1. Academic Validation
  2. Serratia symbiotica Enhances Fatty Acid Metabolism of Pea Aphid to Promote Host Development

Serratia symbiotica Enhances Fatty Acid Metabolism of Pea Aphid to Promote Host Development

  • Int J Mol Sci. 2021 May 31;22(11):5951. doi: 10.3390/ijms22115951.
Xiaofei Zhou 1 2 Xiaoyu Ling 1 2 Huijuan Guo 1 2 Keyan Zhu-Salzman 3 Feng Ge 1 2 Yucheng Sun 1 2
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
  • 2 CAS Center for Excellence in Biotic Interactions, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
  • 3 Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA.
Abstract

Bacterial symbionts associated with insects are often involved in host development and ecological adaptation. Serratia symbiotica, a common facultative endosymbiont harbored in pea aphids, improves host fitness and heat tolerance, but studies concerning the nutritional metabolism and impact on the aphid host associated with carrying Serratia are limited. In the current study, we showed that Serratia-infected aphids had a shorter nymphal developmental time and higher body weight than Serratia-free aphids when fed on detached leaves. Genes connecting to fatty acid biosynthesis and elongation were up-regulated in Serratia-infected aphids. Specifically, elevated expression of fatty acid synthase 1 (FASN1) and diacylglycerol-o-acyltransferase 2 (DGAT2) could result in accumulation of myristic acid, palmitic acid, linoleic acid, and arachidic acid in fat bodies. Impairing fatty acid synthesis in Serratia-infected pea aphids either by a pharmacological inhibitor or through silencing FASN1 and DGAT2 expression prolonged the nymphal growth period and decreased the aphid body weight. Conversely, supplementation of myristic acid (C14:0) to these aphids restored their normal development and weight gain. Our results indicated that Serratia promoted development and growth of its aphid host through enhancing fatty acid biosynthesis. Our discovery has shed more LIGHT on nutritional effects underlying the symbiosis between aphids and facultative endosymbionts.

Keywords

Acyrthosiphon pisum; Serratia symbiotica; development; endosymbiont; fatty acid.

Figures
Products