title: A novel intracellular mutualistic bacterium in the invasive ant Cardiocondyla obscurior.
abstract: The evolution of eukaryotic organisms is often strongly influenced by microbial symbionts that confer novel traits to their hosts. Here we describe the intracellular Enterobacteriaceae symbiont of the invasive ant Cardiocondyla obscurior, 'Candidatus Westeberhardia cardiocondylae'. Upon metamorphosis, Westeberhardia is found in gut-associated bacteriomes that deteriorate following eclosion. Only queens maintain Westeberhardia in the ovarian nurse cells from where the symbionts are transmitted to late-stage oocytes during nurse cell depletion. Functional analyses of the streamlined genome of Westeberhardia (533 kb, 23.41% GC content) indicate that neither vitamins nor essential amino acids are provided for the host. However, the genome encodes for an almost complete shikimate pathway leading to 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate, which could be converted into tyrosine by the host. Taken together with increasing titers of Westeberhardia during pupal stage, this suggests a contribution of Westeberhardia to cuticle formation. Despite a widespread occurrence of Westeberhardia across host populations, one ant lineage was found to be naturally symbiont-free, pointing to the loss of an otherwise prevalent endosymbiont. This study yields insights into a novel intracellular mutualist that could play a role in the invasive success of C. obscurior.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Zoologie, Universität Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Antonia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Klein
authors.affiliation: Institut für Zoologie, Universität Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Lukas
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Schrader
authors.affiliation: Institut Canvanilles de Biodiversitat i Biologia Evolutiva (ICBiBE), Parc Cientific de la Universitat de Valencia, Paterna (Valencia), Spain.
authors.forename: Rosario
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9397-1003
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gil
authors.affiliation: Institut Canvanilles de Biodiversitat i Biologia Evolutiva (ICBiBE), Parc Cientific de la Universitat de Valencia, Paterna (Valencia), Spain.
authors.forename: Alejandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Manzano-Marín
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Jena, Germany.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Flórez
authors.affiliation: Institute of Fundamental Sciences, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wheeler
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA.
authors.forename: John H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Werren
authors.affiliation: Institut Canvanilles de Biodiversitat i Biologia Evolutiva (ICBiBE), Parc Cientific de la Universitat de Valencia, Paterna (Valencia), Spain.|Área de Genómica y Salud de la Fundación para el Fomento de la Investigación Sanitaria y Biomédica de la Comunitat Valenciana (FISABIO)-Salud Pública, Valencia, Spain.
authors.forename: Amparo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Latorre
authors.affiliation: Institut für Zoologie, Universität Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Jürgen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Heinze
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Jena, Germany.|Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Institute for Zoology, Department for Evolutionary Ecology, Mainz, Germany.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kaltenpoth
authors.affiliation: Institut Canvanilles de Biodiversitat i Biologia Evolutiva (ICBiBE), Parc Cientific de la Universitat de Valencia, Paterna (Valencia), Spain.
authors.forename: Andrés
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Moya
authors.affiliation: Institut für Zoologie, Universität Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Oettler
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001000:Ants / Q000378:metabolism / Q000382:microbiology*; D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D010667:Phenylpyruvic Acids / Q000378:metabolism; D010802:Phylogeny; D013559:Symbiosis
chemical_list: D010667:Phenylpyruvic Acids; C010590:4-hydroxyphenylpyruvic acid