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Genomic changes underlying host specialization in the bee gut symbiont Lactobacillus Firm5

View ORCID ProfileKirsten M Ellegaard, Silvia Brochet, View ORCID ProfileGerman Bonilla-Rosso, Olivier Emery, View ORCID ProfileNatasha Glover, View ORCID ProfileNoushin Hadadi, Kamil S Jaron, View ORCID ProfileJan Roelof van der Meer, View ORCID ProfileMarc Robinson-Rechavi, Vladimir Sentchilo, View ORCID ProfileFlorian Tagini, SAGE class 2016-17, View ORCID ProfilePhilipp Engel
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/483685
Kirsten M Ellegaard
University of Lausanne;
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Silvia Brochet
University of Lausanne;
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German Bonilla-Rosso
University of Lausanne;
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Olivier Emery
University of Lausanne;
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Natasha Glover
University of Lausanne;
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Noushin Hadadi
University of Lausanne;
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Kamil S Jaron
University of Lausanne;
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Jan Roelof van der Meer
University of Lausanne;
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Marc Robinson-Rechavi
University of Lausanne;
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Vladimir Sentchilo
University of Lausanne;
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Florian Tagini
University of Lausanne;
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Philipp Engel
University of Lausanne;
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  • For correspondence: philipp.engel@unil.ch
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Abstract

Bacteria that engage in longstanding associations with particular hosts are expected to evolve host-specific adaptations that limit their capacity to thrive in other environments. Consistent with this, many gut symbionts seem to have a limited host range, based on community profiling and phylogenomics. However, few studies have experimentally investigated host specialization of gut symbionts and underlying mechanisms have largely remained elusive. Here, we studied host specialization of a dominant gut symbiont of social bees, Lactobacillus Firm5. We show that Firm5 strains isolated from honey bees and bumble bees separate into deep-branching phylogenetic lineages. Despite their divergent evolution, colonization experiments show that bumble bee strains are capable of colonizing the honey bee gut. However, they were less successful than honey bee strains, and competition with honey bee strains completely abolished their colonization, whereas honey bee strains were able to coexist. This suggests that both host selection and interbacterial competition play important roles for host specialization. Using comparative genomics of 27 Firm5 isolates, we identified candidate genomic changes underlying host specialization. We found that honey bee strains harbored a larger and more diverse gene pool of carbohydrate-related functions than bumble bee strains. As dietary-derived carbohydrates are the main energy source for strains of the Firm5 phylotype, the metabolic flexibility of honey bee strains may give these bacteria a competitive advantage over bumble bee strains in colonizing the gut niche and hence contribute to host specialization.

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Posted December 01, 2018.
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Genomic changes underlying host specialization in the bee gut symbiont Lactobacillus Firm5
Kirsten M Ellegaard, Silvia Brochet, German Bonilla-Rosso, Olivier Emery, Natasha Glover, Noushin Hadadi, Kamil S Jaron, Jan Roelof van der Meer, Marc Robinson-Rechavi, Vladimir Sentchilo, Florian Tagini, SAGE class 2016-17, Philipp Engel
bioRxiv 483685; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/483685
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Genomic changes underlying host specialization in the bee gut symbiont Lactobacillus Firm5
Kirsten M Ellegaard, Silvia Brochet, German Bonilla-Rosso, Olivier Emery, Natasha Glover, Noushin Hadadi, Kamil S Jaron, Jan Roelof van der Meer, Marc Robinson-Rechavi, Vladimir Sentchilo, Florian Tagini, SAGE class 2016-17, Philipp Engel
bioRxiv 483685; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/483685

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