Impact of Host Developmental Age on the Transcriptome of the Symbiotic Bacterium Buchnera aphidicola in the Pea Aphid (Acyrthosiphon pisum)

Of the 617 genes from Buchnera aphidicola, the obligate bacterial symbiont of the pea aphid, 23% were differentially expressed in embryos compared to adults. Genes involved in flagellar apparatus and riboflavin synthesis exhibited particularly robust upregulation in embryos, suggesting functional differences between the symbiosis in the adult and embryo insect.