SyeA was present in the Buchnera ancestor, is secreted into the host cytoplasm, is homologous to secreted effectors of bacterial pathogens and is essential for Buchnera transmission.

Symbiosis Alumni Seminar Series   Bimonthly seminars on host-microbe symbiosis, genomics, and metabolomics.   Please join us on 24 June 2026 at 4pm WEST ov...

Abstract. Obligate endosymbionts of insects undergo extreme genome evolution, marked by accelerated molecular evolution, severe base-pair compositional bia

Abstract. Many microbiological outcomes are shaped by the determinants of community composition, including the factors that allow pathogens to invade healt

Anaerobic single-celled eukaryotes illustrate the remarkable diversity of adaptations to life without oxygen, including multiple mitochondrial reductions and various symbiotic interactions with prokar...

Over a century of research has demonstrated that pollinators, such as bees, associatively learn diverse flower cues, including tactile, visual and olf…

Herbivorous insects can shape the epidemiology of disease in plants by vectoring numerous phytopathogens. While the consequences of infection are often well-characterized in the host plant, the extent...

Many animals rely on beneficial microbes for nutrition, defence, or reproduction. In this project, the student will explore an exciting new dimension of these relationships:

Authors analyse paired viral and bacterial shotgun metagenomics data from individual honeybee guts, revealing modular, nested phage–bacteria networks, with viral diversity mirroring bacterial strain c...

Abstract. Symbiont-mediated male killing (MK) is a mechanism that selectively eliminates male offspring, often by disrupting sex-specific developmental pro

Cells require highly polymorphic receptors to perform accurate self/non-self recognition. In the amoeba Dicytostelium discoideum, polymorphic TgrB1 & TgrC1 proteins are used to bind sister cells and e...

Symbioses with microorganisms expand the genetic and metabolic repertoire of many insects. The lac insect Kerria lacca (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha) ...

Abstract. Bees are palynivorous insects that vary widely in the number of plant families from which they collect pollen. Their evolutionary history has bee

YouTube video by Penn State Eberly College of Science

Bacteria in the honeybee gut are a well-recognized factor affecting bee health. However, the primary focus of this research has been the hindgut, while the crop, or honey stomach, is assumed to be dom...

Maternally transmitted symbionts represent important components of arthropod biology, acting as both beneficial partners and as reproductive parasites. Their strict vertical transmission greatly reduc...

The Trump administration is reinterpreting a key word in the Endangered Species Act that could have big consequences for the habitats of species at risk.

Male-killing bacterial symbionts, prevalent in arthropods, skew population sex ratios by selectively killing male progeny, profoundly impacting ecolog…