2021 Fiscal Year Final Research Report
The evolutionary origin of symbiotic mosaics in mealybugs
| Project/Area Number |
20K22672
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
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| Allocation Type | Multi-year Fund |
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| Review Section |
0703:Biology at organismal to population levels and anthropology, and related fields
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| Research Institution | Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University |
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Principal Investigator |
Husnik Filip 沖縄科学技術大学院大学, 進化・細胞・共生の生物学ユニット, 准教授 (30886130)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2020-09-11 – 2022-03-31
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| Keywords | symbiosis / evolution / cell / mealybugs / insects / bacteria / genomics / microscopy |
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| Outline of Final Research Achievements |
Over 15 metagenomes of mealybugs were sequenced, genomes of symbiotic bacteria were extracted, and analyzed with comparative genomics and phylogenomics methods. Draft genomes of the insect hosts were analyzed for specific pathways and genes of interest. Confocal microscopy was used to localize the symbionts. The project allowed us to fully reconstruct the evolution of symbioses within Pseudococcidae.
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| Free Research Field |
evolutionary cell biology
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| Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements |
Two publications (one in Current Biology and one in Molecular Biology and Evolution) were published and two more are in preparation. The results are significant for our understanding of the evolution of complex symbioses such as mitochondria during the origin of the eukaryotic cell.
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