Our new preprint is now live! Fun collab w @Mateos_Lab @BrunoLemaitre3 @JGriffinScience @sio_stef @TheLadybirdman and others. We monitored evolution of Spiroplasma symbionts in Drosophila over 10 years. We found that Spiroplasma evolves really fast! 1/4 https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.06.23.165548
Rapid molecular evolution of Spiroplasma symbionts of Drosophila

Spiroplasma are a group of Mollicutes whose members include plant pathogens, insect pathogens, and endosymbionts of animals. In arthropods, Spiroplasma are found across a broad host range, but...

https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.06.23.165548
E.g, in third codon sites, it changes almost 1000x faster than #Wolbachia. Also, there is rampant genome reorganization in Spiroplasma that is unparalleled to any other symbiont. 2/4
Together, this likely explains why we see why changes in Spiroplasma phenotypes so often, e.g., https://doi.org/10.1266/jjg.57.301 or https://doi.org/10.1038/hdy.2014.112 3/4
Can maternally inherited endosymbionts adapt to a novel host? Direct c

Can maternally inherited endosymbionts adapt to a novel host? Direct costs of Spiroplasma infection, but not vertical transmission efficiency, evolve rapidly after horizontal transfer into D....

https://doi.org/10.1266/jjg.57.301
There's more interesting comparative genomics data in the preprint, including toxin evolution. Please check out the recording of my presentation from the symbiosis seminar series if you want to learn more. https://www.michaelgerth.net/news--blog/new-preprint-on-spiroplasma-evolution 4/4
You can follow @gerth_micha.
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