Contrasting Genomic Trajectories of Bartonellaceae Symbionts of Planthoppers

Symbioses with microorganisms have shaped the nutritional biology and evolution of many insects. For example, several ant clades have adapted to nutrient-poor diets through symbiosis with a specific clade of bacteria in the family Bartonellaceae (Hyphomicrobiales), notorious for also including virulent vertebrate pathogens. Here we show that Bartonellaceae phylogenetically placed within the clade that has only encompassed ant symbionts to date-Candidatus genus Tokpelaia-have established as symbionts in four different clades of planthoppers (Insecta: Hemiptera: Fulgoromorpha). Genome size and contents indicate different levels of integration of these strains into the planthopper biology and their diverse roles. Symbionts infecting one of the clades have some of the largest genomes among Bartonellaceae, at ca. 2 Mb, two others are under 700 kb, and the fourth is reduced to barely 158 kb. The planthopper-associated Tokpelaia strains with larger genomes, similar to ant symbionts, encode multiple amino acid and vitamin biosynthesis genes, complementing the degraded nutritional capabilities of their hosts' ancient heritable endosymbionts. Strikingly, the smallest Tokpelaia genome lacks any genes linked to essential amino acid biosynthesis, in contrast to all other known insect-associated bacteria with genomes of comparable size. We identified a single vitamin biosynthesis gene and iron-sulfur cluster assembly genes as its only putative contributions to the host biology. Our results broaden the host spectrum of nonpathogenic Bartonellaceae, indicating that they have contributed to nutrition and symbiotic consortium function in diverse diet-restricted host clades. They also highlight an unexpectedly broad range of evolutionary outcomes for this important bacterial group.