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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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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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3
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Sun X, Hong J, Ding T, Wu Z, Lin D. Snail microbiota and snail-schistosome interactions: axenic and gnotobiotic technologies. Trends Parasitol 2024; 40:241-256. [PMID: 38278688 DOI: 10.1016/j.pt.2024.01.002] [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: 12/04/2023] [Revised: 01/04/2024] [Accepted: 01/04/2024] [Indexed: 01/28/2024]
Abstract
The microbiota in the intermediate snail hosts of human schistosomes can significantly affect host biology. For decades, researchers have developed axenic snails to manipulate the symbiotic microbiota. This review summarizes the characteristics of symbiotic microbes in intermediate snail hosts and describes their interactions with snails, affecting snail growth, development, and parasite transmission ability. We focus on advances in axenic and gnotobiotic technologies for studying snail-microbe interactions and exploring the role of microbiota in snail susceptibility to Schistosoma infection. We discuss the challenges related to axenic and gnotobiotic snails, possible solutions to address these challenges, and future research directions to deepen our understanding of snail-microbiota interactions, with the aim to develop microbiota-based strategies for controlling snail populations and reducing their competence in transmitting parasites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xi Sun
- Department of Parasitology, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China; Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Control, Ministry of Education, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China; Provincial Engineering Technology Research Center for Diseases-vectors Control and Chinese Atomic Energy Agency Center of Excellence on Nuclear Technology Applications for Insect Control, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Jinni Hong
- Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Tao Ding
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Control, Ministry of Education, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China; Provincial Engineering Technology Research Center for Diseases-vectors Control and Chinese Atomic Energy Agency Center of Excellence on Nuclear Technology Applications for Insect Control, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Zhongdao Wu
- Department of Parasitology, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China; Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Control, Ministry of Education, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China; Provincial Engineering Technology Research Center for Diseases-vectors Control and Chinese Atomic Energy Agency Center of Excellence on Nuclear Technology Applications for Insect Control, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China.
| | - Datao Lin
- Department of Parasitology, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China; Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Control, Ministry of Education, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China; Provincial Engineering Technology Research Center for Diseases-vectors Control and Chinese Atomic Energy Agency Center of Excellence on Nuclear Technology Applications for Insect Control, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China.
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4
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Namias A, Ngaku A, Makoundou P, Unal S, Sicard M, Weill M. Intra-lineage microevolution of Wolbachia leads to the emergence of new cytoplasmic incompatibility patterns. PLoS Biol 2024; 22:e3002493. [PMID: 38315724 PMCID: PMC10868858 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3002493] [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: 07/03/2023] [Revised: 02/15/2024] [Accepted: 01/08/2024] [Indexed: 02/07/2024] Open
Abstract
Mosquitoes of the Culex pipiens complex are worldwide vectors of arbovirus, filarial nematodes, and avian malaria agents. In these hosts, the endosymbiotic bacteria Wolbachia induce cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI), i.e., reduced embryo viability in so-called incompatible crosses. Wolbachia infecting Culex pipiens (wPip) cause CI patterns of unparalleled complexity, associated with the amplification and diversification of cidA and cidB genes, with up to 6 different gene copies described in a single wPip genome. In wPip, CI is thought to function as a toxin-antidote (TA) system where compatibility relies on having the right antidotes (CidA) in the female to bind and neutralize the male's toxins (CidB). By repeating crosses between Culex isofemale lines over a 17 years period, we documented the emergence of a new compatibility type in real time and linked it to a change in cid genes genotype. We showed that loss of specific cidA gene copies in some wPip genomes results in a loss of compatibility. More precisely, we found that this lost antidote had an original sequence at its binding interface, corresponding to the original sequence at the toxin's binding interface. We showed that these original cid variants are recombinant, supporting a role for recombination rather than point mutations in rapid CI evolution. These results strongly support the TA model in natura, adding to all previous data acquired with transgenes expression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alice Namias
- ISEM, Université de Montpellier, CNRS, IRD, EPHE, Montpellier, France
| | - Annais Ngaku
- ISEM, Université de Montpellier, CNRS, IRD, EPHE, Montpellier, France
| | - Patrick Makoundou
- ISEM, Université de Montpellier, CNRS, IRD, EPHE, Montpellier, France
| | - Sandra Unal
- ISEM, Université de Montpellier, CNRS, IRD, EPHE, Montpellier, France
| | - Mathieu Sicard
- ISEM, Université de Montpellier, CNRS, IRD, EPHE, Montpellier, France
| | - Mylène Weill
- ISEM, Université de Montpellier, CNRS, IRD, EPHE, Montpellier, France
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5
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McNamara CJ, Ant TH, Harvey-Samuel T, White-Cooper H, Martinez J, Alphey L, Sinkins SP. Transgenic expression of cif genes from Wolbachia strain wAlbB recapitulates cytoplasmic incompatibility in Aedes aegypti. Nat Commun 2024; 15:869. [PMID: 38287029 PMCID: PMC10825118 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-45238-7] [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: 08/24/2023] [Accepted: 01/16/2024] [Indexed: 01/31/2024] Open
Abstract
The endosymbiotic bacteria Wolbachia can invade insect populations by modifying host reproduction through cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI), an effect that results in embryonic lethality when Wolbachia-carrying males mate with Wolbachia-free females. Here we describe a transgenic system for recreating CI in the major arbovirus vector Aedes aegypti using CI factor (cif) genes from wAlbB, a Wolbachia strain currently being deployed to reduce dengue transmission. CI-like sterility is induced when cifA and cifB are co-expressed in testes; this sterility is rescued by maternal cifA expression, thereby reproducing the pattern of Wolbachia-induced CI. Expression of cifB alone is associated with extensive DNA damage and disrupted spermatogenesis. The strength of rescue by maternal cifA expression is dependent on the comparative levels of cifA/cifB expression in males. These findings are consistent with CifB acting as a toxin and CifA as an antitoxin, with CifA attenuating CifB toxicity in both the male germline and in developing embryos. These findings provide important insights into the interactions between cif genes and their mechanism of activity and provide a foundation for the building of a cif gene-based drive system in Ae. aegypti.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cameron J McNamara
- MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, 464 Bearsden Road, Glasgow, G61 1QH, UK
| | - Thomas H Ant
- MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, 464 Bearsden Road, Glasgow, G61 1QH, UK
| | - Tim Harvey-Samuel
- Arthropod Genetics, The Pirbright Institute, Ash Road, Pirbright, Surrey, GU24 0NF, UK
| | - Helen White-Cooper
- Molecular Biosciences Division, Cardiff University, Cardiff, CF10 3AX, UK
| | - Julien Martinez
- MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, 464 Bearsden Road, Glasgow, G61 1QH, UK
| | - Luke Alphey
- Arthropod Genetics, The Pirbright Institute, Ash Road, Pirbright, Surrey, GU24 0NF, UK
- The Department of Biology, University of York, Wentworth Way, York, YO10 5DD, UK
| | - Steven P Sinkins
- MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, 464 Bearsden Road, Glasgow, G61 1QH, UK.
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6
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Cortez CT, Murphy RO, Owens IM, Beckmann JF. Use of Drosophila Transgenics to Identify Functions for Symbiont Effectors. Methods Mol Biol 2024; 2739:301-320. [PMID: 38006559 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-3553-7_18] [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: 11/27/2023]
Abstract
Wolbachia, one of the most successful and studied insect symbionts, and Drosophila, one of the most understood model insects, can be exploited as complementary tools to unravel mechanisms of insect symbiosis. Although Wolbachia itself cannot be grown axenically as clonal isolates or genetically manipulated by standard methods, its reproductive phenotypes, including cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI), have been elucidated using well-developed molecular tools and precise transgenic manipulations available for Drosophila melanogaster. Current research only scratches the surface of how Drosophila can provide a tool for understanding Wolbachia's evolutionary success and the molecular roles of its genetic elements. Here, we briefly outline basic methodologies inherent to transgenic Drosophila systems that have already contributed significant advances in understanding CI, but may be unfamiliar to those who lack experience in Drosophila genetics. In the future, these approaches will continue providing significant insights into Wolbachia that undoubtedly will be extended to other insect symbionts and their biological capabilities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carai T Cortez
- Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, USA
| | - Richard O Murphy
- Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, USA
| | - Isabella M Owens
- Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, USA
| | - John F Beckmann
- Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, USA.
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7
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Murphy RO, Beckmann JF. Using Baker's Yeast to Determine Functions of Novel Wolbachia (and Other Prokaryotic) Effectors. Methods Mol Biol 2024; 2739:321-336. [PMID: 38006560 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-3553-7_19] [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: 11/27/2023]
Abstract
Yeasts are single-celled eukaryotic organisms classified as fungi, mostly in the phylum Ascomycota. Of about 1500 named species, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, also known as baker's yeast, domesticated by humans in the context of cooking and brewing, is a profound genetic tool for exploring functions of novel effector proteins from Wolbachia and prokaryotes in general. Wolbachia is a Gram-negative alpha-proteobacterium that infects up to ~75% of all insects as an obligate intracellular microbe (Jeyaprakash A, Hoy MA, Insect Mol Biol 9:393-405, 2000). Wolbachia's lifestyle presents unique challenges for researchers. Wolbachia cannot be axenically cultured and has never been genetically manipulated. Furthermore, many Wolbachia genes have no known function or well-annotated orthologs in other genomes. Yet given the effects of Wolbachia on host phenotypes, which have considerable practical applications for pest control, they undoubtedly involve secreted effector proteins that interact with host gene products. Studying these effectors is challenging with Wolbachia's current genetic limitations. However, some of the constraints to working with Wolbachia can be overcome by expressing candidate proteins in S. cerevisiae. This approach capitalizes on yeast's small genome (~6500 genes), typical eukaryotic cellular organization, and the sophisticated suite of genetic tools available for its manipulation in culture. Thus, yeast can serve as a powerful mock eukaryotic host background to study Wolbachia effector function. Specifically, yeast is used for recombinant protein expression, drug discovery, protein localization studies, protein interaction mapping (yeast two-hybrid system), modeling chromosomal evolution, and examining interactions between proteins responsible for complex phenotypes in less tractable prokaryotic systems. As an example, the paired genes responsible for Wolbachia-mediated cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI) encode novel proteins with limited homology to other known proteins, and no obvious function. This article details how S. cerevisiae was used as an initial staging ground to explore the molecular basis of one of Wolbachia's trademark phenotypes (CI).
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard O Murphy
- Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, USA
| | - John F Beckmann
- Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, USA.
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8
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Chen J, Wang MK, Xie QX, Bing XL, Li TP, Hong XY. NDUFA8 potentially rescues Wolbachia-induced cytoplasmic incompatibility in Laodelphax striatellus. INSECT SCIENCE 2023; 30:1689-1700. [PMID: 36744754 DOI: 10.1111/1744-7917.13182] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2022] [Revised: 12/11/2022] [Accepted: 01/25/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
The endosymbiont Wolbachia manipulates host reproduction by several strategies, one of the most important of which is cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI). CI can be rescued when Wolbachia-infected males mate with females infected with the same Wolbachia strain. However, the potential rescue mechanism of CI in the small brown planthopper Laodelphax striatellus is unclear. In this study, comparative transcriptome analysis was applied to explore the effect of Wolbachia on L. striatellus eggs. A total of 1387 differentially expressed genes were identified. RNA interference of 7 Wolbachia-upregulated key planthopper genes reduced egg reproduction, suggesting that Wolbachia might improve fecundity in L. striatellus by affecting these 7 genes. Suppressing the expression of another upregulated gene, NDUFA8 (encoding NADH dehydrogenase [ubiquinone] 1 α subcomplex subunit 8-like) by RNA interference significantly increased the mortality of early embryos without affecting the number of deposited eggs. Wolbachia infection upregulated the mRNA level of NDUFA8, and dsNDUFA8 treatment of Wolbachia-infected females recreated CI-like symptoms, suggesting that NDUFA8 is associated with the rescue phenotype. Because all L. striatellus populations worldwide are infected with Wolbachia, NDUFA8 is a potential pest control target.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jie Chen
- Department of Entomology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China
| | - Meng-Ke Wang
- Department of Entomology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China
| | - Qi-Xian Xie
- Department of Entomology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China
| | - Xiao-Li Bing
- Department of Entomology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China
| | - Tong-Pu Li
- Department of Entomology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China
| | - Xiao-Yue Hong
- Department of Entomology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China
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9
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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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10
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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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11
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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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12
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Guo Y, Shao J, Wu Y, Li Y. Using Wolbachia to control rice planthopper populations: progress and challenges. Front Microbiol 2023; 14:1244239. [PMID: 37779725 PMCID: PMC10537216 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1244239] [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: 06/22/2023] [Accepted: 08/24/2023] [Indexed: 10/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Wolbachia have been developed as a tool for protecting humans from mosquito populations and mosquito-borne diseases. The success of using Wolbachia relies on the facts that Wolbachia are maternally transmitted and that Wolbachia-induced cytoplasmic incompatibility provides a selective advantage to infected over uninfected females, ensuring that Wolbachia rapidly spread through the target pest population. Most transinfected Wolbachia exhibit a strong antiviral response in novel hosts, thus making it an extremely efficient technique. Although Wolbachia has only been used to control mosquitoes so far, great progress has been made in developing Wolbachia-based approaches to protect plants from rice pests and their associated diseases. Here, we synthesize the current knowledge about the important phenotypic effects of Wolbachia used to control mosquito populations and the literature on the interactions between Wolbachia and rice pest planthoppers. Our aim is to link findings from Wolbachia-mediated mosquito control programs to possible applications in planthoppers.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Yifeng Li
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of High Technology for Plant Protection, Institute of Plant Protection, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Key Laboratory of Green Prevention and Control on Fruits and Vegetables in South China Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Guangzhou, China
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13
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Arai H, Anbutsu H, Nishikawa Y, Kogawa M, Ishii K, Hosokawa M, Lin SR, Ueda M, Nakai M, Kunimi Y, Harumoto T, Kageyama D, Takeyama H, Inoue MN. Combined actions of bacteriophage-encoded genes in Wolbachia-induced male lethality. iScience 2023; 26:106842. [PMID: 37250803 PMCID: PMC10209535 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.106842] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2023] [Revised: 03/24/2023] [Accepted: 05/04/2023] [Indexed: 05/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Some Wolbachia endosymbionts induce male killing, whereby male offspring of infected females are killed during development; however, the origin and diversity of the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, we identified a 76 kbp prophage region specific to male-killing Wolbachia hosted by the moth Homona magnanima. The prophage encoded a homolog of the male-killing gene oscar in Ostrinia moths and the wmk gene that induces various toxicities in Drosophila melanogaster. Upon overexpressing these genes in D. melanogaster, wmk-1 and wmk-3 killed all males and most females, whereas Hm-oscar, wmk-2, and wmk-4 had no impact on insect survival. Strikingly, co-expression of tandemly arrayed wmk-3 and wmk-4 killed 90% of males and restored 70% of females, suggesting their conjugated functions for male-specific lethality. While the male-killing gene in the native host remains unknown, our findings highlight the role of bacteriophages in male-killing evolution and differences in male-killing mechanisms among insects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hiroshi Arai
- United Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, 3-5-8 Saiwai, Fuchu, Tokyo 183-8509, Japan
- National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO), 1-2 Owashi, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0851, Japan
| | - Hisashi Anbutsu
- Computational Bio Big-Data Open Innovation Laboratory (CBBD-OIL), National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), 3-4-1 Okubo, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 169-8555, Japan
- Bioproduction Research Institute, AIST, 1-1-1 Higashi, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8566, Japan
- Research Organization for Nano and Life Innovation, Waseda University, 513 Wasedatsurumaki-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-0041, Japan
| | - Yohei Nishikawa
- Computational Bio Big-Data Open Innovation Laboratory (CBBD-OIL), National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), 3-4-1 Okubo, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 169-8555, Japan
- Research Organization for Nano and Life Innovation, Waseda University, 513 Wasedatsurumaki-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-0041, Japan
| | - Masato Kogawa
- Research Organization for Nano and Life Innovation, Waseda University, 513 Wasedatsurumaki-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-0041, Japan
| | - Kazuo Ishii
- United Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, 3-5-8 Saiwai, Fuchu, Tokyo 183-8509, Japan
| | - Masahito Hosokawa
- Computational Bio Big-Data Open Innovation Laboratory (CBBD-OIL), National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), 3-4-1 Okubo, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 169-8555, Japan
- Research Organization for Nano and Life Innovation, Waseda University, 513 Wasedatsurumaki-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-0041, Japan
- Institute for Advanced Research of Biosystem Dynamics, Waseda Research Institute for Science and Engineering, Graduate School of Advanced Science and Engineering, Waseda University, 3-4-1 Okubo, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 169-8555, Japan
- Department of Life Science and Medical Bioscience, Graduate School of Advanced Science and Engineering, Waseda University, 2-2 Wakamatsucho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8480, Japan
| | - Shiou-Ruei Lin
- Tea Research and Extension Station, 326011 Chung-Hsing RD, Yangmei, Taoyuan, Taiwan, R.O.C
| | - Masatoshi Ueda
- United Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, 3-5-8 Saiwai, Fuchu, Tokyo 183-8509, Japan
| | - Madoka Nakai
- United Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, 3-5-8 Saiwai, Fuchu, Tokyo 183-8509, Japan
| | - Yasuhisa Kunimi
- United Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, 3-5-8 Saiwai, Fuchu, Tokyo 183-8509, Japan
| | - Toshiyuki Harumoto
- Hakubi Center for Advanced Research, Kyoto University. Yoshida-honmachi, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan
- Graduate School of Biostudies, Kyoto University, Yoshida-Konoe-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan
| | - Daisuke Kageyama
- National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO), 1-2 Owashi, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0851, Japan
| | - Haruko Takeyama
- Computational Bio Big-Data Open Innovation Laboratory (CBBD-OIL), National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), 3-4-1 Okubo, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 169-8555, Japan
- Research Organization for Nano and Life Innovation, Waseda University, 513 Wasedatsurumaki-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-0041, Japan
- Institute for Advanced Research of Biosystem Dynamics, Waseda Research Institute for Science and Engineering, Graduate School of Advanced Science and Engineering, Waseda University, 3-4-1 Okubo, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 169-8555, Japan
- Department of Life Science and Medical Bioscience, Graduate School of Advanced Science and Engineering, Waseda University, 2-2 Wakamatsucho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8480, Japan
| | - Maki N. Inoue
- United Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, 3-5-8 Saiwai, Fuchu, Tokyo 183-8509, Japan
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14
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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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15
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Hwang ET. Management of the poultry red mite Dermanyssus gallinae with physical control methods by inorganic material and future perspectives. Poult Sci 2023; 102:102772. [PMID: 37245438 DOI: 10.1016/j.psj.2023.102772] [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: 03/10/2023] [Revised: 05/01/2023] [Accepted: 05/02/2023] [Indexed: 05/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Poultry red mite (PRM), the ectoparasitic mite Dermanyssus gallinae found in laying hen farms, is a significant threat to poultry production and human health worldwide. It is a suspected disease vector and attacks hosts' other than chickens, including humans, and its economic importance has increased greatly. Different strategies to control PRM have been widely tested and investigated. In principle, several synthetic pesticides have been applied to control PRM. However, recent alternative control methods to avoid the side effects of pesticides have been introduced, although many remain in the early stage of commercialization. In particular, advances in material science have made various materials more affordable as alternatives for controlling PRM through physical interactions between PRM. This review provides a summary of PRM infestation, and then includes a discussion and comparison of different conventional approaches: 1) organic substances, 2) biological approaches, and 3) physical inorganic material treatment. The advantages of inorganic materials are discussed in detail, including the classification of materials, as well as the physical mechanism-induced effect on PRM. In this review, we also consider the perspective of using several synthetic inorganic materials to suggest novel strategies for improved monitoring and better information regarding treatment interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ee Taek Hwang
- Department of Food Biotechnology, Dong-A University, Busan 49315, Republic of Korea.
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16
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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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17
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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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18
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Functional analysis of Wolbachia Cid effectors unravels cooperative interactions to target host chromatin during replication. PLoS Pathog 2023; 19:e1011211. [PMID: 36928089 PMCID: PMC10047532 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1011211] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2022] [Revised: 03/28/2023] [Accepted: 02/16/2023] [Indexed: 03/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Wolbachia are common bacteria among terrestrial arthropods. These endosymbionts transmitted through the female germline manipulate their host reproduction through several mechanisms whose most prevalent form called Cytoplasmic Incompatibility -CI- is a conditional sterility syndrome eventually favoring the infected progeny. Upon fertilization, the sperm derived from an infected male is only compatible with an egg harboring a compatible Wolbachia strain, this sperm leading otherwise to embryonic death. The Wolbachia Cif factors CidA and CidB responsible for CI and its neutralization function as a Toxin-Antitoxin system in the mosquito host Culex pipiens. However, the mechanism of CidB toxicity and its neutralization by the CidA antitoxin remain unexplored. Using transfected insect cell lines to perform a structure-function analysis of these effectors, we show that both CidA and CidB are chromatin interactors and CidA anchors CidB to the chromatin in a cell-cycle dependent-manner. In absence of CidA, the CidB toxin localizes to its own chromatin microenvironment and acts by preventing S-phase completion, independently of its deubiquitylase -DUB- domain. Experiments with transgenic Drosophila show that CidB DUB domain is required together with CidA during spermatogenesis to stabilize the CidA-CidB complex. Our study defines CidB functional regions and paves the way to elucidate the mechanism of its toxicity.
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19
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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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20
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Dou W, Sun B, Miao Y, Huang D, Xiao J. Single-cell transcriptome sequencing reveals Wolbachia-mediated modification in early stages of Drosophila spermatogenesis. Proc Biol Sci 2023; 290:20221963. [PMID: 36629101 PMCID: PMC9832550 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.1963] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2022] [Accepted: 12/13/2022] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Wolbachia are the most widely distributed intracellular bacteria, and their most common effect on host phenotype is cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI). A variety of models have been proposed to decipher the molecular mechanism of CI, among which the host modification (HM) model predicts that Wolbachia effectors play an important role in sperm modification. However, owing to the complexity of spermatogenesis and testicular cell-type heterogeneity, whether Wolbachia have different effects on cells at different stages of spermatogenesis or whether these effects are linked with CI remains unknown. Therefore, we used single-cell RNA sequencing to analyse gene expression profiles in adult male Drosophila testes that were infected or uninfected by Wolbachia. We found that Wolbachia significantly affected the proportion of different types of germ cells and affected multiple metabolic pathways in germ cells. Most importantly, Wolbachia had the greatest impact on germline stem cells, resulting in dysregulated expression of genes related to DNA compaction, and Wolbachia infection also influenced the histone-to-protamine transition in the late stage of sperm development. These results support the HM model and suggest that future studies on Wolbachia-induced CI should focus on cells in the early stages of spermatogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Weihao Dou
- College of Life Sciences, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, People's Republic of China
| | - Baofa Sun
- College of Life Sciences, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, People's Republic of China
| | - Yunheng Miao
- College of Life Sciences, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, People's Republic of China
| | - Dawei Huang
- College of Life Sciences, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, People's Republic of China
| | - Jinhua Xiao
- College of Life Sciences, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, People's Republic of China
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21
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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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22
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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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23
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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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24
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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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25
