1
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Lorenzi A, Legeai F, Jouan V, Girard PA, Strand MR, Ravallec M, Eychenne M, Bretaudeau A, Robin S, Rochefort J, Villegas M, Burke GR, Rebollo R, Nègre N, Volkoff AN. Identification of a viral gene essential for the genome replication of a domesticated endogenous virus in ichneumonid parasitoid wasps. PLoS Pathog 2024; 20:e1011980. [PMID: 38662774 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1011980] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2024] [Revised: 05/07/2024] [Accepted: 03/22/2024] [Indexed: 05/08/2024] Open
Abstract
Thousands of endoparasitoid wasp species in the families Braconidae and Ichneumonidae harbor "domesticated endogenous viruses" (DEVs) in their genomes. This study focuses on ichneumonid DEVs, named ichnoviruses (IVs). Large quantities of DNA-containing IV virions are produced in ovary calyx cells during the pupal and adult stages of female wasps. Females parasitize host insects by injecting eggs and virions into the body cavity. After injection, virions rapidly infect host cells which is followed by expression of IV genes that promote the successful development of wasp offspring. IV genomes consist of two components: proviral segment loci that serve as templates for circular dsDNAs that are packaged into capsids, and genes from an ancestral virus that produce virions. In this study, we generated a chromosome-scale genome assembly for Hyposoter didymator that harbors H. didymator ichnovirus (HdIV). We identified a total of 67 HdIV loci that are amplified in calyx cells during the wasp pupal stage. We then focused on an HdIV gene, U16, which is transcribed in calyx cells during the initial stages of replication. Sequence analysis indicated that U16 contains a conserved domain in primases from select other viruses. Knockdown of U16 by RNA interference inhibited virion morphogenesis in calyx cells. Genome-wide analysis indicated U16 knockdown also inhibited amplification of HdIV loci in calyx cells. Altogether, our results identified several previously unknown HdIV loci, demonstrated that all HdIV loci are amplified in calyx cells during the pupal stage, and showed that U16 is required for amplification and virion morphogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ange Lorenzi
- DGIMI, Univ Montpellier, INRAE, Montpellier, France
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, United States of America
| | - Fabrice Legeai
- INRAE, UMR Institut de Génétique, Environnement et Protection des Plantes (IGEPP), BioInformatics Platform for Agroecosystems Arthropods (BIPAA), Campus Beaulieu, Rennes, France
- INRIA, IRISA, GenOuest Core Facility, Campus de Beaulieu, Rennes, France
| | | | | | - Michael R Strand
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, United States of America
| | | | | | - Anthony Bretaudeau
- INRAE, UMR Institut de Génétique, Environnement et Protection des Plantes (IGEPP), BioInformatics Platform for Agroecosystems Arthropods (BIPAA), Campus Beaulieu, Rennes, France
- INRIA, IRISA, GenOuest Core Facility, Campus de Beaulieu, Rennes, France
| | - Stéphanie Robin
- INRAE, UMR Institut de Génétique, Environnement et Protection des Plantes (IGEPP), BioInformatics Platform for Agroecosystems Arthropods (BIPAA), Campus Beaulieu, Rennes, France
- INRIA, IRISA, GenOuest Core Facility, Campus de Beaulieu, Rennes, France
| | | | | | - Gaelen R Burke
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, United States of America
| | - Rita Rebollo
- INRAE, INSA Lyon, BF2I, UMR203, Villeurbanne, France
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2
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Kang Z, Martinson VG, Wang Y, Coon KL, Valzania L, Strand MR. Increased environmental microbial diversity reduces the disease risk of a mosquitocidal pathogen. mBio 2024; 15:e0272623. [PMID: 38055338 PMCID: PMC10790785 DOI: 10.1128/mbio.02726-23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2023] [Accepted: 10/25/2023] [Indexed: 12/08/2023] Open
Abstract
IMPORTANCE The host-specific microbiotas of animals can both reduce and increase disease risks from pathogens. In contrast, how environmental microbial communities affect pathogens is largely unexplored. Aquatic habitats are of interest because water enables environmental microbes to readily interact with animal pathogens. Here, we focused on mosquitoes, which are important disease vectors as terrestrial adults but are strictly aquatic as larvae. We identified a pathogen of mosquito larvae from the field as a strain of Chromobacterium haemolyticum. Comparative genomic analyses and functional assays indicate this strain and other Chromobacterium are mosquitocidal but are also opportunistic pathogens of other animals. We also identify a critical role for diversity of the environmental microbiota in disease risk. Our study characterizes both the virulence mechanisms of a pathogen and the role of the environmental microbiota in disease risk to an aquatic animal of significant importance to human health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhiwei Kang
- Hebei University, College of Life Sciences, Baoding, Hebei, China
| | - Vincent G. Martinson
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA
- Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
| | - Yin Wang
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA
| | - Kerri L. Coon
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA
- Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Luca Valzania
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA
- Institut Curie, Paris, France
| | - Michael R. Strand
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA
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3
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Biedler JK, Aryan A, Qi Y, Wang A, Martinson EO, Hartman DA, Yang F, Sharma A, Morton KS, Potters M, Chen C, Dobson SL, Ebel GD, Kading RC, Paulson S, Xue RD, Strand MR, Tu Z. On the Origin and Evolution of the Mosquito Male-determining Factor Nix. Mol Biol Evol 2024; 41:msad276. [PMID: 38128148 PMCID: PMC10798136 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msad276] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2023] [Revised: 12/02/2023] [Accepted: 12/08/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023] Open
Abstract
The mosquito family Culicidae is divided into 2 subfamilies named the Culicinae and Anophelinae. Nix, the dominant male-determining factor, has only been found in the culicines Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus, 2 important arboviral vectors that belong to the subgenus Stegomyia. Here we performed sex-specific whole-genome sequencing and RNAseq of divergent mosquito species and explored additional male-inclusive datasets to investigate the distribution of Nix. Except for the Culex genus, Nix homologs were found in all species surveyed from the Culicinae subfamily, including 12 additional species from 3 highly divergent tribes comprising 4 genera, suggesting Nix originated at least 133 to 165 million years ago (MYA). Heterologous expression of 1 of 3 divergent Nix open reading frames (ORFs) in Ae. aegypti resulted in partial masculinization of genetic females as evidenced by morphology and doublesex splicing. Phylogenetic analysis suggests Nix is related to femaleless (fle), a recently described intermediate sex-determining factor found exclusively in anopheline mosquitoes. Nix from all species has a conserved structure, including 3 RNA-recognition motifs (RRMs), as does fle. However, Nix has evolved at a much faster rate than fle. The RRM3 of both Nix and fle are distantly related to the single RRM of a widely distributed and conserved splicing factor transformer-2 (tra2). The RRM3-based phylogenetic analysis suggests this domain in Nix and fle may have evolved from tra2 or a tra2-related gene in a common ancestor of mosquitoes. Our results provide insights into the evolution of sex determination in mosquitoes and will inform broad applications of mosquito-control strategies based on manipulating sex ratios toward nonbiting males.
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Affiliation(s)
- James K Biedler
- Department of Biochemistry, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
- Fralin Life Sciences Institute, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
| | - Azadeh Aryan
- Department of Biochemistry, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
- Fralin Life Sciences Institute, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
| | - Yumin Qi
- Department of Biochemistry, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
- Fralin Life Sciences Institute, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
| | - Aihua Wang
- Department of Biochemistry, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
- Fralin Life Sciences Institute, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
| | - Ellen O Martinson
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Daniel A Hartman
- Center for Vector-borne Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
| | - Fan Yang
- Department of Entomology, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
| | - Atashi Sharma
- Department of Biochemistry, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
- Fralin Life Sciences Institute, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
| | - Katherine S Morton
- Department of Biochemistry, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
- Fralin Life Sciences Institute, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
| | - Mark Potters
- Department of Biochemistry, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
- Fralin Life Sciences Institute, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
| | - Chujia Chen
- Fralin Life Sciences Institute, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
- Genetics Bioinformatics and Computational Biology PhD program, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
| | - Stephen L Dobson
- Department of Entomology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40503, USA
- MosquitoMate, Inc., Lexington, KY 40502, USA
| | - Gregory D Ebel
- Center for Vector-borne Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
| | - Rebekah C Kading
- Center for Vector-borne Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
| | - Sally Paulson
- Department of Entomology, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
| | - Rui-De Xue
- Anastasia Mosquito Control District, St. Augustine, FL 32092, USA
| | - Michael R Strand
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Zhijian Tu
- Department of Biochemistry, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
- Fralin Life Sciences Institute, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
- Genetics Bioinformatics and Computational Biology PhD program, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
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4
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Chen K, Dou X, Eum JH, Harrison RE, Brown MR, Strand MR. Insulin-like peptides and ovary ecdysteroidogenic hormone differentially stimulate physiological processes regulating egg formation in the mosquito Aedes aegypti. Insect Biochem Mol Biol 2023; 163:104028. [PMID: 37913852 PMCID: PMC10842226 DOI: 10.1016/j.ibmb.2023.104028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2023] [Revised: 10/12/2023] [Accepted: 10/23/2023] [Indexed: 11/03/2023]
Abstract
Mosquitoes including Aedes aegypti are human disease vectors because females must blood feed to produce and lay eggs. Blood feeding triggers insulin-insulin growth factor signaling (IIS) which regulates several physiological processes required for egg development. A. aegypti encodes 8 insulin-like peptides (ILPs) and one insulin-like receptor (IR) plus ovary ecdysteroidogenic hormone (OEH) that also activates IIS through the OEH receptor (OEHR). In this study, we assessed the expression of A. aegypti ILPs and OEH during a gonadotrophic cycle and produced each that were functionally characterized to further understand their roles in regulating egg formation. All A. aegypti ILPs and OEH were expressed during a gonadotrophic cycle. Five ILPs (1, 3, 4, 7, 8) and OEH were specifically expressed in the head, while antibodies to ILP3 and OEH indicated each was released after blood feeding from ventricular axons that terminate on the anterior midgut. A subset of ILP family members and OEH stimulated nutrient storage in previtellogenic females before blood feeding, whereas most IIS-dependent processes after blood feeding were activated by one or more of the brain-specific ILPs and/or OEH. ILPs and OEH with different biological activities also exhibited differences in IIS as measured by phosphorylation of the IR, phosphoinositide 3-kinase/Akt kinase (AKT) and mitogen-activated protein kinase/extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK). Altogether, our results provide the first results that compare the functional activities of all ILP family members and OEH produced by an insect.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kangkang Chen
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
| | - Xiaoyi Dou
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
| | - Jai Hoon Eum
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
| | - Ruby E Harrison
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
| | - Mark R Brown
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA.
| | - Michael R Strand
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA.
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5
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Lorenzi A, Arvin MJ, Burke GR, Strand MR. Functional characterization of Microplitis demolitor bracovirus genes that encode nucleocapsid components. J Virol 2023; 97:e0081723. [PMID: 37877717 PMCID: PMC10688341 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.00817-23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2023] [Accepted: 09/19/2023] [Indexed: 10/26/2023] Open
Abstract
IMPORTANCE Understanding how bracoviruses (BVs) function in wasps is of broad interest in the study of virus evolution. This study characterizes most of the Microplitis demolitor bracovirus (MdBV) genes whose products are nucleocapsid components. Results indicate several genes unknown outside of nudiviruses and BVs are essential for normal capsid assembly. Results also indicate most MdBV tyrosine recombinase family members and the DNA binding protein p6.9-1 are required for DNA processing and packaging into nucleocapsids.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ange Lorenzi
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA
| | - Michael J. Arvin
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA
| | - Gaelen R. Burke
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA
| | - Michael R. Strand
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA
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6
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Harrison RE, Yang X, Eum JH, Martinson VG, Dou X, Valzania L, Wang Y, Boyd BM, Brown MR, Strand MR. The mosquito Aedes aegypti requires a gut microbiota for normal fecundity, longevity and vector competence. Commun Biol 2023; 6:1154. [PMID: 37957247 PMCID: PMC10643675 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-023-05545-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2023] [Accepted: 11/03/2023] [Indexed: 11/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Mosquitoes shift from detritus-feeding larvae to blood-feeding adults that can vector pathogens to humans and other vertebrates. The sugar and blood meals adults consume are rich in carbohydrates and protein but are deficient in other nutrients including B vitamins. Facultatively hematophagous insects like mosquitoes have been hypothesized to avoid B vitamin deficiencies by carryover of resources from the larval stage. However, prior experimental studies have also used adults with a gut microbiota that could provision B vitamins. Here, we used Aedes aegypti, which is the primary vector of dengue virus (DENV), to ask if carryover effects enable normal function in adults with no microbiota. We show that adults with no gut microbiota produce fewer eggs, live longer with lower metabolic rates, and exhibit reduced DENV vector competence but are rescued by provisioning B vitamins or recolonizing the gut with B vitamin autotrophs. We conclude carryover effects do not enable normal function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruby E Harrison
- Department of Entomology and Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602, USA
- Department of Cellular Biology and Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602, USA
| | - Xiushuai Yang
- Department of Entomology and Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602, USA
| | - Jai Hoon Eum
- Department of Entomology and Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602, USA
| | - Vincent G Martinson
- Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, 87131, USA
| | - Xiaoyi Dou
- Department of Entomology and Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602, USA
| | - Luca Valzania
- Institut Curie, 20 Rue d'Ulm, 75238, Paris, Cedex 05, France
| | - Yin Wang
- Department of Entomology and Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602, USA
| | - Bret M Boyd
- Center for Biological Data Science, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, 23284, USA
| | - Mark R Brown
- Department of Entomology and Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602, USA
| | - Michael R Strand
- Department of Entomology and Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602, USA.
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7
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Phipps BL, Brown MR, Strand MR. Insulin-like peptides regulate oogenesis by stimulating ovarian ecdysteroid production in the Indian malaria mosquito Anopheles stephensi. bioRxiv 2023:2023.04.06.535964. [PMID: 37066167 PMCID: PMC10104146 DOI: 10.1101/2023.04.06.535964] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/18/2023]
Abstract
Females of many mosquito species feed on vertebrate blood to produce eggs, making them effective disease vectors. In the dengue vector Aedes aegypti , blood feeding signals the brain to release ovary ecdysteroidogenic hormone (OEH) and insulin-like peptides (ILPs) that trigger ecdysteroid production by the ovaries. These ecdysteroids regulate synthesis of the yolk protein vitellogenin (Vg) that is packaged into eggs. Less is known about the reproductive biology of Anopheles mosquitoes, which pose a greater public health threat than Aedes spp. because they are competent to transmit mammalian malaria. ILPs can trigger An. stephensi ovaries to secrete ecdysteroids. Unlike Ae. aegypti , Anopheles also transfer ecdysteroids from Anopheles males to females during mating. To elucidate the role of OEH and ILPs in An. stephensi , we decapitated blood-fed females to ablate the source of these peptides and injected them with each hormone. Yolk deposition into oocytes was abolished in decapitated females and rescued by ILP injection. ILP activity was dependent on blood feeding and little change in triglyceride and glycogen stores was observed in response to blood-feeding, suggesting this species requires nutrients from blood to form eggs. We also measured egg maturation, ecdysteroid titers, and yolk protein expression in mated and virgin females. Although yolk deposition into developing oocytes was significantly reduced in virgins compared to mated females, no differences in ecdysteroid titers or Vg transcript abundance were detected between these groups. 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E) stimulated Vg expression in female fat bodies in primary culture. Given these results, we conclude that ILPs control egg formation by regulating ecdysteroid production in the ovaries.
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8
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Dou X, Chen K, Brown MR, Strand MR. Multiple endocrine factors regulate nutrient mobilization and storage in Aedes aegypti during a gonadotrophic cycle. Insect Sci 2023; 30:425-442. [PMID: 36056560 DOI: 10.1111/1744-7917.13110] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2022] [Revised: 08/20/2022] [Accepted: 08/22/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Anautogenous mosquitoes must blood feed on a vertebrate host to produce eggs. Each gonadotrophic cycle is subdivided into a sugar-feeding previtellogenic phase that produces primary follicles and a blood meal-activated vitellogenic phase in which large numbers of eggs synchronously mature and are laid. Multiple endocrine factors including juvenile hormone (JH), insulin-like peptides (ILPs), ovary ecdysteroidogenic hormone (OEH), and 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E) coordinate each gonadotrophic cycle. Egg formation also requires nutrients from feeding that are stored in the fat body. Regulation of egg formation is best understood in Aedes aegypti but the role different endocrine factors play in regulating nutrient mobilization and storage remains unclear. In this study, we report that adult female Ae. aegypti maintained triacylglycerol (TAG) stores during the previtellogenic phase of the first gonadotrophic cycle while glycogen stores declined. In contrast, TAG and glycogen stores were rapidly mobilized during the vitellogenic phase and then replenishment. Several genes encoding enzymes with functions in TAG and glycogen metabolism were differentially expressed in the fat body, which suggested regulation was mediated in part at the transcriptional level. Gain of function assays indicated that stored nutrients were primarily mobilized by adipokinetic hormone (AKH) while juvenoids and OEH regulated replenishment. ILP3 further showed evidence of negatively regulating certain lipolytic enzymes. Loss of function assays indicated AKH depends on the AKH receptor (AKHR) for function. Altogether, our results indicate that the opposing activities of different hormones regulate nutrient stores during a gonadotrophic cycle in Ae. aegypti.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoyi Dou
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, 30602, United States
| | - Kangkang Chen
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, 30602, United States
- Department of Plant Protection, College of Horticulture and Plant Protection, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province, China
| | - Mark R Brown
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, 30602, United States
| | - Michael R Strand
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, 30602, United States
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Higashi CHV, Nichols WL, Chevignon G, Patel V, Allison SE, Kim KL, Strand MR, Oliver KM. An aphid symbiont confers protection against a specialized RNA virus, another increases vulnerability to the same pathogen. Mol Ecol 2023; 32:936-950. [PMID: 36458425 PMCID: PMC10107813 DOI: 10.1111/mec.16801] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2022] [Revised: 11/24/2022] [Accepted: 11/29/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022]
Abstract
Insects often harbour heritable symbionts that provide defence against specialized natural enemies, yet little is known about symbiont protection when hosts face simultaneous threats. In pea aphids (Acyrthosiphon pisum), the facultative endosymbiont Hamiltonella defensa confers protection against the parasitoid, Aphidius ervi, and Regiella insecticola protects against aphid-specific fungal pathogens, including Pandora neoaphidis. Here, we investigated whether these two common aphid symbionts protect against a specialized virus A. pisum virus (APV), and whether their antifungal and antiparasitoid services are impacted by APV infection. We found that APV imposed large fitness costs on symbiont-free aphids and these costs were elevated in aphids also housing H. defensa. In contrast, APV titres were significantly reduced and costs to APV infection were largely eliminated in aphids with R. insecticola. To our knowledge, R. insecticola is the first aphid symbiont shown to protect against a viral pathogen, and only the second arthropod symbiont reported to do so. In contrast, APV infection did not impact the protective services of either R. insecticola or H. defensa. To better understand APV biology, we produced five genomes and examined transmission routes. We found that moderate rates of vertical transmission, combined with horizontal transfer through food plants, were the major route of APV spread, although lateral transfer by parasitoids also occurred. Transmission was unaffected by facultative symbionts. In summary, the presence and species identity of facultative symbionts resulted in highly divergent outcomes for aphids infected with APV, while not impacting defensive services that target other enemies. These findings add to the diverse phenotypes conferred by aphid symbionts, and to the growing body of work highlighting extensive variation in symbiont-mediated interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - William L Nichols
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Georgia, Athens, USA
| | - Germain Chevignon
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Georgia, Athens, USA
| | - Vilas Patel
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Georgia, Athens, USA
| | - Suzanne E Allison
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Georgia, Athens, USA
| | - Kyungsun Lee Kim
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Georgia, Athens, USA
| | - Michael R Strand
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Georgia, Athens, USA
| | - Kerry M Oliver
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Georgia, Athens, USA
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10
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Zhou S, Lu Y, Chen J, Pan Z, Pang L, Wang Y, Zhang Q, Strand MR, Chen XX, Huang J. Parasite reliance on its host gut microbiota for nutrition and survival. ISME J 2022; 16:2574-2586. [PMID: 35941172 PMCID: PMC9561699 DOI: 10.1038/s41396-022-01301-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2022] [Revised: 07/20/2022] [Accepted: 07/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
Studying the microbial symbionts of eukaryotic hosts has revealed a range of interactions that benefit host biology. Most eukaryotes are also infected by parasites that adversely affect host biology for their own benefit. However, it is largely unclear whether the ability of parasites to develop in hosts also depends on host-associated symbionts, e.g., the gut microbiota. Here, we studied the parasitic wasp Leptopilina boulardi (Lb) and its host Drosophila melanogaster. Results showed that Lb successfully develops in conventional hosts (CN) with a gut microbiota but fails to develop in axenic hosts (AX) without a gut microbiota. We determined that developing Lb larvae consume fat body cells that store lipids. We also determined that much larger amounts of lipid accumulate in fat body cells of parasitized CN hosts than parasitized AX hosts. CN hosts parasitized by Lb exhibited large increases in the abundance of the bacterium Acetobacter pomorum in the gut, but did not affect the abundance of Lactobacillus fructivorans which is another common member of the host gut microbiota. However, AX hosts inoculated with A. pomorum and/or L. fructivorans did not rescue development of Lb. In contrast, AX larvae inoculated with A. pomorum plus other identified gut community members including a Bacillus sp. substantially rescued Lb development. Rescue was further associated with increased lipid accumulation in host fat body cells. Insulin-like peptides increased in brain neurosecretory cells of parasitized CN larvae. Lipid accumulation in the fat body of CN hosts was further associated with reduced Bmm lipase activity mediated by insulin/insulin-like growth factor signaling (IIS). Altogether, our results identify a previously unknown role for the gut microbiota in defining host permissiveness for a parasite. Our findings also identify a new paradigm for parasite manipulation of host metabolism that depends on insulin signaling and the gut microbiota.
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11
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Harrison RE, Chen K, South L, Lorenzi A, Brown MR, Strand MR. Ad libitum consumption of protein- or peptide-sucrose solutions stimulates egg formation by prolonging the vitellogenic phase of oogenesis in anautogenous mosquitoes. Parasit Vectors 2022; 15:127. [PMID: 35413939 PMCID: PMC9004051 DOI: 10.1186/s13071-022-05252-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2022] [Accepted: 03/22/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Anautogenous mosquitoes commonly consume nectars and other solutions containing sugar but are thought to only produce eggs in discrete gonadotrophic cycles after blood-feeding on a vertebrate host. However, some anautogenous species are known to produce eggs if amino acids in the form of protein are added to a sugar solution. Unclear is how different sources of amino acids in sugar solutions affect the processes that regulate egg formation and whether responses vary among species. In this study, we addressed these questions by focusing on Aedes aegypti and conducting some comparative assays with Aedes albopictus, Anopheles gambiae, Anopheles stephensi and Culex quinquefasciatus. Methods Adult female mosquitoes were fed sugar solutions containing amino acids, peptides or protein. Markers for activation of a gonadotrophic cycle including yolk deposition into oocytes, oviposition, ovary ecdysteroidogenesis, expression of juvenile hormone and 20-hydroxyecdysone-responsive genes, and adult blood-feeding behavior were then measured. Results The five anautogenous species we studied produced eggs when fed two proteins (bovine serum albumin, hemoglobin) or a mixture of peptides (tryptone) in 10% sucrose but deposited only small amounts of yolk into oocytes when fed amino acids in 10% sucrose. Focusing on Ae. aegypti, cultures were maintained for multiple generations by feeding adult females protein- or tryptone-sugar meals. Ad libitum access to protein- or tryptone-sugar solutions protracted production of ecdysteroids by the ovaries, vitellogenin by the fat body and protease activity by the midgut albeit at levels that were lower than in blood-fed females. Females also exhibited semi-continual oogenesis and repressed host-seeking behavior. Conclusions Several anautogenous mosquitoes produce eggs when provided ad libitum access to protein- or peptide-sugar meals, but several aspects of oogenesis also differ from females that blood-feed. Graphical Abstract ![]()
Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13071-022-05252-4.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruby E Harrison
- Department of Entomology, The University of Georgia, 120 Cedar Street, 420 Biological Sciences, Athens, GA, 30602, USA
| | - Kangkang Chen
- Department of Entomology, The University of Georgia, 120 Cedar Street, 420 Biological Sciences, Athens, GA, 30602, USA.,Department of Plant Protection, College of Horticulture and Plant Protection, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, 225009, China
| | - Lilith South
- Department of Entomology, The University of Georgia, 120 Cedar Street, 420 Biological Sciences, Athens, GA, 30602, USA
| | - Ange Lorenzi
- Department of Entomology, The University of Georgia, 120 Cedar Street, 420 Biological Sciences, Athens, GA, 30602, USA
| | - Mark R Brown
- Department of Entomology, The University of Georgia, 120 Cedar Street, 420 Biological Sciences, Athens, GA, 30602, USA
| | - Michael R Strand
- Department of Entomology, The University of Georgia, 120 Cedar Street, 420 Biological Sciences, Athens, GA, 30602, USA.
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12
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Martinson EO, Chen K, Valzania L, Brown MR, Strand MR. Insulin-like peptide 3 stimulates hemocytes to proliferate in anautogenous and facultatively autogenous mosquitoes. J Exp Biol 2022; 225:274275. [PMID: 35129195 PMCID: PMC8976944 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.243460] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2021] [Accepted: 01/31/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Most mosquito species are anautogenous, which means they must blood feed on a vertebrate host to produce eggs, while a few are autogenous and can produce eggs without blood feeding. Egg formation is best understood in the anautogenous mosquito Aedes aegypti, where insulin-like peptides (ILPs), ovary ecdysteroidogenic hormone (OEH) and 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E) interact to regulate gonadotrophic cycles. Circulating hemocytes also approximately double in abundance in conjunction with a gonadotrophic cycle, but the factors responsible for stimulating this increase remain unclear. Focusing on Ae. aegypti, we determined that hemocyte abundance similarly increased in intact blood-fed females and decapitated blood-fed females that were injected with ILP3, whereas OEH, 20E or heat-killed bacteria had no stimulatory activity. ILP3 upregulated insulin-insulin growth factor signaling in hemocytes, but few genes - including almost no transcripts for immune factors - were differentially expressed. ILP3 also stimulated circulating hemocytes to increase in two other anautogenous (Anopheles gambiae and Culex quinquefasciatus) and two facultatively autogenous mosquitoes (Aedes atropalpus and Culex pipiens molestus), but had no stimulatory activity in the obligately autogenous mosquito Toxorhynchites amboinensis. Altogether, our results identify ILPs as the primary regulators of hemocyte proliferation in association with egg formation, but also suggest this response has been lost in the evolution of obligate autogeny.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ellen O Martinson
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Kangkang Chen
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Luca Valzania
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Mark R Brown
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Michael R Strand
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
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13
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Lorenzi A, Strand MR, Burke GR, Volkoff AN. Identifying bracovirus and ichnovirus genes involved in virion morphogenesis. Curr Opin Insect Sci 2022; 49:63-70. [PMID: 34839031 DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2021.11.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2021] [Revised: 11/03/2021] [Accepted: 11/18/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Bracoviruses (BVs) and ichnoviruses (IVs) evolved from different endogenized viruses but through convergence have been coopted by parasitoids in the families Braconidae and Ichneumonidae for similar functions in parasitizing hosts. Experimentally studying the role of endogenized viral genes in virion morphogenesis remains a key challenge in the study of BVs and IVs. Here we summarize how multiomics, electron microscopy, and RNA interference (RNAi) methods have provided new insights about BV and IV gene function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ange Lorenzi
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens 30602, GA, USA.
| | - Michael R Strand
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens 30602, GA, USA
| | - Gaelen R Burke
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens 30602, GA, USA
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14
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Drezen JM, Bézier A, Burke GR, Strand MR. Bracoviruses, ichnoviruses, and virus-like particles from parasitoid wasps retain many features of their virus ancestors. Curr Opin Insect Sci 2022; 49:93-100. [PMID: 34954138 DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2021.12.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2021] [Revised: 12/08/2021] [Accepted: 12/12/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Animal genomes commonly contain genes or sequences that have been acquired from different types of viruses. The vast majority of these endogenous virus elements (EVEs) are inactive or consist of only a small number of components that show no evidence of cooption for new functions or interaction. Unlike most EVEs, bracoviruses (BVs), ichnoviruses (IVs) and virus-like particles (VLPs) in parasitoid wasps have evolved through retention and interaction of many genes from virus ancestors. Here, we discuss current understanding of BV, IV and VLP evolution along with associated implications for what constitutes a virus. We suggest that BVs and IVs are domesticated endogenous viruses (DEVs) that differ in several important ways from other known EVEs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jean-Michel Drezen
- Institut de Recherche sur la Biologie de l'Insecte, UMR 7261 CNRS - Université de Tours, Tours, France.
| | - Annie Bézier
- Institut de Recherche sur la Biologie de l'Insecte, UMR 7261 CNRS - Université de Tours, Tours, France
| | - Gaelen R Burke
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Michael R Strand
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA.
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15
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Boyd BM, Chevignon G, Patel V, Oliver KM, Strand MR. Evolutionary genomics of APSE: a tailed phage that lysogenically converts the bacterium Hamiltonella defensa into a heritable protective symbiont of aphids. Virol J 2021; 18:219. [PMID: 34758862 PMCID: PMC8579659 DOI: 10.1186/s12985-021-01685-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2021] [Accepted: 11/01/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Most phages infect free-living bacteria but a few have been identified that infect heritable symbionts of insects or other eukaryotes. Heritable symbionts are usually specialized and isolated from other bacteria with little known about the origins of associated phages. Hamiltonella defensa is a heritable bacterial symbiont of aphids that is usually infected by a tailed, double-stranded DNA phage named APSE. Methods We conducted comparative genomic and phylogenetic studies to determine how APSE is related to other phages and prophages. Results Each APSE genome was organized into four modules and two predicted functional units. Gene content and order were near-fully conserved in modules 1 and 2, which encode predicted DNA metabolism genes, and module 4, which encodes predicted virion assembly genes. Gene content of module 3, which contains predicted toxin, holin and lysozyme genes differed among haplotypes. Comparisons to other sequenced phages suggested APSE genomes are mosaics with modules 1 and 2 sharing similarities with Bordetella-Bcep-Xylostella fastidiosa-like podoviruses, module 4 sharing similarities with P22-like podoviruses, and module 3 sharing no similarities with known phages. Comparisons to other sequenced bacterial genomes identified APSE-like elements in other heritable insect symbionts (Arsenophonus spp.) and enteric bacteria in the family Morganellaceae. Conclusions APSEs are most closely related to phage elements in the genus Arsenophonus and other bacteria in the Morganellaceae. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12985-021-01685-y.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bret M Boyd
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia Athens, Athens, GA, USA. .,Center for Biological Data Science, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA.
| | - Germain Chevignon
- Laboratoire de Génétique et Pathologie des Mollusques Marins, IFREMER, La Tremblade, France
| | - Vilas Patel
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia Athens, Athens, GA, USA
| | - Kerry M Oliver
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia Athens, Athens, GA, USA
| | - Michael R Strand
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia Athens, Athens, GA, USA.
