Bacteria Associated with the Antarctic Endemic Insect Belgica antarctica Jacobs (Diptera Chironomidae)

• Published in: Cytology and genetics Vol. 57; no. 3; pp. 207 - 212
• Main Authors: Maistrenko, O. M., Serga, S. V., Kovalenko, P. A., Kozeretska, I. A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Moscow Pleiades Publishing 01-06-2023; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adaptability; Bacteria; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Chironomidae; Diptera; Endemic species; Genomes; Human Genetics; Metagenomics; Microorganisms; microbiome; endosymbionts; Spiroplasma
• ISSN: 0095-4527; 1934-9440
• DOI: 10.3103/S0095452723030064

Insects are one of the most successful groups of multicellular organisms with more than a million species. Among them, there is
Belgica antarctica
Jacobs (Diptera
Chironomidae
) representing an endemic species of Antarctica that exists under extremely cold conditions. A significant number of microorganisms colonize most species of insects resulting in symbiotic interaction, which may improve the adaptability of a host organism to cold conditions. Using PCR and metagenomic analysis, it has been demonstrated that endosymbiotic bacteria
Spiroplasma
and
Wolbachia
seem to be absent in
Belgica antarctica
. Nevertheless, 14 species of bacteria have been revealed that can be potentially associated with
Belgica antarctica
and/or with the substrate where this species lives by screening the whole-genome sequences available in open databases. To ascertain the constant association of identified microorganisms with
Belgica antarctica
and their possible preference to this species, it is necessary to perform further analysis.