With Bayesian analysis, symbiont relationships within the Sitophilus clade are highly resolved in comparison with that of Sodalis, where the scattering of host species (i.e. not reflective of Sitophilus speciation; Conord et al., 2008) suggests independent acquisition within species. It is possible that horizontal transmission, in addition to
the previously described vertical route (Heddi et al., 1999), Ferroptosis inhibitor may also contribute to this phylogenetic patterning of symbionts; this warrants further study. Interestingly, although bacterial endosymbiosis is believed to be old within weevils (dating back approximately 125 Myr), symbiont replacement is believed to have occurred multiple times in Sitophilus weevils with causative factors remaining speculative (Conord et al., 2008). Sodalis isolated from in vitro culture maintained through serial passage formed its own monophyletic clade, supporting diversification from current Glossina isolates. While culture isolates were grouped together based on the 16S rRNA gene, Sodalis obtained from the same host species did not follow this pattern (i.e. symbionts within G. fuscipes, G.
austeni, and G. palpalis) suggesting either no diversity between tsetse fly isolates or the lack of resolution due to the conserved nature of this locus. Distance analyses of the 16S rRNA gene also support the higher similarity of bacteria within the Sodalis clade, relative to that mTOR inhibitor housing the Sitophilus Neratinib order symbionts (data not shown), which may explain why analyses were unable to further resolve these relations (Fig. 1). Importantly, many branches could not be robustly resolved warranting the need for additional inquiries utilizing genes that are typically associated with higher evolutionary rates such as those encoding surface-exposed molecules. To further our understanding of the divergence of ‘Sodalis-allied’ bacteria, particularly those found within various Glossina spp., C. columbae, and C. melbae, and to also assess the application of these surface encoding genes in future analyses extending into other related symbionts, we reconstructed
their phylogeny using six putative outer membrane-encoding genes: rcsF, slyB, ompA, spr, ompC, and ycfM. With only a few exceptions (all spr and Glossina vs. C. melbae slyB comparisons), the genetic distances of surface-encoding loci between symbionts localized within hosts of different orders were greater in comparison with 16S rRNA gene. In regards to the spr, slyB, and ycfM loci, although sufficient sequence similarities resulted in the Sodalis-like isolates forming a monophyletic clade within the Gammaproteobacteria distinct from many free-living members of this group, deeper taxonomic resolution was lacking (data not shown). The low phylogenetic signal provided by these loci suggests that they may not be involved in adapting to particular host species and/or may be structurally constrained.
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