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Genetics and Genomics

University of Connecticut

Symbiosis

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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Foe To Friend: Parallel Domestication Of Ophiocordyceps From Fungal Parasite To Beneficial Symbiont In Cicadas, Jason Vailionis, Eric Rl Gordon, Chris Simon Aug 2021

Foe To Friend: Parallel Domestication Of Ophiocordyceps From Fungal Parasite To Beneficial Symbiont In Cicadas, Jason Vailionis, Eric Rl Gordon, Chris Simon

University Scholar Projects

Nutritional symbioses are integral to the survival and diversity of many insects. The majority of herbivorous insects in the order Hemiptera possess stable, inherited symbionts that produce essential amino acids and vitamins. However, instability has been observed in cicadas, with one bacterial symbiont, Hodgkinia cicadicola, being repeatedly replaced by a new fungal symbiont, Ophiocordyceps. The fungal symbionts are thought to be derived from parasitic Ophiocordyceps species, but little is known about these parasitic ancestors or how the transition from parasite to mutualist occurs. We used a combination of targeted amplified genes and metagenomic sequencing to investigate the evolution …


An Examination Of The Phylogenetic Diversity Of Green Algae (Chlorophyceae) That Symbiose With Spotted Salamanders (Ambystoma Maculatum) In The Egg Stage., Crystal Xue May 2014

An Examination Of The Phylogenetic Diversity Of Green Algae (Chlorophyceae) That Symbiose With Spotted Salamanders (Ambystoma Maculatum) In The Egg Stage., Crystal Xue

Honors Scholar Theses

In 1909, the species Oophila amblystomatis Lambert ex Wille was described for green algae that symbiose with salamanders in the egg stage (Wille). There are two hypotheses about the source of algae: 1) that algae enter from the surrounding water once the egg clutch is laid in a pond, and 2) that they are acquired from the maternal reproductive tract. We developed a third hypothesis developed to account for the salamander reproductive cycle. Male salamanders lay spermatophores, which are protein-filled capsules, on plant matter in and around ponds. Spermatophores are exposed to the environment before use by females in internal …