Insect?s intestinal organ for symbiont sorting #MMPMID26324935
Ohbayashi T; Takeshita K; Kitagawa W; Nikoh N; Koga R; Meng XY; Tago K; Hori T; Hayatsu M; Asano K; Kamagata Y; Lee BL; Fukatsu T; Kikuchi Y
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2015[Sep]; 112 (37): E5179-88 PMID26324935show ga
In general, animals have a mouth for feeding, an anus for defecation, and a gut connecting them for digestion and absorption. However, we discovered that the stinkbug?s gut is functionally disconnected in the middle by a previously unrecognized organ for symbiont sorting, which blocks food fluid and nonsymbiotic bacteria but selectively allows passing of a specific bacterial symbiont. Though very tiny and inconspicuous, the organ governs the configuration and specificity of stinkbug gut symbiosis, wherein the posterior gut region is devoid of food flow, populated by a specific bacterial symbiont, and transformed into an isolated organ for symbiosis. Mutant analyses showed that the symbiont?s flagellar motility is needed for passing the host organ, highlighting intricate host?symbiont interactions underpinning the symbiont sorting process.