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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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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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The CinB Nuclease from wNo Wolbachia Is Sufficient for Induction of Cytoplasmic Incompatibility in Drosophila. mBio 2022; 13:e0317721. [PMID: 35073749 PMCID: PMC8787490 DOI: 10.1128/mbio.03177-21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Wolbachia is an obligate intracellular bacterium that can alter reproduction of its arthropod hosts, often through a mechanism called cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI). In CI, uninfected females fertilized by infected males yield few offspring, but if both are similarly infected, normal embryo viability results (called "rescue"). CI factors (Cifs) responsible for CI are pairs of proteins encoded by linked genes. The downstream gene in each pair encodes either a deubiquitylase (CidB) or a nuclease (CinB). The upstream gene products, CidA and CinA, bind their cognate enzymes with high specificity. Expression of CidB or CinB in yeast inhibits growth, but growth is rescued by expression of the cognate CifA protein. By contrast, transgenic Drosophila male germ line expression of both cifA and cifB was reported to be necessary to induce CI-like embryonic arrest; cifA expression alone in females is sufficient for rescue. This pattern, seen with genes from several Wolbachia strains, has been called the "2-by-1" model. Here, we show that male germ line expression of the cinB gene alone, from a distinct clade of cif genes from wNo Wolbachia, is sufficient to induce nearly complete loss of embryo viability. This male sterility is fully rescued by cognate cinAwNo expression in the female germ line. The proteins behave similarly in yeast. CinBwNo toxicity depends on its nuclease active site. These results demonstrate that highly divergent CinB nucleases can induce CI, that rescue by cognate CifA factors is a general feature of Wolbachia CI systems, and that CifA is not strictly required in males for CI induction. IMPORTANCE Wolbachia bacteria live within the cells of many insects. Like mitochondria, they are only inherited from females. Wolbachia often increases the number of infected females to promote spread of infection using a type of male sterility called cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI): when uninfected females mate with infected males, most embryos die; if both are similarly infected, embryos develop normally, giving infected females an advantage in producing offspring. CI is being used against disease-carrying mosquitoes and agricultural pests. Wolbachia proteins called CifA and CifB, which bind one another, cause CI, but how they work has been unclear. Here, we show that a CifB protein singly produced in fruit fly males causes sterility in crosses to normal females, but this is rescued if the females produce the CifA partner. These findings clarify a broad range of observations on CI and will allow more rational approaches to using it for insect control.
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Namias A, Sicard M, Weill M, Charlat S. From Wolbachia genomics to phenotype: molecular models of cytoplasmic incompatibility must account for the multiplicity of compatibility types. CURRENT OPINION IN INSECT SCIENCE 2022; 49:78-84. [PMID: 34954414 DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2021.12.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2021] [Revised: 11/22/2021] [Accepted: 12/20/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Wolbachia endosymbionts commonly induce cytoplasmic incompatibility, making infected males' sperm lethal to the embryos unless these are rescued by the same bacterium, inherited from their mother. Causal genes were recently identified but two families of mechanistic models are still opposed. In the toxin-antidote model, interaction between the toxin and the antidote is required for rescuing the embryos. In host modification models, a host factor is misregulated in sperm and rescue occurs through compensation or withdrawal of this modification. While these models have been thoroughly discussed, the multiplicity of compatibility types, that is, the existence of many mutually incompatible strains, as seen in Culex mosquitoes, has not received sufficient attention. To explain such a fact, host modification models must posit that the same embryonic defects can be induced and rescued through a large variety of host targets. Conversely, the toxin-antidote model simply accommodates this pattern in a lock-key fashion, through variations in the toxin-antidote interaction sites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alice Namias
- ISEM, Université de Montpellier, CNRS, IRD, Montpellier, France
| | - Mathieu Sicard
- ISEM, Université de Montpellier, CNRS, IRD, Montpellier, France
| | - Mylène Weill
- ISEM, Université de Montpellier, CNRS, IRD, Montpellier, France
| | - Sylvain Charlat
- Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive, Université de Lyon, Université Lyon 1, CNRS, UMR 5558, 43 boulevard du 11 novembre 1918, Villeurbanne, F-69622, France.
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Horard B, Terretaz K, Gosselin-Grenet AS, Sobry H, Sicard M, Landmann F, Loppin B. Paternal transmission of the Wolbachia CidB toxin underlies cytoplasmic incompatibility. Curr Biol 2022; 32:1319-1331.e5. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.01.052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2021] [Revised: 12/18/2021] [Accepted: 01/19/2022] [Indexed: 02/09/2023]
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