About Acyrthosiphon pisum

Aphids are common agricultural pests that feed on sap from the phloem vessels of a wide range of host plants. The pea aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum has co-evolved with an obligate bacterial symbiont (Buchnera aphidicola), which provides essential amino acids that are rare in phloem and would otherwise be missing from the aphids' diet. The co-evolution of the aphid and Buchnera has led to extensive gene loss from the genome, including immunity related pathways, purine salvage and the urea cycle. At the same time over 2000 gene families are duplicated, including miRNA synthesis and sugar transport [1,2].

Picture credit (Creative Commons BY 2.5): Shipher Wu (photograph) and Gee-way Lin (aphid provision), National Taiwan University 2010

Taxonomy ID 7029

Data source Department of Integrative Biology, The University of Texas at Austin

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