Dataset Information

Analysis of and function predictions for previously conserved hypothetical or putative proteins in Blochmannia floridanus.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: There is an increasing interest to better understand endosymbiont capabilities in insects both from an ecological point of view and for pest control. Blochmannia floridanus provides important nutrients for its host, the ant Camponotus, while the bacterium in return is provided with a niche to proliferate. Blochmannia floridanus proteins and metabolites are difficult to study due to its endosymbiontic life style; however, its complete genome sequence became recently available. RESULTS: Improved sequence analysis algorithms, databanks and gene and pathway context methods allowed us to reveal new information on various enzyme and pathways from the Blochmannia floridanus genome sequence [EMBL-ID BX248583]. Furthermore, these predictions are supported and linked to experimental data for instance from structural genomics projects (e.g. Bfl341, Bfl 499) or available biochemical data on proteins from other species which we show here to be related. We were able to assign a confirmed or at least a putative molecular function for 21 from 27 previously conserved hypothetical proteins. For 48 proteins of 66 with a previous putative assignment the function was further clarified. Several of these proteins occur in many proteobacteria and are found to be conserved even in the compact genome of this endosymbiont. To extend and re-test predictions and links to experimentally verified protein functions, functional clusters and interactions were assembled. These included septum initiation and cell division (Bfl165, Bfl303, Bfl248 et al.); translation; transport; the ubiquinone (Bfl547 et al.), the inositol and nitrogen pathways. CONCLUSION: Taken together, our data allow a better and more complete description of the pathway capabilities and life style of this typical endosymbiont.

SUBMITTER: Gaudermann P

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1360075 | biostudies-literature | 2006

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Analysis of and function predictions for previously conserved hypothetical or putative proteins in Blochmannia floridanus.

Gaudermann Peter P Vogl Ina I Zientz Evelyn E Silva Francisco J FJ Moya Andres A Gross Roy R Dandekar Thomas T

BMC microbiology 20060109

<h4>Background</h4>There is an increasing interest to better understand endosymbiont capabilities in insects both from an ecological point of view and for pest control. Blochmannia floridanus provides important nutrients for its host, the ant Camponotus, while the bacterium in return is provided with a niche to proliferate. Blochmannia floridanus proteins and metabolites are difficult to study due to its endosymbiontic life style; however, its complete genome sequence became recently available.< ...[more]

PMID: 16401340

Similar Datasets

Project description:The transcriptome of Blochmannia floridanus, the endosymbiont of the carpenter ant Camponotus floridanus, is presented during eight developmental stages of its holometabolous host by use of a whole genome DNA-macroarray. The detected transcription patterns indicate the presence of local transcription units as well as global regulatory mechanisms. Yet, the overall regulation scale is very modest, rarely exceeding a factor of three which is in line with the low number of transcriptional regulators present in this reduced genome. A large number of genes show differential expression in different life stages and a distinct expression pattern of genes possibly involved in symbiotic function as compared to housekeeping genes is apparent. However, these transcriptional changes are small as compared to the changes in the number of bacteria during host development which is highest in pupae and in young imagines. Control of replication of the bacteria in certain life stages may therefore be the decisive parameter influencing overall gene expression of Blochmannia in the animal. The few highly expressed genes like those encoding molecular chaperones exhibit a significantly higher G+C-content than moderately expressed genes. Keywords: Host stage-dependent gene expression C. floridanus laboratory colonies were maintained under constant conditions at 25°C with a 12 h light cycle in artificial nests and fed twice a week with cockroaches (Nauphoeta cinerea), Bhatkar agar (Bhatkar and Whitcomb, 1970), and honey water (50% wt/wt) ad libitum. Developmental stages were defined as L1 (very young larvae, still clustered), L2 (older larvae, approx. 2-4 mm), P1 (pupae before metamorphosis), P2 (pupae after metamorphosis, still uncolored), P3 (pupae shortly before eclosion with dark abdomens), W1 (workers shortly after eclosion, not completely melanized, no aggressive behavior), W2 (fully melanized adult workers from the nest, age not distinguishable), and W3 (adult workers from isolated subcolonies, at least 4 months old). For RNA preparations, midguts of the respective life stage (L2 - W3) were dissected and bacteria were isolated by homogenization and centrifugation. Endosymbionts from small larvae (L1) were isolated from whole animals. RNA for each cDNA array experiment was isolated from individual bacterial preparations; from L1 to W2, each developmental stage was represented by at least three independent experiments and samples from at least three different ant colonies. Two ant colonies (C79 and C118) were represented in every stage from L1 to W2 with additional samples from six other colonies. Old W3 workers were collected from two isolated subcolonies derived from the same mother colony, each sampled in duplicate.

Dataset Information

Analysis of and function predictions for previously conserved hypothetical or putative proteins in Blochmannia floridanus.

Publications

Analysis of and function predictions for previously conserved hypothetical or putative proteins in Blochmannia floridanus.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets