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Sharmin Z, Samarah H, Aldaya Bourricaudy R, Ochoa L, Serbus LR. Cross-validation of chemical and genetic disruption approaches to inform host cellular effects on Wolbachia abundance in Drosophila. Front Microbiol 2024; 15:1364009. [PMID: 38591028 PMCID: PMC10999648 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1364009] [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: 01/01/2024] [Accepted: 02/29/2024] [Indexed: 04/10/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction Endosymbiotic Wolbachia bacteria are widespread in nature, present in half of all insect species. The success of Wolbachia is supported by a commensal lifestyle. Unlike bacterial pathogens that overreplicate and harm host cells, Wolbachia infections have a relatively innocuous intracellular lifestyle. This raises important questions about how Wolbachia infection is regulated. Little is known about how Wolbachia abundance is controlled at an organismal scale. Methods This study demonstrates methodology for rigorous identification of cellular processes that affect whole-body Wolbachia abundance, as indicated by absolute counts of the Wolbachia surface protein (wsp) gene. Results Candidate pathways, associated with well-described infection scenarios, were identified. Wolbachia-infected fruit flies were exposed to small molecule inhibitors known for targeting those same pathways. Sequential tests in D. melanogaster and D. simulans yielded a subset of chemical inhibitors that significantly affected whole-body Wolbachia abundance, including the Wnt pathway disruptor, IWR-1 and the mTOR pathway inhibitor, Rapamycin. The implicated pathways were genetically retested for effects in D. melanogaster, using inducible RNAi expression driven by constitutive as well as chemically-induced somatic GAL4 expression. Genetic disruptions of armadillo, tor, and ATG6 significantly affected whole-body Wolbachia abundance. Discussion As such, the data corroborate reagent targeting and pathway relevance to whole-body Wolbachia infection. The results also implicate Wnt and mTOR regulation of autophagy as important for regulation of Wolbachia titer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zinat Sharmin
- Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, Miami, FL, United States
- Biomolecular Sciences Institute, Florida International University, Miami, FL, United States
| | - Hani Samarah
- Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, Miami, FL, United States
- Biomolecular Sciences Institute, Florida International University, Miami, FL, United States
| | - Rafael Aldaya Bourricaudy
- Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, Miami, FL, United States
- Biomolecular Sciences Institute, Florida International University, Miami, FL, United States
| | - Laura Ochoa
- Biomolecular Sciences Institute, Florida International University, Miami, FL, United States
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Florida International University, Miami, FL, United States
| | - Laura Renee Serbus
- Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, Miami, FL, United States
- Biomolecular Sciences Institute, Florida International University, Miami, FL, United States
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Florida International University, Miami, FL, United States
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2
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Voronin D, Tricoche N, Peguero R, Kaminska AM, Ghedin E, Sakanari JA, Lustigman S. Repurposed Drugs That Activate Autophagy in Filarial Worms Act as Effective Macrofilaricides. Pharmaceutics 2024; 16:256. [PMID: 38399310 PMCID: PMC10891619 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics16020256] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2023] [Revised: 01/30/2024] [Accepted: 02/06/2024] [Indexed: 02/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Onchocerciasis and lymphatic filariasis are two neglected tropical diseases caused by filarial nematodes that utilize insect vectors for transmission to their human hosts. Current control strategies are based on annual or biannual mass drug administration (MDA) of the drugs Ivermectin or Ivermectin plus Albendazole, respectively. These drug regimens kill the first-stage larvae of filarial worms (i.e., microfilariae) and interrupt the transmission of infections. MDA programs for these microfilaricidal drugs must be given over the lifetime of the filarial adult worms, which can reach 15 years in the case of Onchocerca volvulus. This is problematic because of suboptimal responses to ivermectin in various endemic regions and inefficient reduction of transmission even after decades of MDA. There is an urgent need for the development of novel alternative treatments to support the 2030 elimination goals of onchocerciasis and lymphatic filariasis. One successful approach has been to target Wolbachia, obligatory endosymbiotic bacteria on which filarial worms are dependent for their survival and reproduction within the human host. A 4-6-week antibiotic therapy with doxycycline, for example, resulted in the loss of Wolbachia that subsequently led to extensive apoptosis of somatic cells, germline, embryos, and microfilariae, as well as inhibition of fourth-stage larval development. However, this long-course regimen has limited use in MDA programs. As an alternative approach to the use of bacteriostatic antibiotics, in this study, we focused on autophagy-inducing compounds, which we hypothesized could disturb various pathways involved in the interdependency between Wolbachia and filarial worms. We demonstrated that several such compounds, including Niclosamide, an FDA-approved drug, Niclosamide ethanolamine (NEN), and Rottlerin, a natural product derived from Kamala trees, significantly reduced the levels of Wolbachia in vitro. Moreover, when these compounds were used in vivo to treat Brugia pahangi-infected gerbils, Niclosamide and NEN significantly decreased adult worm survival, reduced the release of microfilariae, and decreased embryonic development depending on the regimen and dose used. All three drugs given orally significantly reduced Wolbachia loads and induced an increase in levels of lysosome-associated membrane protein in worms from treated animals, suggesting that Niclosamide, NEN, and Rottlerin were effective in causing drug-induced autophagy in these filarial worms. These repurposed drugs provide a new avenue for the clearance of adult worms in filarial infections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Denis Voronin
- Systems Genomics Section, Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, Division of Intramural Research, NIAID, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA;
| | - Nancy Tricoche
- Molecular Parasitology, New York Blood Center, Lindsley F. Kimball Research Institute, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Ricardo Peguero
- Molecular Parasitology, New York Blood Center, Lindsley F. Kimball Research Institute, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Anna Maria Kaminska
- Molecular Parasitology, New York Blood Center, Lindsley F. Kimball Research Institute, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Elodie Ghedin
- Systems Genomics Section, Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, Division of Intramural Research, NIAID, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA;
| | - Judy A. Sakanari
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA;
| | - Sara Lustigman
- Molecular Parasitology, New York Blood Center, Lindsley F. Kimball Research Institute, New York, NY 10065, USA
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3
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Serbus LR. A Light in the Dark: Uncovering Wolbachia-Host Interactions Using Fluorescence Imaging. Methods Mol Biol 2024; 2739:349-373. [PMID: 38006562 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-3553-7_21] [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
The success of microbial endosymbionts, which reside naturally within a eukaryotic "host" organism, requires effective microbial interaction with, and manipulation of, the host cells. Fluorescence microscopy has played a key role in elucidating the molecular mechanisms of endosymbiosis. For 30 years, fluorescence analyses have been a cornerstone in studies of endosymbiotic Wolbachia bacteria, focused on host colonization, maternal transmission, reproductive parasitism, horizontal gene transfer, viral suppression, and metabolic interactions in arthropods and nematodes. Fluorescence-based studies stand to continue informing Wolbachia-host interactions in increasingly detailed and innovative ways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Renee Serbus
- Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA.
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4
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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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5
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Zhou JC, Dong QJ, Shang D, Ning SF, Zhang HH, Wang Y, Che WN, Dong H, Zhang LS. Posterior concentration of Wolbachia during the early embryogenesis of the host dynamically shapes the tissue tropism of Wolbachia in host Trichogramma wasps. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2023; 13:1198428. [PMID: 37424778 PMCID: PMC10324615 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2023.1198428] [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: 04/01/2023] [Accepted: 06/06/2023] [Indexed: 07/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction The bacterial endosymbiont, Wolbachia spp. induce thelytokous parthenogenesis in certain parasitoid wasps, such as the egg parasitoid wasps Trichogramma spp. To complete the cycle of vertical transmission, Wolbachia displays efficient transovarial transmission by targeting the reproductive tissues and often exhibits strong tissue-specific tropism in their host. Method The present study aimed to describe the basic Wolbachia distribution patterns that occur during the development of Wolbachia-infected, thelytokous Trichogramma dendrolimi, and T. pretiosum. We used fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) to investigate Wolbachia signal dynamics during early embryogenesis (from 30 to 120 min). Wolbachia titers and distributions from the embryo to adult stages of Trichogramma after early embryogenesis were detected by absolute quantitative polymerase chain reaction (AQ-PCR) and FISH. The symmetry ratios (SR) of the Wolbachia signals were calculated using the SR odds ratios in the anterior and posterior parts of the host. The SR was determined to describe Wolbachia tropism during early embryogenesis and various developmental stages of Trichogramma. Results Wolbachia was concentrated in the posterior part of the embryo during early embryogenesis and the various developmental stages of both T. dendrolimi and T. pretiosum. Wolbachia density increased with the number of nuclei and the initial mitotic division frequency during early embryogenesis. The total Wolbachia titer increased with postembryogenesis development in both T. dendrolimi and T. pretiosum. However, the Wolbachia densities relative to body size were significantly lower at the adult and pupal stages than they were at the embryonic stage. Discussion The present work revealed that posterior Wolbachia concentration during early host embryogenesis determined Wolbachia localization in adult wasps. By this mechanism, Wolbachia exhibits efficient vertical transmission across generations by depositing only female Wolbachia-infected offspring. The results of this study describe the dynamics of Wolbachia during the development of their Trichogramma host. The findings of this investigation helped clarify Wolbachia tropism in Trichogramma wasps.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jin-Cheng Zhou
