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Shropshire JD, Conner WR, Vanderpool D, Hoffmann AA, Turelli M, Cooper BS. Rapid host switching of Wolbachia and even more rapid turnover of their phages and incompatibility-causing loci. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2023.12.04.569981. [PMID: 38105949 PMCID: PMC10723362 DOI: 10.1101/2023.12.04.569981] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2023]
Abstract
About half of all insect species carry maternally inherited Wolbachia alphaproteobacteria, making Wolbachia the most common endosymbionts known in nature. Often Wolbachia spread to high frequencies within populations due to cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI), a Wolbachia-induced sperm modification caused by prophage-associated genes (cifs) that kill embryos without Wolbachia. Several Wolbachia variants also block viruses, including wMel from Drosophila melanogaster when transinfected into the mosquito Aedes aegypti. CI enables the establishment and stable maintenance of pathogen-blocking wMel in natural Ae. aegypti populations. These transinfections are reducing dengue disease incidence on multiple continents. While it has long been known that closely related Wolbachia occupy distantly related hosts, the timing of Wolbachia host switching and molecular evolution has not been widely quantified. We provide a new, conservative calibration for Wolbachia chronograms based on examples of co-divergence of Wolbachia and their insect hosts. Synthesizing publicly available and new genomic data, we use our calibration to demonstrate that wMel-like variants separated by only about 370,000 years have naturally colonized holometabolous dipteran and hymenopteran insects that diverged approximately 350 million years ago. Data from Wolbachia variants closely related to those currently dominant in D. melanogaster and D. simulans illustrate that cifs are rapidly acquired and lost among Wolbachia genomes, on a time scale of 104-105 years. This turnover occurs with and without the Wovirus prophages that contain them, with closely related cifs found in distantly related phages and distantly related cifs found in closely related phages. We present evidence for purifying selection on CI rescue function and on particular Cif protein domains. Our results quantify the tempo and mode of rapid host switching and horizontal gene transfer that underlie the spread and diversity of Wolbachia sampled from diverse host species. The wMel variants we highlight from hosts in different climates may offer new options for broadening Wolbachia-based biocontrol of diseases and pests.
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Affiliation(s)
- J. Dylan Shropshire
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana, USA
- Department of Biological Sciences, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - William R. Conner
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana, USA
| | - Dan Vanderpool
- Forest Service, National Genomics Center for Wildlife and Fish Conservation, Missoula, Montana, USA
| | - Ary A. Hoffmann
- Pest and Environmental Adaptation Research Group, Bio21 Institute and the School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia
| | - Michael Turelli
- Department of Evolution and Ecology, University of California, Davis, California, USA
| | - Brandon S. Cooper
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana, USA
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2
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De Coninck L, Soto A, Wang L, De Wolf K, Smitz N, Deblauwe I, Mbigha Donfack KC, Müller R, Delang L, Matthijnssens J. Lack of abundant core virome in Culex mosquitoes from a temperate climate region despite a mosquito species-specific virome. mSystems 2024; 9:e0001224. [PMID: 38742876 DOI: 10.1128/msystems.00012-24] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2024] [Accepted: 04/15/2024] [Indexed: 05/16/2024] Open
Abstract
In arthropod-associated microbial communities, insect-specific viruses (ISVs) are prevalent yet understudied due to limited infectivity outside their natural hosts. However, ISVs might play a crucial role in regulating mosquito populations and influencing arthropod-borne virus transmission. Some studies have indicated a core virome in mosquitoes consisting of mostly ISVs. Employing single mosquito metagenomics, we comprehensively profiled the virome of native and invasive mosquito species in Belgium. This approach allowed for accurate host species determination, prevalence assessment of viruses and Wolbachia, and the identification of novel viruses. Contrary to our expectations, no abundant core virome was observed in Culex mosquitoes from Belgium. In that regard, we caution against rigidly defining mosquito core viromes and encourage nuanced interpretations of other studies. Nonetheless, our study identified 45 viruses of which 28 were novel, enriching our understanding of the mosquito virome and ISVs. We showed that the mosquito virome in this study is species-specific and less dependent on the location where mosquitoes from the same species reside. In addition, because Wolbachia has previously been observed to influence arbovirus transmission, we report the prevalence of Wolbachia in Belgian mosquitoes and the detection of several Wolbachia mobile genetic elements. The observed prevalence ranged from 83% to 92% in members from the Culex pipiens complex.IMPORTANCECulex pipiens mosquitoes are important vectors for arboviruses like West Nile virus and Usutu virus. Virome studies on individual Culex pipiens, and on individual mosquitoes in general, have been lacking. To mitigate this, we sequenced the virome of 190 individual Culex and 8 individual Aedes japonicus mosquitoes. We report the lack of a core virome in these mosquitoes from Belgium and caution the interpretation of other studies in this light. The discovery of new viruses in this study will aid our comprehension of insect-specific viruses and the mosquito virome in general in relation to mosquito physiology and mosquito population dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lander De Coninck
- KU Leuven, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, Rega Institute, Division of Clinical and Epidemiological Virology, Laboratory of Viral Metagenomics, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Alina Soto
- KU Leuven, Department of Microbiology, Immunology, & Transplantation, Rega Institute, Laboratory of Virology and Chemotherapy, Mosquito Virology Team, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Lanjiao Wang
- KU Leuven, Department of Microbiology, Immunology, & Transplantation, Rega Institute, Laboratory of Virology and Chemotherapy, Mosquito Virology Team, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Katrien De Wolf
- Department Biomedical Sciences, The Unit of Entomology, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium
- Department of Biology, Terrestrial Ecology Unit, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Nathalie Smitz
- Department of Biology, Royal Museum for Central Africa (Barcoding Facility for Organisms and Tissues of Policy Concern), Tervuren, Belgium
| | - Isra Deblauwe
- Department Biomedical Sciences, The Unit of Entomology, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Karelle Celes Mbigha Donfack
- KU Leuven, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, Rega Institute, Division of Clinical and Epidemiological Virology, Laboratory of Viral Metagenomics, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Ruth Müller
- Department Biomedical Sciences, The Unit of Entomology, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Leen Delang
- KU Leuven, Department of Microbiology, Immunology, & Transplantation, Rega Institute, Laboratory of Virology and Chemotherapy, Mosquito Virology Team, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Jelle Matthijnssens
- KU Leuven, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, Rega Institute, Division of Clinical and Epidemiological Virology, Laboratory of Viral Metagenomics, Leuven, Belgium
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3
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Zhang X, Ferree PM. PSRs: Selfish chromosomes that manipulate reproductive development. Semin Cell Dev Biol 2024; 159-160:66-73. [PMID: 38394822 DOI: 10.1016/j.semcdb.2024.01.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2023] [Revised: 01/17/2024] [Accepted: 01/26/2024] [Indexed: 02/25/2024]
Abstract
B chromosomes are intriguing "selfish" genetic elements, many of which exhibit higher-than-Mendelian transmission. This perspective highlights a group of B chromosomes known as Paternal Sex Ratio chromosomes (PSRs), which are found in several insects with haplo-diploid reproduction. PSRs harshly alter the organism's reproduction to facilitate their own inheritance. A manifestation of this effect is the conversion of female destined individuals into males. Key to this conversion is the mysterious ability of PSRs to cause elimination of the sperm-inherited half of the genome during zygote formation. Here we discuss how PSRs were discovered, what is known about how they alter paternal chromatin dynamics to cause sex conversion, and how PSR-induced genome elimination is different from other forms of programmed genome elimination in different insects. PSRs also stand out because their DNA sequence compositions differ in remarkable ways from their insect's essential chromosomes, a characteristic suggestive of interspecies origins. Broadly, we also highlight poorly understood aspects of PSR dynamics that need to be investigated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xinmi Zhang
- W. M. Keck Science Department, Pitzer and Scripps Colleges, Claremont, CA 91711, USA
| | - Patrick M Ferree
- W. M. Keck Science Department, Pitzer and Scripps Colleges, Claremont, CA 91711, USA.
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4
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Kaur R, McGarry A, Shropshire JD, Leigh BA, Bordenstein SR. Prophage proteins alter long noncoding RNA and DNA of developing sperm to induce a paternal-effect lethality. Science 2024; 383:1111-1117. [PMID: 38452081 PMCID: PMC11187695 DOI: 10.1126/science.adk9469] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2023] [Accepted: 01/30/2024] [Indexed: 03/09/2024]
Abstract
The extent to which prophage proteins interact with eukaryotic macromolecules is largely unknown. In this work, we show that cytoplasmic incompatibility factor A (CifA) and B (CifB) proteins, encoded by prophage WO of the endosymbiont Wolbachia, alter long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) and DNA during Drosophila sperm development to establish a paternal-effect embryonic lethality known as cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI). CifA is a ribonuclease (RNase) that depletes a spermatocyte lncRNA important for the histone-to-protamine transition of spermiogenesis. Both CifA and CifB are deoxyribonucleases (DNases) that elevate DNA damage in late spermiogenesis. lncRNA knockdown enhances CI, and mutagenesis links lncRNA depletion and subsequent sperm chromatin integrity changes to embryonic DNA damage and CI. Hence, prophage proteins interact with eukaryotic macromolecules during gametogenesis to create a symbiosis that is fundamental to insect evolution and vector control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rupinder Kaur
- Pennsylvania State University, Departments of Biology and Entomology, University Park, PA 16802, USA
- One Health Microbiome Center, Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
- Vanderbilt University, Department of Biological Sciences, Nashville, TN 37235, USA
| | - Angelina McGarry
- Pennsylvania State University, Departments of Biology and Entomology, University Park, PA 16802, USA
- One Health Microbiome Center, Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - J. Dylan Shropshire
- Vanderbilt University, Department of Biological Sciences, Nashville, TN 37235, USA
- Department of Biological Sciences, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA 18015, USA
| | - Brittany A. Leigh
- Vanderbilt University, Department of Biological Sciences, Nashville, TN 37235, USA
| | - Seth R. Bordenstein
- Pennsylvania State University, Departments of Biology and Entomology, University Park, PA 16802, USA
- One Health Microbiome Center, Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
- Vanderbilt University, Department of Biological Sciences, Nashville, TN 37235, USA
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5
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Mancini MV, Murdochy SM, Bilgo E, Ant TH, Gingell D, Gnambani EJ, Failloux AB, Diabate A, Sinkins SP. Wolbachia strain wAlbB shows favourable characteristics for dengue control use in Aedes aegypti from Burkina Faso. Environ Microbiol 2024; 26:e16588. [PMID: 38450576 DOI: 10.1111/1462-2920.16588] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2023] [Accepted: 01/23/2024] [Indexed: 03/08/2024]
Abstract
Dengue represents an increasing public health burden worldwide. In Africa, underreporting and misdiagnosis often mask its true epidemiology, and dengue is likely to be both more widespread than reported data suggest and increasing in incidence and distribution. Wolbachia-based dengue control is underway in Asia and the Americas but has not to date been deployed in Africa. Due to the genetic heterogeneity of African Aedes aegypti populations and the complexity of the host-symbiont interactions, characterization of key parameters of Wolbachia-carrying mosquitoes is paramount for determining the potential of the system as a control tool for dengue in Africa. The wAlbB Wolbachia strain was stably introduced into an African Ae. aegypti population by introgression, and showed high intracellular density in whole bodies and different mosquito tissues; high intracellular density was also maintained following larval rearing at high temperatures. No effect on the adult lifespan induced by Wolbachia presence was detected. Moreover, the ability of this strain to strongly inhibit DENV-2 dissemination and transmission in the host was also demonstrated in the African background. Our findings suggest the potential of harnessing Wolbachia for dengue control for African populations of Ae. aegypti.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Vittoria Mancini
- MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, Glasgow, UK
- Department of Biology and Biotechnology, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
| | | | - Etienne Bilgo
- Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Santé, Direction Régionale de l'Ouest, Dioulasso, Burkina Faso
- Institut National de Santé Publique/Centre Muraz, Dioulasso, Burkina Faso
| | - Thomas H Ant
- MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, Glasgow, UK
| | - Daniel Gingell
- MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, Glasgow, UK
| | - Edounou Jacques Gnambani
- Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Santé, Direction Régionale de l'Ouest, Dioulasso, Burkina Faso
- Institut National de Santé Publique/Centre Muraz, Dioulasso, Burkina Faso
| | - Anna-Bella Failloux
- Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, Arboviruses and Insect Vectors Unit, Paris, France
| | - Abdoulaye Diabate
- Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Santé, Direction Régionale de l'Ouest, Dioulasso, Burkina Faso
- Institut National de Santé Publique/Centre Muraz, Dioulasso, Burkina Faso
| | - Steven P Sinkins
- MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, Glasgow, UK
