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The genome sequence is available for several symbiotic microorganisms, while to date only a few eukaryotic host genomes have been sequenced. The International Aphid Genomics Consortium has recently sequenced and annotated the pea aphid (Acyrthosiphon pisum) genome [IAGC, 2010], opening the way to genomic approaches to study different aspects of aphid biology. As the genome sequence of Buchnera aphidicola, the pea aphid primary symbiont, is also available such global approaches can be applied to the study of the symbiosis between these two organisms. Buchnera is known to provide essential amino acids to the aphid, but the full metabolic network underlying this symbiotic relationship has not been fully elucidated.

To use a global systems biology approach to study metabolism, genomics data from hosts and symbionts have to be collected in a standard format and updated regularly. As a starting point and model for future research on symbiosis metabolism, we developed AcypiCyc, a collection of BioCyc-like databases dedicated to the pea aphid and its bacterial symbiont. To integrate the latest sequence annotation information into a metabolic network reconstruction, we created the automated data management system for Cyc databases (CycADS).

The AcypiCyc database is the model for databases dedicated to the analysis of integrated metabolic network shared among different symbiotic partners (couples or communities if we include secondary symbionts, sometimes important for metabolic functions). Furthermore the BioCyc databases, like AcypiCyc, represent key resources for computational systems biology research and complex genomic and metabolomic data analyses.

The International Aphid Genomics Consortium (IAGC)

Genome Sequence of the Pea Aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum.

PLoS Biol 8(2): e1000313, 2010. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1000313 [PubMed] [PLoS Biology]