- College of Plant Protection, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang, China
- State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Qian-Jin Dong
- College of Plant Protection, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang, China
| | - Dan Shang
- College of Plant Protection, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang, China
| | - Su-Fang Ning
- College of Plant Protection, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang, China
| | - Huan-Huan Zhang
- Institute of Vegetable, Tibet Academy of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Sciences, Lhasa, China
| | - Ying Wang
- College of Plant Protection, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang, China
| | - Wu-Nan Che
- College of Plant Protection, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang, China
| | - Hui Dong
- College of Plant Protection, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang, China
| | - Li-Sheng Zhang
- State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China
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Abstract
Many insects contain endosymbiotic bacteria within their bodies. In multiple endosymbiotic systems comprising two or more symbionts, each of the symbionts is generally localized in a different host cell or tissue. Bemisia tabaci (Sweet potato whitefly) possesses a unique endosymbiotic system where co-obligate symbionts are localized in the same bacteriocytes. Using fluorescence in situ hybridization, we found that endosymbionts in B. tabaci MEAM1 occupy distinct subcellular habitats, or niches, within a single bacteriocyte. Hamiltonella was located adjacent to the nucleus of the bacteriocyte, while Portiera was present in the cytoplasm surrounding Hamiltonella. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed that the endoplasmic reticulum separates the two symbionts. Habitat segregation was maintained for longer durations in female bacteriocytes. The same segregation was observed in three genetically distinct B. tabaci groups (MEAM1, MED Q1, and Asia II 6) and Trialeurodes vaporariorum, which shared a common ancestor with Bemisia over 80 million years ago, even though the coexisting symbionts and the size of bacteriocytes were different. These results suggest that the habitat segregation system existed in the common ancestor and was conserved in both lineages, despite different bacterial partners coexisting with Portiera. Our findings provide insights into the evolution and maintenance of complex endosymbiotic systems and highlight the importance of organelles for the construction of separate niches for endosymbionts. IMPORTANCE Co-obligate endosymbionts in B. tabaci are exceptionally localized within the same bacteriocyte (a specialized cell for endosymbiosis), but the underlying mechanism for their coexistence remains largely unknown. This study provides evidence for niche segregation at the subcellular level between the two symbionts. We showed that the endoplasmic reticulum is a physical barrier separating the two species. Despite differences in co-obligate partners, this subcellular niche segregation was conserved across various whitefly species. The physical proximity of symbionts may enable the efficient biosynthesis of essential nutrients via shared metabolic pathways. The expression "Good fences make good neighbors" appears to be true for insect endosymbiotic systems.
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7
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Phylogenomic analysis of Wolbachia genomes from the Darwin Tree of Life biodiversity genomics project. PLoS Biol 2023; 21:e3001972. [PMID: 36689552 PMCID: PMC9894559 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001972] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2022] [Revised: 02/02/2023] [Accepted: 12/19/2022] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
The Darwin Tree of Life (DToL) project aims to sequence all described terrestrial and aquatic eukaryotic species found in Britain and Ireland. Reference genome sequences are generated from single individuals for each target species. In addition to the target genome, sequenced samples often contain genetic material from microbiomes, endosymbionts, parasites, and other cobionts. Wolbachia endosymbiotic bacteria are found in a diversity of terrestrial arthropods and nematodes, with supergroups A and B the most common in insects. We identified and assembled 110 complete Wolbachia genomes from 93 host species spanning 92 families by filtering data from 368 insect species generated by the DToL project. From 15 infected species, we assembled more than one Wolbachia genome, including cases where individuals carried simultaneous supergroup A and B infections. Different insect orders had distinct patterns of infection, with Lepidopteran hosts mostly infected with supergroup B, while infections in Diptera and Hymenoptera were dominated by A-type Wolbachia. Other than these large-scale order-level associations, host and Wolbachia phylogenies revealed no (or very limited) cophylogeny. This points to the occurrence of frequent host switching events, including between insect orders, in the evolutionary history of the Wolbachia pandemic. While supergroup A and B genomes had distinct GC% and GC skew, and B genomes had a larger core gene set and tended to be longer, it was the abundance of copies of bacteriophage WO who was a strong determinant of Wolbachia genome size. Mining raw genome data generated for reference genome assemblies is a robust way of identifying and analysing cobiont genomes and giving greater ecological context for their hosts.
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8
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Takahashi S, Saito C, Koyama-Honda I, Mizushima N. Quantitative 3D correlative light and electron microscopy of organelle association during autophagy. Cell Struct Funct 2022; 47:89-99. [PMID: 36418108 PMCID: PMC10511054 DOI: 10.1247/csf.22071] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2022] [Accepted: 11/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
In macroautophagy, disk-shaped double-membrane structures called phagophores elongate to form cup-shaped structures, becoming autophagosomes upon closure. These autophagosomes then fuse with lysosomes to become autolysosomes and degrade engulfed material. Autophagosome formation is reported to involve other organelles, including the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and mitochondria. Organelles are also taken up by autophagosomes as autophagy cargos. However, few studies have performed systematic spatiotemporal analysis of inter-organelle relationships during macroautophagy. Here, we investigated the organelles in contact with phagophores, autophagosomes, and autolysosomes by using three-dimensional correlative light and electron microscopy with array tomography in cells starved 30 min. As previously reported, all phagophores associate with the ER. The surface area of phagophores in contact with the ER decreases gradually as they mature into autophagosomes and autolysosomes. However, the ER still associates with 92% of autophagosomes and 79% of autolysosomes, suggesting that most autophagosomes remain on the ER after closure and even when they fuse with lysosomes. In addition, we found that phagophores form frequently near other autophagic structures, suggesting the presence of potential hot spots for autophagosome formation. We also analyzed the contents of phagophores and autophagosomes and found that the ER is the most frequently engulfed organelle (detected in 65% of total phagophores and autophagosomes). These quantitative three-dimensional ultrastructural data provide insights into autophagosome-organelle relationships during macroautophagy.Key words: 3D-CLEM, autophagosome, electron microscopy, endoplasmic reticulum, lysosome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Satoru Takahashi
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
- Department of Neurosurgery, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Chieko Saito
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Ikuko Koyama-Honda
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Noboru Mizushima
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
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9
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Hargitai D, Kenéz L, Al-Lami M, Szenczi G, Lőrincz P, Juhász G. Autophagy controls Wolbachia infection upon bacterial damage and in aging Drosophila. Front Cell Dev Biol 2022; 10:976882. [PMID: 36299486 PMCID: PMC9589277 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2022.976882] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2022] [Accepted: 09/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Autophagy is a conserved catabolic process in eukaryotic cells that degrades intracellular components in lysosomes, often in an organelle-specific selective manner (mitophagy, ERphagy, etc). Cells also use autophagy as a defense mechanism, eliminating intracellular pathogens via selective degradation known as xenophagy. Wolbachia pipientis is a Gram-negative intracellular bacterium, which is one of the most common parasites on Earth affecting approximately half of terrestrial arthropods. Interestingly, infection grants the host resistance against other pathogens and modulates lifespan, so this bacterium resembles an endosymbiont. Here we demonstrate that Drosophila somatic cells normally degrade a subset of these bacterial cells, and autophagy is required for selective elimination of Wolbachia upon antibiotic damage. In line with these, Wolbachia overpopulates in autophagy-compromised animals during aging while its presence fails to affect host lifespan unlike in case of control flies. The autophagic degradation of Wolbachia thus represents a novel antibacterial mechanism that controls the propagation of this unique bacterium, behaving both as parasite and endosymbiont at the same time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dávid Hargitai
- Department of Anatomy, Cell and Developmental Biology, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Lili Kenéz
- Department of Anatomy, Cell and Developmental Biology, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Muna Al-Lami
- Department of Anatomy, Cell and Developmental Biology, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Győző Szenczi
- Department of Anatomy, Cell and Developmental Biology, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Péter Lőrincz
- Department of Anatomy, Cell and Developmental Biology, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
- *Correspondence: Péter Lőrincz, ; Gábor Juhász,
| | - Gábor Juhász
- Department of Anatomy, Cell and Developmental Biology, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
- Institute of Genetics, Biological Research Centre, Szeged, Hungary
- *Correspondence: Péter Lőrincz, ; Gábor Juhász,
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10
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Symbionts on the Brain: How
Wolbachia
Is Strictly Corralled in Some Neotropical
Drosophila
spp. mBio 2022; 13:e0118222. [PMID: 35862784 PMCID: PMC9426604 DOI: 10.1128/mbio.01182-22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Wolbachia
is a heritable alphaproteobacterial symbiont of arthropods and nematodes, famous for its repertoire of host manipulations, including cytoplasmic incompatibility. To be vertically transmitted,
Wolbachia
must efficiently colonize the female germ line, although somatic tissues outside the gonads are also infected.
