Genome sequence of Blattabacterium sp. strain BGIGA, endosymbiont of the Blaberus giganteus cockroach

Cockroaches harbor the obligate flavobacterial endosymbiont Blattabacterium sp., which resides within the host’s bacteriocytes and can recycle ammonia and urea nitrogenous wastes into amino acids for the host. We report the complete genome sequence of the Blattabacterium sp. associated with the giant roach Blaberus giganteus. Blattabacterium sp., the obligate flavobacterial endosymbiontof cockroaches and the lower termiteMastotermes darwinien-sis, is implicated in rescuing nitrogenous wastes and processing them into amino acids for the host (4, 8, 12, 15, 16). The genome of this beneficial insect endosymbiont is highly reduced (590 to 640 kb) compared to closely related, free-living genera. Entire bio-synthetic pathways involved in variousmetabolic functions found in free-living relatives are absent, reflecting a substantial reduction of functional capability. Nonetheless, the pathways that recycle nitrogenous waste compounds, like urea and ammonia, to pro-duce various amino acids and vitamins have been selectively re-tained in allBlattabacterium genomes. Analysis ofBlattabacterium genomes from multiple cockroach families will enhance our un