Hidden bacteria inside worms may supply them with vitamins
Guo F, Fu W, Topalović O, Zhang Q, Li K
Soil Health
The microscopic roundworms living in your garden soil carry their own hidden bacterial passengers, and understanding how those microbes shape worm nutrition could eventually help researchers find new ways to manage the plant-parasitic species that damage crop roots.
Researchers looked inside the genetic material of tiny worms called nematodes and found bacteria living there that scientists had never seen in worms before, including one called Rickettsiella. These bacterial hitchhikers seem to help make vitamins and amino acids for their worm hosts, kind of like a built-in nutrition supplier. But the scientists found one of these bacteria has lost so many of its own genes that it's unclear whether it's still helping its host or just along for the ride.
Key Findings
Researchers reconstructed 108 bacterial genomes from 25 nematode genomes (10 published, 15 newly sequenced), uncovering Rickettsiella in nematodes for the first time.
Novel endosymbionts Cardinium and Wolbachia were also discovered in plant-parasitic nematodes, expanding the known host range of these bacterial groups.
The nematode microbiome is enriched in genes for carbohydrate metabolism and biosynthesis of essential amino acids and vitamins, with mobile genetic elements (prophages, insertion sequences) spreading these nutrition genes via horizontal transfer.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Scientists scanned the genomes of dozens of nematode worms and found hidden bacterial tenants, including a never-before-seen group called Rickettsiella, living inside them. These microbial partners seem to help feed their worm hosts vitamins and amino acids, though it's not yet clear if the relationship is friendly, neutral, or parasitic.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Genomic insights into nematode microbiomes reveal novel endosymbionts Rickettsiella.
Bacterial endosymbionts are key drivers of invertebrate ecology and evolution. While the diversity and functional role of the nematode microbiome remain poorly explored. We reconstructed and charac...
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