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Abstract
Animal development is an inherently complex process that is regulated by highly conserved genomic networks, and the resulting phenotype may remain plastic in response to environmental signals. Despite development having been studied in a more natural setting for the past few decades, this framework often precludes the role of microbial prokaryotes in these processes. Here, we address how microbial symbioses impact animal development from the onset of gametogenesis through adulthood. We then provide a first assessment of which developmental processes may or may not be influenced by microbial symbioses and, in doing so, provide a holistic view of the budding discipline of developmental symbiosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tyler J Carrier
- GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research, Kiel 24105, Germany.,Zoological Institute, Christian-Albrechts University of Kiel, Kiel 24118, Germany
| | - Thomas C G Bosch
- Zoological Institute, Christian-Albrechts University of Kiel, Kiel 24118, Germany
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12
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Strunov A, Lerch S, Blanckenhorn WU, Miller WJ, Kapun M. Complex effects of environment and Wolbachia infections on the life history of Drosophila melanogaster hosts. J Evol Biol 2022; 35:788-802. [PMID: 35532932 PMCID: PMC9321091 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.14016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2021] [Revised: 04/01/2022] [Accepted: 04/12/2022] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Wolbachia bacteria are common endosymbionts of many arthropods found in gonads and various somatic tissues. They manipulate host reproduction to enhance their transmission and confer complex effects on fitness-related traits. Some of these effects can serve to increase the survival and transmission efficiency of Wolbachia in the host population. The Wolbachia-Drosophila melanogaster system represents a powerful model to study the evolutionary dynamics of host-microbe interactions and infections. Over the past decades, there has been a replacement of the ancestral wMelCS Wolbachia variant by the more recent wMel variant in worldwide D. melanogaster populations, but the reasons remain unknown. To investigate how environmental change and genetic variation of the symbiont affect host developmental and adult life-history traits, we compared effects of both Wolbachia variants and uninfected controls in wild-caught D. melanogaster strains at three developmental temperatures. While Wolbachia did not influence any developmental life-history traits, we found that both lifespan and fecundity of host females were increased without apparent fitness trade-offs. Interestingly, wMelCS-infected flies were more fecund than uninfected and wMel-infected flies. By contrast, males infected with wMel died sooner, indicating sex-specific effects of infection that are specific to the Wolbachia variant. Our study uncovered complex temperature-specific effects of Wolbachia infections, which suggests that symbiont-host interactions in nature are strongly dependent on the genotypes of both partners and the thermal environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anton Strunov
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental StudiesUniversity of ZurichZurichSwitzerland
| | - Sina Lerch
- Department of Cell and Developmental BiologyCenter for Anatomy and Cell BiologyMedical University of ViennaWienAustria
| | - Wolf U. Blanckenhorn
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental StudiesUniversity of ZurichZurichSwitzerland
| | - Wolfgang J. Miller
- Department of Cell and Developmental BiologyCenter for Anatomy and Cell BiologyMedical University of ViennaWienAustria
| | - Martin Kapun
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental StudiesUniversity of ZurichZurichSwitzerland
- Department of Cell and Developmental BiologyCenter for Anatomy and Cell BiologyMedical University of ViennaWienAustria
- Natural History Museum of ViennaWienAustria
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