title: The anatomy of an aphid genome: from sequence to biology.
abstract: In 2009, the genome of the pea aphid (Acyrthosiphon pisum) was sequenced and partially annotated. This means that the scientific community has now access to the genetic material of aphids that are serious pests of plants. The description of an aphid genome is a first step to go deeper in the understanding of the biology of these insects. In this article, we first describe how the pea aphid genome has been sequenced and its major characteristics. However, a genome is only a part of what an individual is and describing a genome without taking into account the role of the environment makes no sense. Thus, in the second part of the review, we envisage how this genomic resource will fuel many other disciplines such as ecology, evolutionary biology, population genetics and symbiosis.
authors.affiliation: INRA, UMR BiO3P, BP, Le Rheu cedex, France. denis.tagu@rennes.inra.fr
authors.forename: Denis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Tagu
authors.forename: Sébastien
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dugravot
authors.forename: Yannick
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Outreman
authors.forename: Claude
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rispe
authors.forename: Jean-Christophe
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Simon
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Colella
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001042:Aphids / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology*; D005075:Biological Evolution; D004247:DNA / Q000235:genetics; D049750:Genome, Insect / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D004247:DNA