ERC Consolidator Grant · 2024
Losing genes but gaining symbionts: Why beetles outsource key metabolic traits
Herbivorous beetles represent one of the most successful animal radiations. The cooption of microbial enzymes is cited as a key innovation that endowed beetles with the catalytic tools to breach the plant cell wall and facilitated the evolution of remarkably diverse herbivorous habits. Beetles incorporated microbial plant cell wall-degrading enzymes either through horizontal gene transfer or symbiosis. This binary distribution is most evident in leaf beetles (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), where the loss of horizontally acquired pectinases coincided with the evolution of functionally convergent digestive symbioses. Prior efforts either examined the role of horizontal gene transfer or symbiosis…
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