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Kaur R, Meier CJ, McGraw EA, Hillyer JF, Bordenstein SR. The mechanism of cytoplasmic incompatibility is conserved in Wolbachia-infected Aedes aegypti mosquitoes deployed for arbovirus control. PLoS Biol 2024; 22:e3002573. [PMID: 38547237 PMCID: PMC11014437 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3002573] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2023] [Revised: 04/12/2024] [Accepted: 03/01/2024] [Indexed: 04/13/2024] Open
Abstract
The rising interest and success in deploying inherited microorganisms and cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI) for vector control strategies necessitate an explanation of the CI mechanism. Wolbachia-induced CI manifests in the form of embryonic lethality when sperm from Wolbachia-bearing testes fertilize eggs from uninfected females. Embryos from infected females however survive to sustain the maternally inherited symbiont. Previously in Drosophila melanogaster flies, we demonstrated that CI modifies chromatin integrity in developing sperm to bestow the embryonic lethality. Here, we validate these findings using wMel-transinfected Aedes aegypti mosquitoes released to control vector-borne diseases. Once again, the prophage WO CI proteins, CifA and CifB, target male gametic nuclei to modify chromatin integrity via an aberrant histone-to-protamine transition. Cifs are not detected in the embryo, and thus elicit CI via the nucleoprotein modifications established pre-fertilization. The rescue protein CifA in oogenesis localizes to stem cell, nurse cell, and oocyte nuclei, as well as embryonic DNA during embryogenesis. Discovery of the nuclear targeting Cifs and altered histone-to-protamine transition in both Aedes aegypti mosquitoes and D. melanogaster flies affirm the Host Modification Model of CI is conserved across these host species. The study also newly uncovers the cell biology of Cif proteins in the ovaries, CifA localization in the embryos, and an impaired histone-to-protamine transition during spermiogenesis of any mosquito species. Overall, these sperm modification findings may enable future optimization of CI efficacy in vectors or pests that are refractory to Wolbachia transinfections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rupinder Kaur
- Pennsylvania State University, Departments of Biology and Entomology, University Park, Pennsylvania, United States of America
- Pennsylvania State University, One Health Microbiome Center, Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, University Park, Pennsylvania, United States of America
- Vanderbilt University, Department of Biological Sciences, Nashville, Tennessee, United States of America
| | - Cole J. Meier
- Vanderbilt University, Department of Biological Sciences, Nashville, Tennessee, United States of America
| | - Elizabeth A. McGraw
- Pennsylvania State University, Departments of Biology and Entomology, University Park, Pennsylvania, United States of America
- Pennsylvania State University, One Health Microbiome Center, Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, University Park, Pennsylvania, United States of America
- Pennsylvania State University, Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics, Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, University Park, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Julian F. Hillyer
- Vanderbilt University, Department of Biological Sciences, Nashville, Tennessee, United States of America
| | - Seth R. Bordenstein
- Pennsylvania State University, Departments of Biology and Entomology, University Park, Pennsylvania, United States of America
- Pennsylvania State University, One Health Microbiome Center, Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, University Park, Pennsylvania, United States of America
- Vanderbilt University, Department of Biological Sciences, Nashville, Tennessee, United States of America
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7
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Martin M, López-Madrigal S, Newton ILG. The Wolbachia WalE1 effector alters Drosophila endocytosis. PLoS Pathog 2024; 20:e1011245. [PMID: 38547310 PMCID: PMC11003677 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1011245] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2023] [Revised: 04/09/2024] [Accepted: 03/18/2024] [Indexed: 04/09/2024] Open
Abstract
The most common intracellular bacterial infection is Wolbachia pipientis, a microbe that manipulates host reproduction and is used in control of insect vectors. Phenotypes induced by Wolbachia have been studied for decades and range from sperm-egg incompatibility to male killing. How Wolbachia alters host biology is less well understood. Previously, we characterized the first Wolbachia effector-WalE1, which encodes an alpha-synuclein domain at the N terminus. Purified WalE1 sediments with and bundles actin and when heterologously expressed in flies, increases Wolbachia titer in the developing oocyte. In this work, we first identify the native expression of WalE1 by Wolbachia infecting both fly cells and whole animals. WalE1 appears as aggregates in the host cell cytosol. We next show that WalE1 co-immunoprecipitates with the host protein Past1, although might not directly interact with it, and that WalE1 manipulates host endocytosis. Yeast expressing WalE1 show deficiency in uptake of FM4-64 dye, and flies harboring mutations in Past1 or overexpressing WalE1 are sensitive to AgNO3, a hallmark of endocytosis defects. We also show that flies expressing WalE1 suffer from endocytosis defects in larval nephrocytes. Finally, we also show that Past1 null flies harbor more Wolbachia overall and in late egg chambers. Our results identify interactions between Wolbachia and a host protein involved in endocytosis and point to yet another important host cell process impinged upon by Wolbachia's WalE1 effector.
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Affiliation(s)
- MaryAnn Martin
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana United States of America
| | - Sergio López-Madrigal
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana United States of America
| | - Irene L. G. Newton
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana United States of America
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8
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Pramono AK, Hidayanti AK, Tagami Y, Ando H. Bacterial community and genome analysis of cytoplasmic incompatibility-inducing Wolbachia in American serpentine leafminer, Liriomyza trifolii. Front Microbiol 2024; 15:1304401. [PMID: 38380092 PMCID: PMC10877061 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1304401] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2023] [Accepted: 01/12/2024] [Indexed: 02/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Liriomyza trifolii, an agricultural pest, is occasionally infected by Wolbachia. A Wolbachia strain present in Liriomyza trifolii is associated with cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI) effects, leading to the death of embryos resulting from incompatible crosses between antibiotic-treated or naturally Wolbachia-free strain females and Wolbachia-infected males. In this study, high-throughput sequencing of hypervariable rRNA genes was employed to characterize the bacterial community in Wolbachia-infected L. trifolii without antibiotic treatment. The analysis revealed that Wolbachia dominates the bacterial community in L. trifolii, with minor presence of Acinetobacter, Pseudomonas, and Limnobacter. To elucidate the genetic basis of the CI phenotype, metagenomic sequencing was also conducted to assemble the genome of the Wolbachia strain. The draft-genome of the Wolbachia strain wLtri was 1.35 Mbp with 34% GC content and contained 1,487 predicted genes. Notably, within the wLtri genome, there are three distinct types of cytoplasmic incompatibility factor (cif) genes: Type I, Type III, and Type V cifA;B. These genes are likely responsible for inducing the strong cytoplasmic incompatibility observed in L. trifolii.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ajeng K. Pramono
- Laboratory of Phage Biologics, Graduate School of Medicine, Gifu University, Gifu, Japan
| | - Ardhiani K. Hidayanti
- School of Biological Environment, The United Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Gifu University, Gifu, Japan
- School of Life Sciences and Technology, Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB), Bandung, Indonesia
| | - Yohsuke Tagami
- Laboratory of Applied Entomology, Faculty of Agriculture, Shizuoka University, Shizuoka, Japan
| | - Hiroki Ando
- Laboratory of Phage Biologics, Graduate School of Medicine, Gifu University, Gifu, Japan
- Center for One Medicine Innovative Translational Research (COMIT), Gifu University, Gifu, Japan
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Chennuri PR, Zapletal J, Monfardini RD, Ndeffo-Mbah ML, Adelman ZN, Myles KM. Repeat mediated excision of gene drive elements for restoring wild-type populations. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.11.23.568397. [PMID: 38045402 PMCID: PMC10690251 DOI: 10.1101/2023.11.23.568397] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/05/2023]
Abstract
We demonstrate here that single strand annealing (SSA) repair can be co-opted for the precise autocatalytic excision of a drive element. Although SSA is not the predominant form of DNA repair in eukaryotic organisms, we increased the likelihood of its use by engineering direct repeats at sites flanking the drive allele, and then introducing a double-strand DNA break (DSB) at a second endonuclease target site encoded within the drive allele. We have termed this technology Re peat M ediated E xcision of a D rive E lement (ReMEDE). Incorporation of ReMEDE into the previously described mutagenic chain reaction (MCR) gene drive, targeting the yellow gene of Drosophila melanogaster , replaced drive alleles with wild-type alleles demonstrating proof-of-principle. Although the ReMEDE system requires further research and development, the technology has a number of attractive features as a gene drive mitigation strategy, chief among these the potential to restore a wild-type population without releasing additional transgenic organisms or large-scale environmental engineering efforts.
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10
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Porter J, Sullivan W. The cellular lives of Wolbachia. Nat Rev Microbiol 2023; 21:750-766. [PMID: 37430172 DOI: 10.1038/s41579-023-00918-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/15/2023] [Indexed: 07/12/2023]
Abstract
Wolbachia are successful Gram-negative bacterial endosymbionts, globally infecting a large fraction of arthropod species and filarial nematodes. Efficient vertical transmission, the capacity for horizontal transmission, manipulation of host reproduction and enhancement of host fitness can promote the spread both within and between species. Wolbachia are abundant and can occupy extraordinary diverse and evolutionary distant host species, suggesting that they have evolved to engage and manipulate highly conserved core cellular processes. Here, we review recent studies identifying Wolbachia-host interactions at the molecular and cellular levels. We explore how Wolbachia interact with a wide array of host cytoplasmic and nuclear components in order to thrive in a diversity of cell types and cellular environments. This endosymbiont has also evolved the ability to precisely target and manipulate specific phases of the host cell cycle. The remarkable diversity of cellular interactions distinguishes Wolbachia from other endosymbionts and is largely responsible for facilitating its global propagation through host populations. Finally, we describe how insights into Wolbachia-host cellular interactions have led to promising applications in controlling insect-borne and filarial nematode-based diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jillian Porter
- Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology, UC Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, USA
| | - William Sullivan
- Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology, UC Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, USA.
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11
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Liu W, Xia X, Hoffmann AA, Ding Y, Fang JC, Yu H. Evolution of Wolbachia reproductive and nutritional mutualism: insights from the genomes of two novel strains that double infect the pollinator of dioecious Ficus hirta. BMC Genomics 2023; 24:657. [PMID: 37914998 PMCID: PMC10621080 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-023-09726-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2023] [Accepted: 10/09/2023] [Indexed: 11/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Wolbachia is a genus of maternally inherited endosymbionts that can affect reproduction of their hosts and influence metabolic processes. The pollinator, Valisia javana, is common in the male syconium of the dioecious fig Ficus hirta. Based on a high-quality chromosome-level V. javana genome with PacBio long-read and Illumina short-read sequencing, we discovered a sizeable proportion of Wolbachia sequences and used these to assemble two novel Wolbachia strains belonging to supergroup A. We explored its phylogenetic relationship with described Wolbachia strains based on MLST sequences and the possibility of induction of CI (cytoplasmic incompatibility) in this strain by examining the presence of cif genes known to be responsible for CI in other insects. We also identified mobile genetic elements including prophages and insertion sequences, genes related to biotin synthesis and metabolism. A total of two prophages and 256 insertion sequences were found. The prophage WOjav1 is cryptic (structure incomplete) and WOjav2 is relatively intact. IS5 is the dominant transposon family. At least three pairs of type I cif genes with three copies were found which may cause strong CI although this needs experimental verification; we also considered possible nutritional effects of the Wolbachia by identifying genes related to biotin production, absorption and metabolism. This study provides a resource for further studies of Wolbachia-pollinator-host plant interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wanzhen Liu
- Key Laboratory of Plant Resource Conservation and Sustainable Utilization, South China Botanical Garden, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510650, China
| | - Xue Xia
- Institute of Plant Protection, Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Food and Safety-State Key Laboratory Cultivation Base of Ministry of Science and Technology, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanjing, 210014, China
| | - Ary A Hoffmann
- School of BioSciences, Bio21 Institute, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
| | - Yamei Ding
- Key Laboratory of Plant Resource Conservation and Sustainable Utilization, South China Botanical Garden, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510650, China
| | - Ji-Chao Fang
- Institute of Plant Protection, Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Food and Safety-State Key Laboratory Cultivation Base of Ministry of Science and Technology, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanjing, 210014, China
| | - Hui Yu
- Key Laboratory of Plant Resource Conservation and Sustainable Utilization, South China Botanical Garden, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510650, China.
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12
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Li J, Dong B, Zhong Y, Li Z. Transinfected Wolbachia strains induce a complex of cytoplasmic incompatibility phenotypes: Roles of CI factor genes. ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY REPORTS 2023; 15:370-382. [PMID: 37194361 PMCID: PMC10472523 DOI: 10.1111/1758-2229.13169] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2022] [Accepted: 05/05/2023] [Indexed: 05/18/2023]
Abstract
Wolbachia can modulate the reproductive development of their hosts in multiple modes, and cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI) is the most well-studied phenotype. The whitefly Bemisia tabaci is highly receptive to different Wolbachia strains: wCcep strain from the rice moth Corcyra cephalonica and wMel strain from the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster could successfully establish and induce CI in transinfected whiteflies. Nevertheless, it is unknown what will happen when these two exogenous Wolbachia strains are co-transinfected into a new host. Here, we artificially transinferred wCcep and wMel into the whitefly and established double- and singly-transinfected B. tabaci isofemale lines. Reciprocal crossing experiments showed that wCcep and wMel induced a complex of CI phenotypes in the recipient host, including unidirectional and bidirectional CI. We next sequenced the whole genome of wCcep and performed a comparative analysis of the CI factor genes between wCcep and wMel, indicating that their cif genes were phylogenetically and structurally divergent, which can explain the crossing results. The amino acid sequence identity and structural features of Cif proteins may be useful parameters for predicting their function. Structural comparisons between CifA and CifB provide valuable clues for explaining the induction or rescue of CI observed in crossing experiments between transinfected hosts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jing Li
- Department of Entomology and Key Laboratory of Pest Monitoring and Green Management, MOA, College of Plant ProtectionChina Agricultural UniversityBeijingChina
| | - Bei Dong
- Jinan Academy of Agricultural SciencesJinanChina
| | - Yong Zhong
- Pingxiang Customs Comprehensive Technical Service CenterPingxiangChina
| | - Zheng‐Xi Li
- Department of Entomology and Key Laboratory of Pest Monitoring and Green Management, MOA, College of Plant ProtectionChina Agricultural UniversityBeijingChina
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13
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Hochstrasser M. Molecular Biology of Cytoplasmic Incompatibility Caused by Wolbachia Endosymbionts. Annu Rev Microbiol 2023; 77:299-316. [PMID: 37285552 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-micro-041020-024616] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Among endosymbiotic bacteria living within eukaryotic cells, Wolbachia is exceptionally widespread, particularly in arthropods. Inherited through the female germline, it has evolved ways to increase the fraction of bacterially infected offspring by inducing parthenogenesis, feminization, male killing, or, most commonly, cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI). In CI, Wolbachia infection of males causes embryonic lethality unless they mate with similarly infected females, creating a relative reproductive advantage for infected females. A set of related Wolbachia bicistronic operons encodes the CI-inducing factors. The downstream gene encodes a deubiquitylase or nuclease and is responsible for CI induction by males, while the upstream product when expressed in females binds its sperm-introduced cognate partner and rescues viability. Both toxin-antidote and host-modification mechanisms have been proposed to explain CI. Interestingly, male killing by either Spiroplasma or Wolbachia endosymbionts involves deubiquitylases as well. Interference with the host ubiquitin system may therefore be a common theme among endosymbiont-mediated reproductive alterations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark Hochstrasser
- Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry and Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA;
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14
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Lee H, Seo P, Teklay S, Yuguchi E, Benetta ED, Werren JH, Ferree PM. Ability of a selfish B chromosome to evade genome elimination in the jewel wasp, Nasonia vitripennis. Heredity (Edinb) 2023; 131:230-237. [PMID: 37524915 PMCID: PMC10462710 DOI: 10.1038/s41437-023-00639-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2023] [Revised: 07/04/2023] [Accepted: 07/09/2023] [Indexed: 08/02/2023] Open
Abstract
B chromosomes are non-essential, extra chromosomes that can exhibit transmission-enhancing behaviors, including meiotic drive, mitotic drive, and induction of genome elimination, in plants and animals. A fundamental but poorly understood question is what characteristics allow B chromosomes to exhibit these extraordinary behaviors. The jewel wasp, Nasonia vitripennis, harbors a heterochromatic, paternally transmitted B chromosome known as paternal sex ratio (PSR), which causes complete elimination of the sperm-contributed half of the genome during the first mitotic division of fertilized embryos. This genome elimination event may result from specific, previously observed alterations of the paternal chromatin. Due to the haplo-diploid reproduction of the wasp, genome elimination by PSR causes female-destined embryos to develop as haploid males that transmit PSR. PSR does not undergo self-elimination despite its presence with the paternal chromatin until the elimination event. Here we performed fluorescence microscopic analyses aimed at understanding this unexplained property. Our results show that PSR, like the rest of the genome, participates in the histone-to-protamine transition, arguing that PSR does not avoid this transition to escape self-elimination. In addition, PSR partially escapes the chromatin-altering activity of the intracellular bacterium, Wolbachia, demonstrating that this ability to evade chromatin alteration is not limited to PSR's own activity. Finally, we observed that the rDNA locus and other unidentified heterochromatic regions of the wasp's genome also seem to evade chromatin disruption by PSR, suggesting that PSR's genome-eliminating activity does not affect heterochromatin. Thus, PSR may target an aspect of euchromatin to cause genome elimination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haena Lee
- W. M. Keck Science Department, Claremont McKenna, Pitzer and Scripps Colleges, Claremont, CA, 91711, USA
| | - Pooreum Seo
- W. M. Keck Science Department, Claremont McKenna, Pitzer and Scripps Colleges, Claremont, CA, 91711, USA
| | - Salina Teklay
- W. M. Keck Science Department, Claremont McKenna, Pitzer and Scripps Colleges, Claremont, CA, 91711, USA
| | - Emily Yuguchi
- W. M. Keck Science Department, Claremont McKenna, Pitzer and Scripps Colleges, Claremont, CA, 91711, USA
| | - Elena Dalla Benetta
- W. M. Keck Science Department, Claremont McKenna, Pitzer and Scripps Colleges, Claremont, CA, 91711, USA
- Division of Biological Sciences, Section of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
| | - John H Werren
- Department of Biology, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, 14627, USA
| | - Patrick M Ferree
- W. M. Keck Science Department, Claremont McKenna, Pitzer and Scripps Colleges, Claremont, CA, 91711, USA.
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15
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Beckmann J, Gillespie J, Tauritz D. Modeling emergence of Wolbachia toxin-antidote protein functions with an evolutionary algorithm. Front Microbiol 2023; 14:1116766. [PMID: 37362913 PMCID: PMC10288140 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1116766] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2022] [Accepted: 05/23/2023] [Indexed: 06/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Evolutionary algorithms (EAs) simulate Darwinian evolution and adeptly mimic natural evolution. Most EA applications in biology encode high levels of abstraction in top-down population ecology models. In contrast, our research merges protein alignment algorithms from bioinformatics into codon based EAs that simulate molecular protein string evolution from the bottom up. We apply our EA to reconcile a problem in the field of Wolbachia induced cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI). Wolbachia is a microbial endosymbiont that lives inside insect cells. CI is conditional insect sterility that operates as a toxin antidote (TA) system. Although, CI exhibits complex phenotypes not fully explained under a single discrete model. We instantiate in-silico genes that control CI, CI factors (cifs), as strings within the EA chromosome. We monitor the evolution of their enzymatic activity, binding, and cellular localization by applying selective pressure on their primary amino acid strings. Our model helps rationalize why two distinct mechanisms of CI induction might coexist in nature. We find that nuclear localization signals (NLS) and Type IV secretion system signals (T4SS) are of low complexity and evolve fast, whereas binding interactions have intermediate complexity, and enzymatic activity is the most complex. Our model predicts that as ancestral TA systems evolve into eukaryotic CI systems, the placement of NLS or T4SS signals can stochastically vary, imparting effects that might impact CI induction mechanics. Our model highlights how preconditions and sequence length can bias evolution of cifs toward one mechanism or another.
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Affiliation(s)
- John Beckmann
- Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, United States
| | - Joe Gillespie
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Maryland, Baltimore, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Daniel Tauritz
- Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, United States
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16
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Tang X, Zhong L, Tang L, Fan C, Zhang B, Wang M, Dong H, Zhou C, Rensing C, Zhou S, Zeng G. Lysogenic bacteriophages encoding arsenic resistance determinants promote bacterial community adaptation to arsenic toxicity. THE ISME JOURNAL 2023:10.1038/s41396-023-01425-w. [PMID: 37161002 DOI: 10.1038/s41396-023-01425-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2022] [Revised: 04/21/2023] [Accepted: 04/27/2023] [Indexed: 05/11/2023]
Abstract
Emerging evidence from genomics gives us a glimpse into the potential contribution of lysogenic bacteriophages (phages) to the environmental adaptability of their hosts. However, it is challenging to quantify this kind of contribution due to the lack of appropriate genetic markers and the associated controllable environmental factors. Here, based on the unique transformable nature of arsenic (the controllable environmental factor), a series of flooding microcosms was established to investigate the contribution of arsM-bearing lysogenic phages to their hosts' adaptation to trivalent arsenic [As(III)] toxicity, where arsM is the marker gene associated with microbial As(III) detoxification. In the 15-day flooding period, the concentration of As(III) was significantly increased, and this elevated As(III) toxicity visibly inhibited the bacterial population, but the latter quickly adapted to As(III) toxicity. During the flooding period, some lysogenic phages re-infected new hosts after an early burst, while others persistently followed the productive cycle (i.e., lytic cycle). The unique phage-host interplay contributed to the rapid spread of arsM among soil microbiota, enabling the quick recovery of the bacterial community. Moreover, the higher abundance of arsM imparted a greater arsenic methylation capability to soil microbiota. Collectively, this study provides experimental evidence for lysogenic phages assisting their hosts in adapting to an extreme environment, which highlights the ecological perspectives on lysogenic phage-host mutualism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiang Tang
- College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Hunan University and Key Laboratory of Environmental Biology and Pollution Control (Hunan University), Ministry of Education, Changsha, 410082, P. R. China
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Soil Environmental Health and Regulation, College of Resources and Environment, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, 350002, P. R. China
| | - Linrui Zhong
- College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Hunan University and Key Laboratory of Environmental Biology and Pollution Control (Hunan University), Ministry of Education, Changsha, 410082, P. R. China
| | - Lin Tang
- College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Hunan University and Key Laboratory of Environmental Biology and Pollution Control (Hunan University), Ministry of Education, Changsha, 410082, P. R. China
| | - Changzheng Fan
- College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Hunan University and Key Laboratory of Environmental Biology and Pollution Control (Hunan University), Ministry of Education, Changsha, 410082, P. R. China.
| | - Baowei Zhang
- College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Hunan University and Key Laboratory of Environmental Biology and Pollution Control (Hunan University), Ministry of Education, Changsha, 410082, P. R. China
| | - Mier Wang
- College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Hunan University and Key Laboratory of Environmental Biology and Pollution Control (Hunan University), Ministry of Education, Changsha, 410082, P. R. China
| | - Haoran Dong
- College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Hunan University and Key Laboratory of Environmental Biology and Pollution Control (Hunan University), Ministry of Education, Changsha, 410082, P. R. China
| | - Chengyun Zhou
- College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Hunan University and Key Laboratory of Environmental Biology and Pollution Control (Hunan University), Ministry of Education, Changsha, 410082, P. R. China
| | - Christopher Rensing
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Soil Environmental Health and Regulation, College of Resources and Environment, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, 350002, P. R. China
| | - Shungui Zhou
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Soil Environmental Health and Regulation, College of Resources and Environment, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, 350002, P. R. China
| | - Guangming Zeng
- College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Hunan University and Key Laboratory of Environmental Biology and Pollution Control (Hunan University), Ministry of Education, Changsha, 410082, P. R. China.
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17
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Ghousein A, Tutagata J, Schrieke H, Etienne M, Chaumeau V, Boyer S, Pages N, Roiz D, Eren AM, Cambray G, Reveillaud J. pWCP is a widely distributed and highly conserved Wolbachia plasmid in Culex pipiens and Culex quinquefasciatus mosquitoes worldwide. ISME COMMUNICATIONS 2023; 3:40. [PMID: 37117399 PMCID: PMC10144880 DOI: 10.1038/s43705-023-00248-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2022] [Revised: 04/11/2023] [Accepted: 04/18/2023] [Indexed: 04/30/2023]
Abstract
Mosquitoes represent the most important pathogen vectors and are responsible for the spread of a wide variety of poorly treatable diseases. Wolbachia are obligate intracellular bacteria that are widely distributed among arthropods and collectively represents one of the most promising solutions for vector control. In particular, Wolbachia has been shown to limit the transmission of pathogens, and to dramatically affect the reproductive behavior of their host through its phage WO. While much research has focused on deciphering and exploring the biocontrol applications of these WO-related phenotypes, the extent and potential impact of the Wolbachia mobilome remain poorly appreciated. Notably, several Wolbachia plasmids, carrying WO-like genes and Insertion Sequences (IS), thus possibly interrelated to other genetic units of the endosymbiont, have been recently discovered. Here we investigated the diversity and biogeography of the first described plasmid of Wolbachia in Culex pipiens (pWCP) in several islands and continental countries around the world-including Cambodia, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Thailand, and Mexico-together with mosquito strains from colonies that evolved for 2 to 30 years in the laboratory. We used PCR and qPCR to determine the presence and copy number of pWCP in individual mosquitoes, and highly accurate Sanger sequencing to evaluate potential variations. Together with earlier observation, our results show that pWCP is omnipresent and strikingly conserved among Wolbachia populations within mosquitoes from distant geographies and environmental conditions. These data suggest a critical role for the plasmid in Wolbachia ecology and evolution, and the potential of a great tool for further genetic dissection and possible manipulation of this endosymbiont.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amani Ghousein
- MIVEGEC, University of Montpellier, INRAE, CNRS, IRD, Montpellier, France
- Centre de Biologie Structurale (CBS), University of Montpellier, INSERM U1054, CNRS UMR5048, Montpellier, France
| | - Jordan Tutagata
- MIVEGEC, University of Montpellier, INRAE, CNRS, IRD, Montpellier, France
| | - Hans Schrieke
- MIVEGEC, University of Montpellier, INRAE, CNRS, IRD, Montpellier, France
| | - Manuel Etienne
- Centre de Démoustication et de Recherches Entomologiques - Lutte Anti-Vectorielle (CEDRE - LAV), avenue Pasteur, 97201, Fort-de-France, Martinique, France
| | - Victor Chaumeau
- Shoklo Malaria Research Unit, Mahidol-Oxford Research Unit, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Mae Sot, Thailand
- Centre for Tropical Medicine and Global Health, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Sebastien Boyer
- Institut Pasteur du Cambodge, Medical Entomology Unit, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
| | - Nonito Pages
- ASTRE, University of Montpellier, CIRAD, INRAE, Montpellier, France
- CIRAD, UMR ASTRE, Guadeloupe, France
| | - David Roiz
- MIVEGEC, University of Montpellier, INRAE, CNRS, IRD, Montpellier, France
- International Joint Laboratory ELDORADO, IRD/UNAM, Mérida, México
| | - A Murat Eren
- Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, MA, USA
- Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity at the University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Guillaume Cambray
- Centre de Biologie Structurale (CBS), University of Montpellier, INSERM U1054, CNRS UMR5048, Montpellier, France
- Diversité des Génomes et Interactions Microorganismes Insectes (DGIMI), University of Montpellier, INRAE UMR 1333, Montpellier, France
| | - Julie Reveillaud
- MIVEGEC, University of Montpellier, INRAE, CNRS, IRD, Montpellier, France.
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18
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Oladipupo SO, Carroll JD, Beckmann JF. Convergent Aedes and Drosophila CidB interactomes suggest cytoplasmic incompatibility targets are conserved. INSECT BIOCHEMISTRY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2023; 155:103931. [PMID: 36933571 DOI: 10.1016/j.ibmb.2023.103931] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/01/2023] [Revised: 03/09/2023] [Accepted: 03/09/2023] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
Wolbachia-mediated cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI) is a conditional embryonic lethality induced when Wolbachia-modified sperm fertilizes an uninfected egg. The Wolbachia proteins, CidA and CidB control CI. CidA is a rescue factor that reverses lethality. CidA binds to CidB. CidB contains a deubiquitinating enzyme and induces CI. Precisely how CidB induces CI and what it targets are unknown. Likewise, how CidA prevents sterilization by CidB is not clear. To identify CidB substrates in mosquitos we conducted pull-down assays using recombinant CidA and CidB mixed with Aedes aegypti lysates to identify the protein interactomes of CidB and the CidB/CidA protein complex. Our data allow us to cross compare CidB interactomes across taxa for Aedes and Drosophila. Our data replicate several convergent interactions, suggesting that CI targets conserved substrates across insects. Our data support a hypothesis that CidA rescues CI by tethering CidB away from its substrates. Specifically, we identify ten convergent candidate substrates including P32 (protamine-histone exchange factor), karyopherin alpha, ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme, and bicoid stabilizing factor. Future analysis on how these candidates contribute to CI will clarify mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seun O Oladipupo
- Department of Entomology & Plant Pathology, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, 36849, USA; Department of Molecular Biophysics & Biochemistry, Yale University, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA.
| | - Jazmine D Carroll
- Department of Entomology & Plant Pathology, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, 36849, USA
| | - John F Beckmann
- Department of Entomology & Plant Pathology, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, 36849, USA.
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19
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Beckmann J, Gillespie J, Tauritz D. Modelling Emergence of Wolbachia Toxin-Antidote Protein Functions with an Evolutionary Algorithm. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.03.23.533954. [PMID: 36993585 PMCID: PMC10055314 DOI: 10.1101/2023.03.23.533954] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
Evolutionary algorithms (EAs) simulate Darwinian evolution and adeptly mimic natural evolution. Most EA applications in biology encode high levels of abstraction in top-down ecological population models. In contrast, our research merges protein alignment algorithms from bioinformatics into codon based EAs that simulate molecular protein string evolution from the bottom up. We apply our EA to reconcile a problem in the field of Wolbachia induced cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI). Wolbachia is a microbial endosymbiont that lives inside insect cells. CI is conditional insect sterility that operates as a toxin antidote (TA) system. Although, CI exhibits complex phenotypes not fully explained under a single discrete model. We instantiate in-silico genes that control CI, CI factors ( cifs ), as strings within the EA chromosome. We monitor the evolution of their enzymatic activity, binding, and cellular localization by applying selective pressure on their primary amino acid strings. Our model helps rationalize why two distinct mechanisms of CI induction might coexist in nature. We find that nuclear localization signals (NLS) and Type IV secretion system signals (T4SS) are of low complexity and evolve fast, whereas binding interactions have intermediate complexity, and enzymatic activity is the most complex. Our model predicts that as ancestral TA systems evolve into eukaryotic CI systems, the placement of NLS or T4SS signals can stochastically vary, imparting effects that might impact CI induction mechanics. Our model highlights how preconditions, genetic diversity, and sequence length can bias evolution of cifs towards one mechanism or another.
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20
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Richardson KM, Ross PA, Cooper BS, Conner WR, Schmidt T, Hoffmann AA. A male-killing Wolbachia endosymbiont is concealed by another endosymbiont and a nuclear suppressor. PLoS Biol 2023; 21:e3001879. [PMID: 36947547 PMCID: PMC10069767 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001879] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2022] [Revised: 04/03/2023] [Accepted: 01/23/2023] [Indexed: 03/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Bacteria that live inside the cells of insect hosts (endosymbionts) can alter the reproduction of their hosts, including the killing of male offspring (male killing, MK). MK has only been described in a few insects, but this may reflect challenges in detecting MK rather than its rarity. Here, we identify MK Wolbachia at a low frequency (around 4%) in natural populations of Drosophila pseudotakahashii. MK Wolbachia had a stable density and maternal transmission during laboratory culture, but the MK phenotype which manifested mainly at the larval stage was lost rapidly. MK Wolbachia occurred alongside a second Wolbachia strain expressing a different reproductive manipulation, cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI). A genomic analysis highlighted Wolbachia regions diverged between the 2 strains involving 17 genes, and homologs of the wmk and cif genes implicated in MK and CI were identified in the Wolbachia assembly. Doubly infected males induced CI with uninfected females but not females singly infected with CI-causing Wolbachia. A rapidly spreading dominant nuclear suppressor genetic element affecting MK was identified through backcrossing and subsequent analysis with ddRAD SNPs of the D. pseudotakahashii genome. These findings highlight the complexity of nuclear and microbial components affecting MK endosymbiont detection and dynamics in populations and the challenges of making connections between endosymbionts and the host phenotypes affected by them.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kelly M Richardson
- School of BioSciences, Bio21 Institute, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | - Perran A Ross
- School of BioSciences, Bio21 Institute, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
- Department of Chemistry and Bioscience, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark
| | - Brandon S Cooper
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana, United State of America
| | - William R Conner
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana, United State of America
| | - Tom Schmidt
- School of BioSciences, Bio21 Institute, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | - Ary A Hoffmann
- School of BioSciences, Bio21 Institute, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
- Department of Chemistry and Bioscience, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark
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21
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Martin M, Newton ILG. The Wolbachia WalE1 effector alters Drosophila endocytosis. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.02.26.530160. [PMID: 36909520 PMCID: PMC10002650 DOI: 10.1101/2023.02.26.530160] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/02/2023]
Abstract
The most common intracellular bacterial infection is Wolbachia pipientis, a microbe that manipulates host reproduction and is used in control of insect vectors. Phenotypes induced by Wolbachia have been studied for decades and range from sperm-egg incompatibility to male killing. How Wolbachia alters host biology is less well understood. Previously, we characterized the first Wolbachia effector - WalE1, which encodes a synuclein domain at the N terminus. Purified WalE1 sediments with and bundles actin and when heterologously expressed in flies, increases Wolbachia titer in the developing oocyte. In this work, we first identify the native expression WalE1 by Wolbachia infecting both fly cells and whole animals. WalE1 appears as aggregates, separate from Wolbachia cells. We next show that WalE1 co-immunoprecipitates with the host protein Past1 and that WalE1 manipulates host endocytosis. Yeast expressing WalE1 show deficiency in uptake of FM4-64 dye, and flies harboring mutations in Past1 or overexpressing WalE1 are sensitive to AgNO3, a hallmark of endocytosis defects. Finally, we also show that Past1 null flies harbor more Wolbachia overall and in late egg chambers. Our results identify interactions between a Wolbachia secreted effector and a host protein and point to yet another important host cell process impinged upon by Wolbachia.
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Affiliation(s)
- MaryAnn Martin
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN USA
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22
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Li J, Champer J. Harnessing Wolbachia cytoplasmic incompatibility alleles for confined gene drive: A modeling study. PLoS Genet 2023; 19:e1010591. [PMID: 36689491 PMCID: PMC9894560 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1010591] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2022] [Revised: 02/02/2023] [Accepted: 12/21/2022] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Wolbachia are maternally-inherited bacteria, which can spread rapidly in populations by manipulating reproduction. cifA and cifB are genes found in Wolbachia phage that are responsible for cytoplasmic incompatibility, the most common type of Wolbachia reproductive interference. In this phenomenon, no viable offspring are produced when a male with both cifA and cifB (or just cifB in some systems) mates with a female lacking cifA. Utilizing this feature, we propose new types of toxin-antidote gene drives that can be constructed with only these two genes in an insect genome, instead of the whole Wolbachia bacteria. By using both mathematical and simulation models, we found that a drive containing cifA and cifB together creates a confined drive with a moderate to high introduction threshold. When introduced separately, they act as a self-limiting drive. We observed that the performance of these drives is substantially influenced by various ecological parameters and drive characteristics. Extending our models to continuous space, we found that the drive individual release distribution has a critical impact on drive persistence. Our results suggest that these new types of drives based on Wolbachia transgenes are safe and flexible candidates for genetic modification of populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiahe Li
- Center for Bioinformatics, School of Life Sciences, Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Jackson Champer
- Center for Bioinformatics, School of Life Sciences, Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China
- * E-mail:
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23
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Ritchie IT, Needles KT, Leigh BA, Kaur R, Bordenstein SR. Transgenic cytoplasmic incompatibility persists across age and temperature variation in Drosophila melanogaster. iScience 2022; 25:105327. [PMID: 36304111 PMCID: PMC9593245 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.105327] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2022] [Revised: 04/28/2022] [Accepted: 10/07/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Environmental stressors can impact the basic biology and applications of host-microbe symbioses. For example, Wolbachia symbiont densities and cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI) levels can decline in response to extreme temperatures and host aging. To investigate whether transgenic expression of CI-causing cif genes overcomes the environmental sensitivity of CI, we exposed transgenic male flies to low and high temperatures as well as aging treatments. Our results indicate that transgenic cif expression induces nearly complete CI regardless of temperature and aging, despite severe weakening of Wolbachia-based wild-type CI. Strong CI levels correlate with higher levels of cif transgene expression in young males. Altogether, our results highlight that transgenic CI persists against common environmental pressures and may be relevant for future control applications involving the cifA and cifB transgenes. Symbiont adaptations are often weakened by life history and environmental parameters Cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI) declines with host age and temperature Transgenic CI is robust to age and temperature variation in Drosophila melanogaster Transgenic CI circumvents pressures that diminish wildtype CI
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Affiliation(s)
- Isabella T. Ritchie
- Vanderbilt University, Department of Biological Sciences, Nashville, TN 37235, USA,Vanderbilt University, Vanderbilt Microbiome Innovation Center, Nashville, TN 37235, USA,Corresponding author
| | - Kelly T. Needles
- Vanderbilt University, Department of Biological Sciences, Nashville, TN 37235, USA,Vanderbilt University, Vanderbilt Microbiome Innovation Center, Nashville, TN 37235, USA
| | - Brittany A. Leigh
- Vanderbilt University, Department of Biological Sciences, Nashville, TN 37235, USA,Vanderbilt University, Vanderbilt Microbiome Innovation Center, Nashville, TN 37235, USA
| | - Rupinder Kaur
- Vanderbilt University, Department of Biological Sciences, Nashville, TN 37235, USA,Vanderbilt University, Vanderbilt Microbiome Innovation Center, Nashville, TN 37235, USA,The Pennsylvania State University, Departments of Biology and Entomology, University Park, PA 16802, USA,The Pennsylvania State University, Microbiome Center, Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - Seth R. Bordenstein
- Vanderbilt University, Department of Biological Sciences, Nashville, TN 37235, USA,Vanderbilt University, Vanderbilt Microbiome Innovation Center, Nashville, TN 37235, USA,The Pennsylvania State University, Departments of Biology and Entomology, University Park, PA 16802, USA,The Pennsylvania State University, Microbiome Center, Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, University Park, PA 16802, USA,Corresponding author
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24
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Andrianto E, Kasai A. Wolbachia in Black Spiny Whiteflies and Their New Parasitoid Wasp in Japan: Evidence of the Distinct Infection Status on Aleurocanthus camelliae Cryptic Species Complex. INSECTS 2022; 13:insects13090788. [PMID: 36135489 PMCID: PMC9502694 DOI: 10.3390/insects13090788] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2022] [Revised: 08/12/2022] [Accepted: 08/27/2022] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
Wolbachia, an alphaproteobacterial reproductive parasite, can cause profound mitochondrial divergence in insects, which might eventually be a part of cryptic speciation. Aleurocanthus camelliae is a cryptic species complex consisting of several morphospecies and/or haplotypes that are genetically different but morphologically indistinctive. However, little is known about the Wolbachia infection status in these tea and Citrus pests. Thus, this study aimed to profile the diversity and phenotypic characteristics of Wolbachia natural infections in the A. camelliae cryptic species complex. A monophyletic strain of Wolbachia that infected the A. camelliae cryptic species complex (wAlec) with different patterns was discovered. Whiteflies that are morphologically identical to Aleurocanthus spiniferus (Aleurocanthus cf. A. spiniferus in Eurya japonica and A. spiniferus in Citrus) were grouped into uninfected populations, whereas the fixed infection was detected in A. camelliae B1 from Theaceae. The rapid evolution of wAlec was also found to occur through a high recombination event, which produced subgroups A and B in wAlec. It may also be associated with the non-cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI) phenotype of wAlec due to undetectable CI-related genes from phage WO (WOAlec). The current discovery of a novel cryptic species of A. camelliae led to a discussion about the oscillation hypothesis, which may provide insights on cryptic speciation, particularly on how specialization and host expansion have been recorded among these species. This study also identified a parasitoid wasp belonging to the genus Eretmocerus in A. camelliae, for the first time in Japan.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eko Andrianto
- Science of Biological Environment, The United Graduate School of Agricultural Science (UGSAS), Gifu University, Gifu City 501-1193, Japan
- Correspondence: ; Tel./Fax: +81-054-238-4790
| | - Atsushi Kasai
- Department of Bioresource Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, Shizuoka University, Shizuoka City 422-8528, Japan
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25
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Wang W, Cui W, Yang H. Toward an accurate mechanistic understanding of Wolbachia-induced cytoplasmic incompatibility. Environ Microbiol 2022; 24:4519-4532. [PMID: 35859330 DOI: 10.1111/1462-2920.16125] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2022] [Revised: 06/28/2022] [Accepted: 07/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Wolbachia are the most successful intracellular bacteria in arthropods. They can manipulate host reproduction to favour infected females, which transmit Wolbachia to their progeny and increase the presence of Wolbachia in the population. The reproductive alterations caused by Wolbachia include feminization, parthenogenesis, male killing and cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI), among which CI is the most common. CI leads to embryonic lethality when Wolbachia-infected males mate with uninfected females or those infected with an incompatible strain. This lethality can be rescued if females are infected with a compatible strain. Although CI was described in the 1960s and its connection to Wolbachia was made in the 1970s, the genes responsible for CI, called CI factors, were not identified until recently. Since then, significant progress has been made in understanding the molecular mechanism of CI using a combination of genetic, phylogenetic, biochemical and structural approaches. The detailed molecular mechanisms behind this fascinating endosymbiotic bacteria-induced phenotype have begun to emerge. Here, we summarize recent progress in understanding the molecular mechanism of CI, especially focusing on the recently solved CI factor structures and discussing what these new structures brought in terms of CI mechanism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei Wang
- Institute of Life Sciences, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Wen Cui
- Institute of Life Sciences, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Haitao Yang
- Shanghai Institute for Advanced Immunochemical Studies and School of Life Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai, China.,Tianjin International Joint Academy of Biotechnology and Medicine, Tianjin, China
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26
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Zhou JC, Shang D, Qian Q, Zhang C, Zhang LS, Dong H. Penetrance during Wolbachia-mediated parthenogenesis of Trichogramma wasps is reduced by continuous oviposition, associated with exhaustion of Wolbachia titers in ovary and offspring eggs. PEST MANAGEMENT SCIENCE 2022; 78:3080-3089. [PMID: 35437949 DOI: 10.1002/ps.6934] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2022] [Revised: 04/11/2022] [Accepted: 04/18/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Thelytokous Wolbachia-infected Trichogramma wasps are superior to bisexual uninfected wasps regarding biological control programs. However, continuous oviposition weakens the parthenogenesis-inducing (PI) strength of Wolbachia. Whether this reduced PI strength relates to decreases in the titer of Wolbachia in the ovary and offspring eggs of Trichogramma remains unclear. Here, using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) methods, we investigated how the penetrance of Wolbachia-mediated parthenogenesis, Wolbachia density, and distributions of two Wolbachia-infected Trichogramma species, T. pretiosum (TP) and T. dendrolimi (TD), were influenced by different host access treatments [newly-emerged virgin females (NE), 7-day-old females without access to host eggs (NAH), and 7-day-old virgin females with access to host eggs (AH)]. RESULTS Continuous oviposition decreased Wolbachia PI strength and titers in TP and TD. Continuous oviposition in AH decreased Wolbachia titers in abdomen and offspring eggs of TP and TD females, compared with NAH and NE; NAH had a lower thorax Wolbachia titer than NE. The numbers of parasitized host eggs and offspring wasps, and emergence rates of offspring deposited by AH were lower than those of NE and NAH, for either species. CONCLUSION Weakened PI strength, driven by continuous oviposition in Trichogramma wasps, is associated with Wolbachia titer exhaustion in ovary and offspring eggs. Wolbachia density is dependent on PI strength in Trichogramma wasps, highlighting the side effects of continuous oviposition regarding thelytokous Wolbachia-infected Trichogramma in biological control programs. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jin-Cheng Zhou
- College of Plant Protection, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang, P. R. China
- Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, P. R. China
| | - Dan Shang
- College of Plant Protection, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang, P. R. China
| | - Qian Qian
- College of Plant Protection, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang, P. R. China
| | - Chen Zhang
- College of Plant Protection, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang, P. R. China
| | - Li-Sheng Zhang
- Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, P. R. China
| | - Hui Dong
- College of Plant Protection, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang, P. R. China
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27
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Shropshire JD, Hamant E, Conner WR, Cooper BS. cifB-transcript levels largely explain cytoplasmic incompatibility variation across divergent Wolbachia. PNAS NEXUS 2022; 1:pgac099. [PMID: 35967981 PMCID: PMC9364212 DOI: 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgac099] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2022] [Accepted: 06/23/2022] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Divergent hosts often associate with intracellular microbes that influence their fitness. Maternally transmitted Wolbachia bacteria are the most common of these endosymbionts, due largely to cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI) that kills uninfected embryos fertilized by Wolbachia-infected males. Closely related infections in females rescue CI, providing a relative fitness advantage that drives Wolbachia to high frequencies. One prophage-associated gene (cifA) governs rescue, and two contribute to CI (cifA and cifB), but CI strength ranges from very strong to very weak for unknown reasons. Here, we investigate CI-strength variation and its mechanistic underpinnings in a phylogenetic context across 20 million years (MY) of Wolbachia evolution in Drosophila hosts diverged up to 50 MY. These Wolbachia encode diverse Cif proteins (100% to 7.4% pairwise similarity), and AlphaFold structural analyses suggest that CifB sequence similarities do not predict structural similarities. We demonstrate that cifB-transcript levels in testes explain CI strength across all but two focal systems. Despite phylogenetic discordance among cifs and the bulk of the Wolbachia genome, closely related Wolbachia tend to cause similar CI strengths and transcribe cifB at similar levels. This indicates that other non-cif regions of the Wolbachia genome modulate cif-transcript levels. CI strength also increases with the length of the host's larval life stage, presumably due to prolonged cif action. Our findings reveal that cifB-transcript levels largely explain CI strength, while highlighting other covariates. Elucidating CI's mechanism contributes to our understanding of Wolbachia spread in natural systems and to improving the efficacy of CI-based biocontrol of arboviruses and agricultural pests globally.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Emily Hamant
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, MT 59812, USA
| | - William R Conner
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, MT 59812, USA
| | - Brandon S Cooper
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, MT 59812, USA
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28
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Bordenstein SR, Bordenstein SR. Widespread phages of endosymbionts: Phage WO genomics and the proposed taxonomic classification of Symbioviridae. PLoS Genet 2022; 18:e1010227. [PMID: 35666732 PMCID: PMC9203015 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1010227] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2021] [Revised: 06/16/2022] [Accepted: 04/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Wolbachia are the most common obligate, intracellular bacteria in animals. They exist worldwide in arthropod and nematode hosts in which they commonly act as reproductive parasites or mutualists, respectively. Bacteriophage WO, the largest of Wolbachia’s mobile elements, includes reproductive parasitism genes, serves as a hotspot for genetic divergence and genomic rearrangement of the bacterial chromosome, and uniquely encodes a Eukaryotic Association Module with eukaryotic-like genes and an ensemble of putative host interaction genes. Despite WO’s relevance to genome evolution, selfish genetics, and symbiotic applications, relatively little is known about its origin, host range, diversification, and taxonomic classification. Here we analyze the most comprehensive set of 150 Wolbachia and phage WO assemblies to provide a framework for discretely organizing and naming integrated phage WO genomes. We demonstrate that WO is principally in arthropod Wolbachia with relatives in diverse endosymbionts and metagenomes, organized into four variants related by gene synteny, often oriented opposite the putative origin of replication in the Wolbachia chromosome, and the large serine recombinase is an ideal typing tool to distinguish the four variants. We identify a novel, putative lytic cassette and WO’s association with a conserved eleven gene island, termed Undecim Cluster, that is enriched with virulence-like genes. Finally, we evaluate WO-like Islands in the Wolbachia genome and discuss a new model in which Octomom, a notable WO-like Island, arose from a split with WO. Together, these findings establish the first comprehensive Linnaean taxonomic classification of endosymbiont phages, including non-Wolbachia phages from aquatic environments, that includes a new family and two new genera to capture the collective relatedness of these viruses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah R. Bordenstein
- Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, United States of America
- Vanderbilt Microbiome Innovation Center, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Seth R. Bordenstein
- Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, United States of America
- Vanderbilt Microbiome Innovation Center, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, United States of America
- Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, United States of America
- Vanderbilt Institute of Infection, Immunology, and Inflammation, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, United States of America
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29
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Tvedte ES, Gasser M, Zhao X, Tallon LJ, Sadzewicz L, Bromley RE, Chung M, Mattick J, Sparklin BC, Dunning Hotopp JC. Accumulation of endosymbiont genomes in an insect autosome followed by endosymbiont replacement. Curr Biol 2022; 32:2786-2795.e5. [PMID: 35671755 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.05.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2022] [Revised: 04/12/2022] [Accepted: 05/10/2022] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Eukaryotic genomes can acquire bacterial DNA via lateral gene transfer (LGT).1 A prominent source of LGT is Wolbachia,2 a widespread endosymbiont of arthropods and nematodes that is transmitted maternally through female germline cells.3,4 The DNA transfer from the Wolbachia endosymbiont wAna to Drosophila ananassae is extensive5-7 and has been localized to chromosome 4, contributing to chromosome expansion in this lineage.6 As has happened frequently with claims of bacteria-to-eukaryote LGT, the contribution of wAna transfers to the expanded size of D. ananassae chromosome 4 has been specifically contested8 owing to an assembly where Wolbachia sequences were classified as contaminants and removed.9 Here, long-read sequencing with DNA from a Wolbachia-cured line enabled assembly of 4.9 Mbp of nuclear Wolbachia transfers (nuwts) in D. ananassae and a 24-kbp nuclear mitochondrial transfer. The nuwts are <8,000 years old in at least two locations in chromosome 4 with at least one whole-genome integration followed by rapid extensive duplication of most of the genome with regions that have up to 10 copies. The genes in nuwts are accumulating small indels and mobile element insertions. Among the highly duplicated genes are cifA and cifB, two genes associated with Wolbachia-mediated Drosophila cytoplasmic incompatibility. The wAna strain that was the source of nuwts was subsequently replaced by a different wAna endosymbiont. Direct RNA Nanopore sequencing of Wolbachia-cured lines identified nuwt transcripts, including spliced transcripts, but functionality, if any, remains elusive.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric S Tvedte
- Institute for Genome Sciences, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Health Sciences Facility III #2106, 670 West Baltimore Street, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
| | - Mark Gasser
- Institute for Genome Sciences, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Health Sciences Facility III #2106, 670 West Baltimore Street, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
| | - Xuechu Zhao
- Institute for Genome Sciences, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Health Sciences Facility III #2106, 670 West Baltimore Street, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
| | - Luke J Tallon
- Institute for Genome Sciences, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Health Sciences Facility III #2106, 670 West Baltimore Street, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
| | - Lisa Sadzewicz
- Institute for Genome Sciences, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Health Sciences Facility III #2106, 670 West Baltimore Street, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
| | - Robin E Bromley
- Institute for Genome Sciences, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Health Sciences Facility III #2106, 670 West Baltimore Street, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
| | - Matthew Chung
- Institute for Genome Sciences, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Health Sciences Facility III #2106, 670 West Baltimore Street, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
| | - John Mattick
- Institute for Genome Sciences, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Health Sciences Facility III #2106, 670 West Baltimore Street, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
| | - Benjamin C Sparklin
- Institute for Genome Sciences, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Health Sciences Facility III #2106, 670 West Baltimore Street, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
| | - Julie C Dunning Hotopp
- Institute for Genome Sciences, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Health Sciences Facility III #2106, 670 West Baltimore Street, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA; Greenebaum Cancer Center, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA.
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30
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Harumoto T, Fukatsu T. Perplexing dynamics of Wolbachia proteins for cytoplasmic incompatibility. PLoS Biol 2022; 20:e3001644. [PMID: 35613073 PMCID: PMC9132339 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001644] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The mechanism of symbiont-induced cytoplasmic incompatibility has been a long-lasting mystery. This Primer explores a new study on Wolbachia’s Cif proteins in PLOS Biology that provides supportive evidence for the “Host-Modification Model,” although the alternative “Toxin-Antidote Model” is still in the running.
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Affiliation(s)
- Toshiyuki Harumoto
- Hakubi Center for Advanced Research, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
- Graduate School of Biostudies, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
- * E-mail: (TH); (TF)
| | - Takema Fukatsu
- Bioproduction Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba, Japan
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
- Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan
- * E-mail: (TH); (TF)
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31
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Kaur R, Leigh BA, Ritchie IT, Bordenstein SR. The Cif proteins from Wolbachia prophage WO modify sperm genome integrity to establish cytoplasmic incompatibility. PLoS Biol 2022; 20:e3001584. [PMID: 35609042 PMCID: PMC9128985 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001584] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2022] [Accepted: 02/25/2022] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Inherited microorganisms can selfishly manipulate host reproduction to drive through populations. In Drosophila melanogaster, germline expression of the native Wolbachia prophage WO proteins CifA and CifB cause cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI) in which embryos from infected males and uninfected females suffer catastrophic mitotic defects and lethality; however, in infected females, CifA expression rescues the embryonic lethality and thus imparts a fitness advantage to the maternally transmitted Wolbachia. Despite widespread relevance to sex determination, evolution, and vector control, the mechanisms underlying when and how CI impairs male reproduction remain unknown and a topic of debate. Here, we use cytochemical, microscopic, and transgenic assays in D. melanogaster to demonstrate that CifA and CifB proteins of wMel localize to nuclear DNA throughout the process of spermatogenesis. Cif proteins cause abnormal histone retention in elongating spermatids and protamine deficiency in mature sperms that travel to the female reproductive tract with Cif proteins. Notably, protamine gene knockouts enhance wild-type CI. In ovaries, CifA localizes to germ cell nuclei and cytoplasm of early-stage egg chambers; however, Cifs are absent in late-stage oocytes and subsequently in fertilized embryos. Finally, CI and rescue are contingent upon a newly annotated CifA bipartite nuclear localization sequence. Together, our results strongly support the Host modification model of CI in which Cifs initially modify the paternal and maternal gametes to bestow CI-defining embryonic lethality and rescue.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rupinder Kaur
- Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, United States of America
- Vanderbilt Microbiome Innovation Center, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, United States of America
| | - Brittany A. Leigh
- Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, United States of America
- Vanderbilt Microbiome Innovation Center, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, United States of America
| | - Isabella T. Ritchie
- Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, United States of America
- Vanderbilt Microbiome Innovation Center, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, United States of America
| | - Seth R. Bordenstein
- Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, United States of America
- Vanderbilt Microbiome Innovation Center, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, United States of America
- Department of Pathology, Microbiology & Immunology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, United States of America
- Vanderbilt Institute for Infection, Immunology and Inflammation, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, United States of America
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32
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Quek S, Cerdeira L, Jeffries CL, Tomlinson S, Walker T, Hughes GL, Heinz E. Wolbachia endosymbionts in two Anopheles species indicates independent acquisitions and lack of prophage elements. Microb Genom 2022; 8. [PMID: 35446252 PMCID: PMC9453072 DOI: 10.1099/mgen.0.000805] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Wolbachia is a genus of obligate bacterial endosymbionts that infect a diverse range of arthropod species as well as filarial nematodes, with its single described species, Wolbachia pipientis, divided into several ‘supergroups’ based on multilocus sequence typing. Wolbachia strains in mosquitoes have been shown to inhibit the transmission of human pathogens, including Plasmodium malaria parasites and arboviruses. Despite their large host range, Wolbachia strains within the major malaria vectors of the Anopheles gambiae and Anopheles funestus complexes appear at low density, established solely on PCR-based methods. Questions have been raised as to whether this represents a true endosymbiotic relationship. However, recent definitive evidence for two distinct, high-density strains of supergroup B Wolbachia within Anopheles demeilloni and Anopheles moucheti has opened exciting possibilities to explore naturally occurring Wolbachia endosymbionts in Anopheles for biocontrol strategies to block Plasmodium transmission. Here, we utilize genomic analyses to demonstrate that both Wolbachia strains have retained all key metabolic and transport pathways despite their smaller genome size, with this reduction potentially attributable to degenerated prophage regions. Even with this reduction, we confirmed the presence of cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI) factor genes within both strains, with wAnD maintaining intact copies of these genes while the cifB gene was interrupted in wAnM, so functional analysis is required to determine whether wAnM can induce CI. Additionally, phylogenetic analysis indicates that these Wolbachia strains may have been introduced into these two Anopheles species via horizontal transmission events, rather than by ancestral acquisition and subsequent loss events in the Anopheles gambiae species complex. These are the first Wolbachia genomes, to our knowledge, that enable us to study the relationship between natural strain Plasmodium malaria parasites and their anopheline hosts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shannon Quek
- Department of Tropical Disease Biology, Centre for Neglected Tropical Diseases, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, UK
| | - Louise Cerdeira
- Department of Vector Biology, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, UK
| | - Claire L Jeffries
- Department of Disease Control, Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London WC1E 7HT, UK
| | - Sean Tomlinson
- Department of Vector Biology, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, UK
| | - Thomas Walker
- Department of Disease Control, Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London WC1E 7HT, UK
| | - Grant L Hughes
- Department of Tropical Disease Biology, Centre for Neglected Tropical Diseases, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, UK.,Department of Vector Biology, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, UK
| | - Eva Heinz
- Department of Vector Biology, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, UK.,Department of Clinical Sciences, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, UK
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33
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Hochstrasser M. Cytoplasmic incompatibility: A Wolbachia toxin-antidote mechanism comes into view. Curr Biol 2022; 32:R287-R289. [PMID: 35349818 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.02.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The Wolbachia cidA and cidB genes promote bacterial endosymbiont inheritance through the host female germline. CidB is now shown to load into maturing sperm nuclei. Following fertilization, it disrupts paternal chromosome condensation, triggering embryonic arrest if not countered by CidA in Wolbachia-infected eggs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark Hochstrasser
- Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA; Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA.
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34
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Crystal Structures of Wolbachia CidA and CidB Reveal Determinants of Bacteria-induced Cytoplasmic Incompatibility and Rescue. Nat Commun 2022; 13:1608. [PMID: 35338130 PMCID: PMC8956670 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-29273-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2021] [Accepted: 03/03/2022] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI) results when Wolbachia bacteria-infected male insects mate with uninfected females, leading to embryonic lethality. “Rescue” of viability occurs if the female harbors the same Wolbachia strain. CI is caused by linked pairs of Wolbachia genes called CI factors (CifA and CifB). The co-evolution of CifA-CifB pairs may account in part for the incompatibility patterns documented in insects infected with different Wolbachia strains, but the molecular mechanisms remain elusive. Here, we use X-ray crystallography and AlphaFold to analyze the CI factors from Wolbachia strain wMel called CidAwMel and CidBwMel. Substituting CidAwMel interface residues with those from CidAwPip (from strain wPip) enables the mutant protein to bind CidBwPip and rescue CidBwPip-induced yeast growth defects, supporting the importance of CifA-CifB interaction in CI rescue. Sequence divergence in CidAwPip and CidBwPip proteins affects their pairwise interactions, which may help explain the complex incompatibility patterns of mosquitoes infected with different wPip strains. Wolbachia induced cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI) is caused by linked pairs of genes named cifA and cifB. Here, authors show that the residues at interfaces of the CidA-CidB complex is crucial for their binding and contribute to the diversity of CI.
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Wang GH, Du J, Chu CY, Madhav M, Hughes GL, Champer J. Symbionts and gene drive: two strategies to combat vector-borne disease. Trends Genet 2022; 38:708-723. [PMID: 35314082 DOI: 10.1016/j.tig.2022.02.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2021] [Revised: 02/24/2022] [Accepted: 02/24/2022] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
Mosquitoes bring global health problems by transmitting parasites and viruses such as malaria and dengue. Unfortunately, current insecticide-based control strategies are only moderately effective because of high cost and resistance. Thus, scalable, sustainable, and cost-effective strategies are needed for mosquito-borne disease control. Symbiont-based and genome engineering-based approaches provide new tools that show promise for meeting these criteria, enabling modification or suppression approaches. Symbiotic bacteria like Wolbachia are maternally inherited and manipulate mosquito host reproduction to enhance their vertical transmission. Genome engineering-based gene drive methods, in which mosquitoes are genetically altered to spread drive alleles throughout wild populations, are also proving to be a potentially powerful approach in the laboratory. Here, we review the latest developments in both symbionts and gene drive-based methods. We describe some notable similarities, as well as distinctions and obstacles, relating to these promising technologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guan-Hong Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
| | - Jie Du
- Center for Bioinformatics, School of Life Sciences, Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Chen Yi Chu
- Center for Bioinformatics, School of Life Sciences, Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Mukund Madhav
- Departments of Vector Biology and Tropical Disease Biology, Centre for Neglected Tropical Disease, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool L3 5QA, UK
| | - Grant L Hughes
- Departments of Vector Biology and Tropical Disease Biology, Centre for Neglected Tropical Disease, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool L3 5QA, UK
| | - Jackson Champer
- Center for Bioinformatics, School of Life Sciences, Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
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Doremus MR, Stouthamer CM, Kelly SE, Schmitz-Esser S, Hunter MS. Quality over quantity: unraveling the contributions to cytoplasmic incompatibility caused by two coinfecting Cardinium symbionts. Heredity (Edinb) 2022; 128:187-195. [PMID: 35124699 PMCID: PMC8897438 DOI: 10.1038/s41437-022-00507-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2021] [Revised: 01/25/2022] [Accepted: 01/26/2022] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI) is a common form of reproductive sabotage caused by maternally inherited bacterial symbionts of arthropods. CI is a two-step manipulation: first, the symbiont modifies sperm in male hosts which results in the death of fertilized, uninfected embryos. Second, when females are infected with a compatible strain, the symbiont reverses sperm modification in the fertilized egg, allowing offspring of infected females to survive and spread the symbiont to high frequencies in a population. Although CI plays a role in arthropod evolution, the mechanism of CI is unknown for many symbionts. Cardinium hertigii is a common CI-inducing symbiont of arthropods, including parasitoid wasps like Encarsia partenopea. This wasp harbors two Cardinium strains, cEina2 and cEina3, and exhibits strong CI. The strains infect wasps at different densities, with the cEina3 present at a lower density than cEina2, and it was previously not known which strain caused CI. By differentially curing wasps of cEina3, we found that this low-density symbiont is responsible for CI and modifies males during their pupal stage. cEina2 does not modify host reproduction and may spread by 'hitchhiking' with cEina3 CI or by conferring an unknown benefit. The cEina3 strain also shows a unique localization pattern in male reproductive tissues. Instead of infecting sperm like other CI-inducing symbionts, cEina3 cells are found in somatic cells at the testis base and around the seminal vesicle. This may allow the low-density cEina3 to efficiently modify host males and suggests that cEina3 uses a different modification strategy than sperm-infecting CI symbionts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew R. Doremus
- grid.134563.60000 0001 2168 186XGraduate Interdisciplinary Program in Entomology & Insect Science, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721 USA ,grid.134563.60000 0001 2168 186XDepartment of Entomology, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721 USA
| | - Corinne M. Stouthamer
- grid.213876.90000 0004 1936 738XDepartment of Entomology, The University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602 USA
| | - Suzanne E. Kelly
- grid.134563.60000 0001 2168 186XDepartment of Entomology, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721 USA
| | - Stephan Schmitz-Esser
- grid.34421.300000 0004 1936 7312Department of Animal Science, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011 USA
| | - Martha S. Hunter
- grid.134563.60000 0001 2168 186XDepartment of Entomology, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721 USA
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Massey JH, Newton ILG. Diversity and function of arthropod endosymbiont toxins. Trends Microbiol 2022; 30:185-198. [PMID: 34253453 PMCID: PMC8742837 DOI: 10.1016/j.tim.2021.06.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2021] [Revised: 06/17/2021] [Accepted: 06/18/2021] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
Bacterial endosymbionts induce dramatic phenotypes in their arthropod hosts, including cytoplasmic incompatibility, feminization, parthenogenesis, male killing, parasitoid defense, and pathogen blocking. The molecular mechanisms underlying these effects remain largely unknown but recent evidence suggests that protein toxins secreted by the endosymbionts play a role. Here, we describe the diversity and function of endosymbiont proteins with homology to known bacterial toxins. We focus on maternally transmitted endosymbionts belonging to the Wolbachia, Rickettsia, Arsenophonus, Hamiltonella, Spiroplasma, and Cardinium genera because of their ability to induce the above phenotypes. We identify at least 16 distinct toxin families with diverse enzymatic activities, including AMPylases, nucleases, proteases, and glycosyltransferases. Notably, several annotated toxins contain domains with homology to eukaryotic proteins, suggesting that arthropod endosymbionts mimic host biochemistry to manipulate host physiology, similar to bacterial pathogens.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Irene L. G. Newton
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, USA,Corresponding author,
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38
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Nasehi SF, Fathipour Y, Asgari S, Mehrabadi M. Environmental Temperature, but Not Male Age, Affects Wolbachia and Prophage WO Thereby Modulating Cytoplasmic Incompatibility in the Parasitoid Wasp, Habrobracon Hebetor. MICROBIAL ECOLOGY 2022; 83:482-491. [PMID: 33969432 DOI: 10.1007/s00248-021-01768-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2021] [Accepted: 04/27/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Wolbachia is an endosymbiotic bacterium found in many species of arthropods and manipulates its host reproduction. Cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI) is one of the most common manipulations that is induced when an uninfected female mates with a Wolbachia-infected male. The CI factors (cifA and cifB genes) are encoded by phage WO that naturally infects Wolbachia. Here, we questioned whether an environmental factor (temperature) or host factor (male age) affected the strength of the CI phenotype in the ectoparasitoid wasp, Habrobracon hebetor. We found that temperature, but not male age, results in reduced CI penetrance. Consistent with these results, we also found that the expression of the cif CI factors decreased in temperature-exposed males but was consistent across aging male wasps. Similar to studies of other insect systems, cifA showed a higher expression level than cifB, and male hosts showed increased cif expression relative to females. Our results suggest that prophage WO is present in the Wolbachia-infected wasps and expression of cif genes contributes to the induction of CI in this insect. It seems that male aging has no effect on the intensity of CI; however, temperature affects Wolbachia and prophage WO titers as well as expression levels of cif genes, which modulate the CI level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seyede Fatemeh Nasehi
- Department of Entomology, Faculty of Agriculture, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran
| | - Yaghoub Fathipour
- Department of Entomology, Faculty of Agriculture, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran
| | - Sassan Asgari
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Mohammad Mehrabadi
- Department of Entomology, Faculty of Agriculture, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran.
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39
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Ghanavi HR, Twort VG, Duplouy A. Exploring bycatch diversity of organisms in whole genome sequencing of Erebidae moths (Lepidoptera). Sci Rep 2021; 11:24499. [PMID: 34969947 PMCID: PMC8718532 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-03327-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2021] [Accepted: 11/30/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Models estimate that up to 80% of all butterfly and moth species host vertically transmitted endosymbiotic microorganisms, which can affect the host fitness, metabolism, reproduction, population dynamics, and genetic diversity, among others. The supporting empirical data are however currently highly biased towards the generally more colourful butterflies, and include less information about moths. Additionally, studies of symbiotic partners of Lepidoptera predominantly focus on the common bacterium Wolbachia pipientis, while infections by other inherited microbial partners have more rarely been investigated. Here, we mine the whole genome sequence data of 47 species of Erebidae moths, with the aims to both inform on the diversity of symbionts potentially associated with this Lepidoptera group, and discuss the potential of metagenomic approaches to inform on host associated microbiome diversity. Based on the result of Kraken2 and MetaPhlAn2 analyses, we found clear evidence of the presence of Wolbachia in four species. Our result also suggests the presence of three other bacterial symbionts (Burkholderia spp., Sodalis spp. and Arsenophonus spp.) in three other moth species. Additionally, we recovered genomic material from bracovirus in about half of our samples. The detection of the latter, usually found in mutualistic association to braconid parasitoid wasps, may inform on host-parasite interactions that take place in the natural habitat of the Erebidae moths, suggesting either contamination with material from species of the host community network, or horizontal transfer of members of the microbiome between interacting species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hamid Reza Ghanavi
- Department of Biology, Lund University, Ecology Building, Sölvegatan 37, 22362, Lund, Skåne, Sweden.
| | - Victoria G Twort
- Department of Biology, Lund University, Ecology Building, Sölvegatan 37, 22362, Lund, Skåne, Sweden.,The Finnish Museum of Natural History, Luomus, Zoology Unit, The University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Anne Duplouy
- Department of Biology, Lund University, Ecology Building, Sölvegatan 37, 22362, Lund, Skåne, Sweden.,Insect Symbiosis Ecology and Evolution, Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Program, The University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
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40
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Røed ES, Engelstädter J. Cytoplasmic incompatibility in hybrid zones: infection dynamics and resistance evolution. J Evol Biol 2021; 35:240-253. [PMID: 34953157 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.13974] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2021] [Revised: 11/02/2021] [Accepted: 12/03/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Cytoplasmic incompatibility is an endosymbiont-induced mating incompatibility common in arthropods. Unidirectional cytoplasmic incompatibility impairs crosses between infected males and uninfected females, whereas bidirectional cytoplasmic incompatibility occurs when two host lineages are infected with reciprocally in compatible endosymbionts. Bidirectional cytoplasmic incompatibility is unstable in unstructured populations, but may be stable in hybrid zones. Stable coexistence of incompatible host lineages should generate frequent incompatible crosses. Therefore, hosts are expected to be under selection to resist their endosymbionts. Here, we for mulate a mathematical model of hybrid zones where two bidirectionally incompatible host lineages meet. We expand this model to consider the invasion of a hypothetical resistance allele. To corroborate our mathematical predictions, we test each prediction with stochastic, individual-based simulations. Our models suggest that hybrid zones may sustain stable coinfections of bidirectionally incompatible endosymbiont strains. Over a range of conditions, host are under selection for resistance against cytoplasmic incompatibility. Under asymetric migration, a resistance allele can facilitate infection turnover and subsequently either persist or become lost. The predictions we present may inform our understanding of the cophylogenetic relationship between the endosym biont Wolbachia and its hosts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erik Sandertun Røed
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane, QLD, 4702, Australia
| | - Jan Engelstädter
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane, QLD, 4702, Australia
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41
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Male Age and Wolbachia Dynamics: Investigating How Fast and Why Bacterial Densities and Cytoplasmic Incompatibility Strengths Vary. mBio 2021; 12:e0299821. [PMID: 34903056 PMCID: PMC8686834 DOI: 10.1128/mbio.02998-21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Endosymbionts can influence host reproduction and fitness to favor their maternal transmission. For example, endosymbiotic Wolbachia bacteria often cause cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI) that kills uninfected embryos fertilized by Wolbachia-modified sperm. Infected females can rescue CI, providing them a relative fitness advantage. Wolbachia-induced CI strength varies widely and tends to decrease as host males age. Since strong CI drives Wolbachia to high equilibrium frequencies, understanding how fast and why CI strength declines with male age is crucial to explaining age-dependent CI’s influence on Wolbachia prevalence. Here, we investigate if Wolbachia densities and/or CI gene (cif) expression covary with CI-strength variation and explore covariates of age-dependent Wolbachia-density variation in two classic CI systems. wRi CI strength decreases slowly with Drosophila simulans male age (6%/day), but wMel CI strength decreases very rapidly (19%/day), yielding statistically insignificant CI after only 3 days of Drosophila melanogaster adult emergence. Wolbachia densities and cif expression in testes decrease as wRi-infected males age, but both surprisingly increase as wMel-infected males age, and CI strength declines. We then tested if phage lysis, Octomom copy number (which impacts wMel density), or host immune expression covary with age-dependent wMel densities. Only host immune expression correlated with density. Together, our results identify how fast CI strength declines with male age in two model systems and reveal unique relationships between male age, Wolbachia densities, cif expression, and host immunity. We discuss new hypotheses about the basis of age-dependent CI strength and its contributions to Wolbachia prevalence.
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42
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Structural and mechanistic insights into the complexes formed by Wolbachia cytoplasmic incompatibility factors. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:2107699118. [PMID: 34620712 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2107699118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Wolbachia bacteria, inherited through the female germ line, infect a large fraction of arthropod species. Many Wolbachia strains manipulate host reproduction, most commonly through cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI). CI, a conditional male sterility, results when Wolbachia-infected male insects mate with uninfected females; viability is restored if the female is similarly infected (called "rescue"). CI is used to help control mosquito-borne viruses such as dengue and Zika, but its mechanisms remain unknown. The coexpressed CI factors CifA and CifB form stable complexes in vitro, but the timing and function of this interaction in the insect are unresolved. CifA expression in the female germ line is sufficient for rescue. We report high-resolution structures of a CI-factor complex, CinA-CinB, which utilizes a unique binding mode between the CinA rescue factor and the CinB nuclease; the structures were validated by biochemical and yeast growth analyses. Importantly, transgenic expression in Drosophila of a nonbinding CinA mutant, designed based on the CinA-CinB structure, suggests CinA expressed in females must bind CinB imported by sperm in order to rescue embryonic viability. Binding between cognate factors is conserved in an enzymatically distinct CI system, CidA-CidB, suggesting universal features in Wolbachia CI induction and rescue.
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43
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Ross PA. Designing effective Wolbachia release programs for mosquito and arbovirus control. Acta Trop 2021; 222:106045. [PMID: 34273308 DOI: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2021.106045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2021] [Revised: 07/04/2021] [Accepted: 07/06/2021] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Mosquitoes carrying endosymbiotic bacteria called Wolbachia are being released in mosquito and arbovirus control programs around the world through two main approaches: population suppression and population replacement. Open field releases of Wolbachia-infected male mosquitoes have achieved over 95% population suppression by reducing the fertility of wild mosquito populations. The replacement of populations with Wolbachia-infected females is self-sustaining and can greatly reduce local dengue transmission by reducing the vector competence of mosquito populations. Despite many successful interventions, significant questions and challenges lie ahead. Wolbachia, viruses and their mosquito hosts can evolve, leading to uncertainty around the long-term effectiveness of a given Wolbachia strain, while few ecological impacts of Wolbachia releases have been explored. Wolbachia strains are diverse and the choice of strain to release should be made carefully, taking environmental conditions and the release objective into account. Mosquito quality control, thoughtful community awareness programs and long-term monitoring of populations are essential for all types of Wolbachia intervention. Releases of Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes show great promise, but existing control measures remain an important way to reduce the burden of mosquito-borne disease.
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Beckmann JF, Van Vaerenberghe K, Akwa DE, Cooper BS. A single mutation weakens symbiont-induced reproductive manipulation through reductions in deubiquitylation efficiency. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:e2113271118. [PMID: 34548405 PMCID: PMC8488622 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2113271118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Animals interact with microbes that affect their performance and fitness, including endosymbionts that reside inside their cells. Maternally transmitted Wolbachia bacteria are the most common known endosymbionts, in large part because of their manipulation of host reproduction. For example, many Wolbachia cause cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI) that reduces host embryonic viability when Wolbachia-modified sperm fertilize uninfected eggs. Operons termed cifs control CI, and a single factor (cifA) rescues it, providing Wolbachia-infected females a fitness advantage. Despite CI's prevalence in nature, theory indicates that natural selection does not act to maintain CI, which varies widely in strength. Here, we investigate the genetic and functional basis of CI-strength variation observed among sister Wolbachia that infect Drosophila melanogaster subgroup hosts. We cloned, Sanger sequenced, and expressed cif repertoires from weak CI-causing wYak in Drosophila yakuba, revealing mutations suspected to weaken CI relative to model wMel in D. melanogaster A single valine-to-leucine mutation within the deubiquitylating (DUB) domain of the wYak cifB homolog (cidB) ablates a CI-like phenotype in yeast. The same mutation reduces both DUB efficiency in vitro and transgenic CI strength in the fly, each by about twofold. Our results map hypomorphic transgenic CI to reduced DUB activity and indicate that deubiquitylation is central to CI induction in cid systems. We also characterize effects of other genetic variation distinguishing wMel-like cifs Importantly, CI strength determines Wolbachia prevalence in natural systems and directly influences the efficacy of Wolbachia biocontrol strategies in transinfected mosquito systems. These approaches rely on strong CI to reduce human disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- John F Beckmann
- Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849;
| | | | - Daniel E Akwa
- Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849
| | - Brandon S Cooper
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, MT 59801
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Bubnell JE, Fernandez-Begne P, Ulbing CKS, Aquadro CF. Diverse wMel variants of Wolbachia pipientis differentially rescue fertility and cytological defects of the bag of marbles partial loss of function mutation in Drosophila melanogaster. G3-GENES GENOMES GENETICS 2021; 11:6365939. [PMID: 34580706 PMCID: PMC8664471 DOI: 10.1093/g3journal/jkab312] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2021] [Accepted: 08/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
In Drosophila melanogaster, the maternally inherited endosymbiont Wolbachia pipientis interacts with germline stem cell genes during oogenesis. One such gene, bag of marbles (bam) is the key switch for differentiation and also shows signals of adaptive evolution for protein diversification. These observations have led us to hypothesize that W. pipientis could be driving the adaptive evolution of bam for control of oogenesis. To test this hypothesis, we must understand the specificity of the genetic interaction between bam and W. pipientis. Previously, we documented that the W. pipientis variant, wMel, rescued the fertility of the bamBW hypomorphic mutant as a transheterozygote over a bam null. However, bamBW was generated more than 20 years ago in an uncontrolled genetic background and maintained over a balancer chromosome. Consequently, the chromosome carrying bamBW accumulated mutations that have prevented controlled experiments to further assess the interaction. Here, we used CRISPR/Cas9 to engineer the same single amino acid bam hypomorphic mutation (bamL255F) and a new bam null disruption mutation into the w1118 isogenic background. We assess the fertility of wildtype bam, bamL255F/bamnull hypomorphic, and bamL255F/bamL255F mutant females, each infected individually with 10 W. pipientis wMel variants representing three phylogenetic clades. Overall, we find that all of the W. pipientis variants tested here rescue bam hypomorphic fertility defects with wMelCS-like variants exhibiting the strongest rescue effects. In addition, these variants did not increase wildtype bam female fertility. Therefore, both bam and W. pipientis interact in genotype-specific ways to modulate female fertility, a critical fitness phenotype.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jaclyn E Bubnell
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA
| | - Paula Fernandez-Begne
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA
| | - Cynthia K S Ulbing
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA
| | - Charles F Aquadro
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA
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46
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Shropshire JD, Rosenberg R, Bordenstein SR. The impacts of cytoplasmic incompatibility factor (cifA and cifB) genetic variation on phenotypes. Genetics 2021; 217:1-13. [PMID: 33683351 PMCID: PMC8218869 DOI: 10.1093/genetics/iyaa007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2020] [Accepted: 11/13/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Wolbachia are maternally transmitted, intracellular bacteria that can
often selfishly spread through arthropod populations via cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI).
CI manifests as embryonic death when males expressing prophage WO genes
cifA and cifB mate with uninfected females or females
harboring an incompatible Wolbachia strain. Females with a compatible
cifA-expressing strain rescue CI. Thus, cif-mediated
CI confers a relative fitness advantage to females transmitting
Wolbachia. However, whether cif sequence variation
underpins incompatibilities between Wolbachia strains and variation in CI
penetrance remains unknown. Here, we engineer Drosophila melanogaster to
transgenically express cognate and non-cognate cif homologs and assess
their CI and rescue capability. Cognate expression revealed that cifA;B
native to D. melanogaster causes strong CI, and cognate
cifA;B homologs from two other Drosophila-associated
Wolbachia cause weak transgenic CI, including the first demonstration
of phylogenetic type 2 cifA;B CI. Intriguingly, non-cognate expression of
cifA and cifB alleles from different strains revealed
that cifA homologs generally contribute to strong transgenic CI and
interchangeable rescue despite their evolutionary divergence, and cifB
genetic divergence contributes to weak or no transgenic CI. Finally, we find that a type 1
cifA can rescue CI caused by a genetically divergent type 2
cifA;B in a manner consistent with unidirectional incompatibility. By
genetically dissecting individual CI functions for type 1 and 2 cifA and
cifB, this work illuminates new relationships between
cif genotype and CI phenotype. We discuss the relevance of these
findings to CI’s genetic basis, phenotypic variation patterns, and mechanism.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Dylan Shropshire
- Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, VU Station B, Box 35-1634, Nashville, TN 37235, USA.,Vanderbilt Microbiome Initiative, Vanderbilt University, VU Station B, Box 35-1634, Nashville, TN 37235, USA.,Division of Biological Sciences, University of Montana, 32 Campus Drive, Missoula, MT 59812, USA
| | - Rachel Rosenberg
- Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, VU Station B, Box 35-1634, Nashville, TN 37235, USA.,Vanderbilt Microbiome Initiative, Vanderbilt University, VU Station B, Box 35-1634, Nashville, TN 37235, USA
| | - Seth R Bordenstein
- Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, VU Station B, Box 35-1634, Nashville, TN 37235, USA.,Vanderbilt Microbiome Initiative, Vanderbilt University, VU Station B, Box 35-1634, Nashville, TN 37235, USA.,Department of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, USA.,Vanderbilt Institute for Infection, Immunology, and Inflammation, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37235, USA
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Design and Testing of Effective Primers for Amplification of the orf7 Gene of Phage WO Associated with Andricus hakonensis. INSECTS 2021; 12:insects12080713. [PMID: 34442279 PMCID: PMC8397071 DOI: 10.3390/insects12080713] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2021] [Revised: 07/17/2021] [Accepted: 07/24/2021] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
Simple Summary Andricus hakonensis is thought to contain the most complex and diverse phage types known and should be an ideal model material for studying interactions among bacteriophages, bacteria and eukaryotes. As shown in previous studies, existing primers are not effective enough to amplify all virus groups in A. hakonensis. Based on a comprehensive analysis of all virus groups reported to date, we designed a relatively conservative primer for virus detection. This primer can accurately and efficiently detect the presence of phage WO in arthropod hosts. Using gene alignment, clear evidence was provided for the existence of hitherto unreported base deletions, which are an important cause of diversity in phage WO associated with A. hakonensis. Abstract Phage WO was first characterized in Wolbachia, an obligate intracellular Rickettsiales known for its ability to regulate the reproduction of arthropod hosts. In this paper, we focus on the study of virus diversity in Andricus hakonensis and the development of highly effective primers. Based on the existing Wolbachia genome sequence, we designed primers (WO-TF and WO-TR) to amplify the full-length orf7 gene of phage WO. Surprisingly, sequencing results showed a high abundance of other phage WO groups in A. hakonensis, in addition to the four groups previously identified. The results also showed that A. hakonensis contained most of the known types of orf7 genes (I, III, IV, V and VI) and the level of diversity of harbored phage WO was very high. Therefore, we speculated that existing primers were not specific enough and that new primers for the detection of phage WO were needed. Based on the existing orf7 gene sequence, we designed specific detection primers (WO-SUF and WO-SUR). Sequencing results showed that the primers effectively amplified all known types of phage WO. In addition to amplifying most of the known sequences, we also detected some new genotypes in A. hakonensis using the new primers. Importantly, all phage WO groups could be efficiently detected. Combined with the results of previous studies, our results suggest that A. hakonensis contains the largest number of phage types (up to 36 types). This study is novel in that it provides practical molecular evidence supporting base deletions, in addition to gene mutations and genetic recombination, as an important cause of phage WO diversity.
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Takano SI, Gotoh Y, Hayashi T. "Candidatus Mesenet longicola": Novel Endosymbionts of Brontispa longissima that Induce Cytoplasmic Incompatibility. MICROBIAL ECOLOGY 2021; 82:512-522. [PMID: 33454808 DOI: 10.1007/s00248-021-01686-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2020] [Accepted: 01/06/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Intracellular bacteria that are mainly transmitted maternally affect their arthropod hosts' biology in various ways. One such effect is known as cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI), and three bacterial species are known to induce CI: Wolbachia, Cardinium hertigii, and a recently found alphaproteobacterial symbiont. To clarify the taxonomic status and provide the foundation for future studies to reveal CI mechanisms and other phenotypes, we investigated genetic and morphological properties of the third CI inducer that we have previously reported inducing CI in the coconut beetle Brontispa longissima. The draft genome of the bacteria was obtained from the oocytes of two isofemale lines of B. longissima infected with the bacteria: one from Japan (GL2) and the other from Vietnam (L5). Genome features of the symbionts (sGL2 and sL5) were highly similar, showing 1.3 Mb in size, 32.1% GC content, and 99.83% average nucleotide sequence. A phylogenetic study based on 43 universal and single-copy phylogenetic marker genes indicates that they formed a distinct clade in the family Anaplasmataceae. 16S rRNA gene sequences indicate that they are different from the closest known relatives, at least at the genus level. Therefore, we propose a new genus and species, "Candidatus Mesenet longicola", for the symbionts of B. longissima. Morphological analyses showed that Ca. M. longicola is an intracellular bacterium that is ellipsoidal to rod-shaped and 0.94 ± 0.26 μm (mean ± SD) in length, and accumulated in the anterior part of the oocyte. Candidates for the Ca. M. longicola genes responsible for CI induction are also described.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shun-Ichiro Takano
- Faculty of Agriculture, Kyushu University, 744 Motooka, Fukuoka, 819-0395, Japan.
| | - Yasuhiro Gotoh
- Department of Bacteriology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, 812-8582, Japan
| | - Tetsuya Hayashi
- Department of Bacteriology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, 812-8582, Japan
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Correa AMS, Howard-Varona C, Coy SR, Buchan A, Sullivan MB, Weitz JS. Revisiting the rules of life for viruses of microorganisms. Nat Rev Microbiol 2021; 19:501-513. [PMID: 33762712 DOI: 10.1038/s41579-021-00530-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/15/2021] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
Viruses that infect microbial hosts have traditionally been studied in laboratory settings with a focus on either obligate lysis or persistent lysogeny. In the environment, these infection archetypes are part of a continuum that spans antagonistic to beneficial modes. In this Review, we advance a framework to accommodate the context-dependent nature of virus-microorganism interactions in ecological communities by synthesizing knowledge from decades of virology research, eco-evolutionary theory and recent technological advances. We discuss that nuanced outcomes, rather than the extremes of the continuum, are particularly likely in natural communities given variability in abiotic factors, the availability of suboptimal hosts and the relevance of multitrophic partnerships. We revisit the 'rules of life' in terms of how long-term infections shape the fate of viruses and microbial cells, populations and ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Samantha R Coy
- BioSciences Department, Rice University, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Alison Buchan
- Department of Microbiology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA.
| | - Matthew B Sullivan
- Department of Microbiology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA. .,Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geodetic Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.
| | - Joshua S Weitz
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA. .,School of Physics, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA.
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Wheeler TB, Thompson V, Conner WR, Cooper BS. Wolbachia in the spittlebug Prosapia ignipectus: Variable infection frequencies, but no apparent effect on host reproductive isolation. Ecol Evol 2021; 11:10054-10065. [PMID: 34367558 PMCID: PMC8328426 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.7782] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2021] [Revised: 03/31/2021] [Accepted: 04/20/2021] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Animals serve as hosts for complex communities of microorganisms, including endosymbionts that live inside their cells. Wolbachia bacteria are perhaps the most common endosymbionts, manipulating host reproduction to propagate. Many Wolbachia cause cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI), which results in reduced egg hatch when uninfected females mate with infected males. Wolbachia that cause intense CI spread to high and relatively stable frequencies, while strains that cause weak or no CI tend to persist at intermediate, often variable, frequencies. Wolbachia could also contribute to host reproductive isolation (RI), although current support for such contributions is limited to a few systems. To test for Wolbachia frequency variation and effects on host RI, we sampled several local Prosapia ignipectus (Fitch) (Hemiptera: Cercopidae) spittlebug populations in the northeastern United States over two years, including closely juxtaposed Maine populations with different monomorphic color forms, "black" and "lined." We discovered a group-B Wolbachia (wPig) infecting P. ignipectus that diverged from group-A Wolbachia-like model wMel and wRi strains in Drosophila-6 to 46 MYA. Populations of the sister species Prosapia bicincta (Say) from Hawaii and Florida are uninfected, suggesting that P. ignipectus acquired wPig after their initial divergence. wPig frequencies were generally high and variable among sites and between years. While phenotyping wPig effects on host reproduction is not currently feasible, the wPig genome contains three divergent sets of CI loci, consistent with high wPig frequencies. Finally, Maine monomorphic black and monomorphic lined populations of P. ignipectus share both wPig and mtDNA haplotypes, implying no apparent effect of wPig on the maintenance of this morphological contact zone. We hypothesize P. ignipectus acquired wPig horizontally as observed for many Drosophila species, and that significant CI and variable transmission produce high but variable wPig frequencies.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Vinton Thompson
- Division of Invertebrate ZoologyAmerican Museum of Natural HistoryNew YorkNYUSA
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