Fig. 2

Potential ability of pairwise combinations of facultative stmbionts to synthesize complementary metabolites in the predicted bacteriocyte environment (host and host-Portiera). Complementary metabolites are those whose synthesis required the coexistence of both pair members and cannot be produced by either member alone in the predefined environment in which the simulations were carried out. White/black/pink coloring of the cells –no synthesis/synthesis in both environments/synthesis only in the host environment, respectively. Color on the left side indicates the super-pathway classification of each metabolite. C, H, R, W represent Cardinium, Hamiltonella (MEAM1), Rickettsia (MEAM1-USA) and Wolbachia, respectively. For simplicity, only a single representative of each genome and only metabolites classified to metabolic pathways are shown; the full list of potential complementary metabolites is detailed in Additional file 8