26 July 2001

Symbiosis: Bugs within bugs within mealybugs

The two symbiont bacteria in a mealybug host cell.

Symbiotic associations have spawned evolutionary innovations since events that led to the first multicellular organisms. In this issue van Dohlen et al. describe novel interaction within an insect, the first recorded case of modern bacteria living inside other bacteria. The 'host' bacterium is in turn an endosymbiont of a plant sap feeding mealybug. The association between the two species of bacteria within the mealybug may be compensatory, allowing lateral gene transfer and therefore a possible slowing down of genetic degradation as genes and gene products are more freely exchanged between species.

Mealybug b-proteobacterial endosymbionts contain g-proteobacterial symbionts
CAROL D. VON DOHLEN, SHAWN KOHLER, SKYLAR T. ALSOP & WILLIAM R. MCMANUS
Nature 412, 433-436 (26 July 2001)
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