Bacterial tubular networks channel carbohydrates in insect endosymbiosis
Symbiosis is widespread in nature and plays a fundamental role in organism adaptation and evolution. In nutritional endosymbiosis, host cells accommodate intracellular bacteria and act as a "metabolic factory," requiring extensive metabolic exchanges between host and endosymbiont. To investigate the mechanisms supporting these exchanges, we used the association between the bacterium Sodalis pierantonius and the insect Sitophilus spp. that thrives on an exclusive cereal diet. Volume electron microscopy uncovered that endosymbionts generate complex membranous tubular networks (tubenets) that connect bacteria and drastically increase their exchange surface with the host cytosol. In situ high spatial resolution chemical analysis indicated that tubenets are enriched in carbohydrates, which are the main substrate used by bacteria to generate nutrients for the host. Multiple membranous structures favoring nutrient absorption are described in multicellular organisms. This work demonstrates that bacteria have convergently evolved a similar "biostrategy" that enhances nutrient acquisition by increasing membrane interface.
Authors
- Sergio Peignier (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9004-3033)
- Séverine Balmand (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1909-3556)
- Isabelle Rahioui
- Rachel Santarella‐Mellwig (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8656-5349)
- Charline Dalverny
- Anna Zaidman-Rémy (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2550-1752)
- Abdelaziz Heddi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6708-9298)
- Mariana Galvão Ferrarini (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9574-9991)
- Nicolas Parisot (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5217-8415)
- Elisa Dell’Aglio (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6363-9109)
- Guy Condemine (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3256-3815)
- Martin Kaltenpoth (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9450-0345)
- Justin Maire (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1976-2323)
- Agnès Vallier (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-4719-5708)
- Carole Vincent-Monégat (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6377-5573)
- Xavier Jaurand (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-6423-9617)
- Yannick Schwab (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8027-1836)
- Tobias Engl (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2200-2678)
- Pedro da Silva (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8921-8572)
- Blanca Soriano-Saiz
- Veronica La Padula
- Petri Turunen
- Baptiste Vierne
- Camille Rivard
- Meriem Ghanem-Debbache
Institutions
- Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (FR)
- École Centrale de Lyon (FR)
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- European Molecular Biology Organization (DE)
- Institut Universitaire de France (FR)
- Institut des Nanotechnologies de Lyon (FR)
- Synchrotron soleil (FR)
- Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement (FR)
- Laboratoire D'étude des Résidus et Contaminants Dans les Aliments (FR)
- Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology (DE)
- Biologie Fonctionnelle Insectes et Interactions (FR)
- Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive (FR)
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory (DE)
- Laboratoire Ampère (FR)
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory (DE)
- Institute of Molecular Biology (DE)
- Institut National des Sciences Appliquées de Lyon (FR)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Cell
- Published
- 2025-10-28
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2025.10.001
- Primary Topic
- Insect symbiosis and bacterial influences
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00