title: Arthropod-Spiroplasma relationship in the genomic era.
abstract: The genus Spiroplasma comprises wall-less, low-GC bacteria that establish pathogenic, mutualistic and commensal symbiotic associations with arthropods and plants. This review focuses on the symbiotic relationships between Spiroplasma bacteria and arthropod hosts in the context of the available genomic sequences. Spiroplasma genomes are reduced and some contain highly repetitive plectrovirus-related sequences. Spiroplasma's diversity in viral invasion susceptibility, virulence factors, substrate utilization, genome dynamics and symbiotic associations with arthropods make this bacterial genus a biological model that provides insights about the evolutionary traits that shape bacterial symbiotic relationships with eukaryotes.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Ciencias Genómicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Cuernavaca, Morelos 62210, México lbolanos@lcg.unam.mx.
authors.forename: Luis M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Bolaños
authors.affiliation: Centro de Ciencias Genómicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Cuernavaca, Morelos 62210, México.
authors.forename: Luis E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Servín-Garcidueñas
authors.affiliation: Centro de Ciencias Genómicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Cuernavaca, Morelos 62210, México.
authors.forename: Esperanza
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Martínez-Romero
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001181:Arthropods / Q000382:microbiology*; D001483:Base Sequence; D005075:Biological Evolution; D016680:Genome, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics*; D010802:Phylogeny; D017913:Plectrovirus / Q000235:genetics; D013149:Spiroplasma / Q000235:genetics* / Q000472:pathogenicity* / Q000821:virology; D013559:Symbiosis / Q000235:genetics*; D037521:Virulence Factors / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D037521:Virulence Factors
keywords: Spiroplasma; comparative genomics; symbiosis