISSN:
1432-1432
Keywords:
Endosymbiont
;
Aphid
;
Genome size
;
Nucleotide composition
;
Cell organelle
;
Mycoplasma
;
Escherichia coli
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Biology
Notes:
Summary An intracellular symbiont was isolated from the mycetocyte of the pea aphidAcyrthosiphon pisum, and its genomic DNA was compared with those ofEscherichia coli andMycoplasma capricolum with respect to nucleotide composition and kinetic complexity. Thermal dissociation, CsCl density equilibrium centrifugation, and high-performance liquid chromatography of the nuclease P1 digest all indicated that the G+C content of the endosymbiont DNA is as low as 30%. In this respect, the endosymbiont resembledMycoplasma species. The reassociation kinetics of genomic DNA labeled by nick translation suggested that the endosymbiont genome is 1.4×1010 daltons in size, about 5 and 18 times as large as those ofE. coli andM. capricolum, respectively. The results were confirmed by reassociation of endosymbiont DNA labeled by incubation with [3Hthymidine in Grace's medium. The endosymbiont genome of the aphid was about 500 times larger than those of leafhopper endosymbionts previously analyzed by ultracentrifugation. These characteristic properties of the aphid endosymbiont genome are discussed in connection with the evolution of cell organelles, and with reference to a previous finding that most of the genes of the aphid endosymbiont are not expressed when present intracellularly.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF02111233
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