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16
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Abstract
Gut microbes and diet can both strongly affect the biology of multicellular animals, but it is often difficult to disentangle microbiota–diet interactions due to the complex microbial communities many animals harbor and the nutritionally variable diets they consume. While theoretical and empirical studies indicate that greater microbiota diversity is beneficial for many animal hosts, there have been few tests performed in aquatic invertebrates. Most mosquito species are aquatic detritivores during their juvenile stages that harbor variable microbiotas and consume diets that range from nutrient rich to nutrient poor. In this study, we produced a gnotobiotic model that allowed us to examine how interactions between specific gut microbes and diets affect the fitness of Aedes aegypti, the yellow fever mosquito. Using a simplified seven-member community of bacteria (ALL7) and various laboratory and natural mosquito diets, we allowed larval mosquitoes to develop under different microbial and dietary conditions and measured the resulting time to adulthood and adult size. Larvae inoculated with the ALL7 or a more complex community developed similarly when fed nutrient-rich rat chow or fish food laboratory diets, whereas larvae inoculated with individual bacterial members of the ALL7 community exhibited few differences in development when fed a rat chow diet but exhibited large differences in performance when fed a fish food diet. In contrast, the ALL7 community largely failed to support the growth of larvae fed field-collected detritus diets unless supplemented with additional protein or yeast. Collectively, our results indicate that mosquito development and fitness are strongly contingent on both diet and microbial community composition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vincent G Martinson
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States.,Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, United States
| | - Michael R Strand
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States
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17
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Arvin MJ, Lorenzi A, Burke GR, Strand MR. MdBVe46 is an envelope protein that is required for virion formation by Microplitis demolitor bracovirus. J Gen Virol 2021; 102:001565. [PMID: 33591247 PMCID: PMC8515855 DOI: 10.1099/jgv.0.001565] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2020] [Accepted: 01/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Bracoviruses (BVs) are endogenized nudiviruses that braconid parasitoid wasps have coopted for functions in parasitizing hosts. Microplitis demolitor is a braconid wasp that produces Microplitis demolitor bracovirus (MdBV) and parasitizes the larval stage of the moth Chrysodeixis includens. Some BV core genes are homologs of genes also present in baculoviruses while others are only known from nudiviruses or other BVs. In this study, we had two main goals. The first was to separate MdBV virions into envelope and nucleocapsid fractions before proteomic analysis to identify core gene products that were preferentially associated with one fraction or the other. Results indicated that nearly all MdBV baculovirus-like gene products that were detected by our proteomic analysis had similar distributions to homologs in the occlusion-derived form of baculoviruses. Several core gene products unknown from baculoviruses were also identified as envelope or nucleocapsid components. Our second goal was to functionally characterize a core gene unknown from baculoviruses that was originally named HzNVorf64-like. Immunoblotting assays supported our proteomic data that identified HzNVorf64-like as an envelope protein. We thus renamed HzNVorf64-like as MdBVe46, which we further hypothesized was important for infection of C. includens. Knockdown of MdBVe46 by RNA interference (RNAi) greatly reduced transcript and protein abundance. Knockdown of MdBVe46 also altered virion morphogenesis, near-fully inhibited infection of C. includens, and significantly reduced the proportion of hosts that were successfully parasitized by M. demolitor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael J. Arvin
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Ange Lorenzi
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Gaelen R. Burke
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Michael R. Strand
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
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18
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Harrison RE, Brown MR, Strand MR. Whole blood and blood components from vertebrates differentially affect egg formation in three species of anautogenous mosquitoes. Parasit Vectors 2021; 14:119. [PMID: 33627180 PMCID: PMC7905675 DOI: 10.1186/s13071-021-04594-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2020] [Accepted: 01/11/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Most female mosquitoes are anautogenous and must blood feed on a vertebrate host to produce eggs. Prior studies show that the number of eggs females lay per clutch correlates with the volume of blood ingested and that protein is the most important macronutrient for egg formation. In contrast, how whole blood, blood fractions and specific blood proteins from different vertebrates affect egg formation is less clear. Since egg formation is best understood in Aedes aegypti, we examined how blood and blood components from different vertebrates affect this species and two others: the malaria vector Anopheles gambiae and arbovirus vector Culex quinquefasciatus. Methods Adult female mosquitoes were fed blood, blood fractions and purified major blood proteins from different vertebrate hosts. Markers of reproductive response including ovary ecdysteroidogenesis, yolk deposition into oocytes and number of mature eggs produced were measured. Results Ae. aegypti, An. gambiae and C. quinquefasciatus responded differently to meals of whole blood, plasma or blood cells from human, rat, chicken and turkey hosts. We observed more similarities between the anthropophiles Ae. aegypti and An. gambiae than the ornithophile C. quinquefasciatus. Focusing on Ae. aegypti, the major plasma-derived proteins (serum albumin, fibrinogen and globulins) differentially stimulated egg formation as a function of vertebrate host source. The major blood cell protein, hemoglobin, stimulated yolk deposition when from pigs but not humans, cows or sheep. Serum albumins from different vertebrates also variably affected egg formation. Bovine serum albumin (BSA) stimulated ovary ecdysteroidogenesis, but more weakly induced digestive enzyme activities than whole blood. In contrast, BSA-derived peptides and free amino acids had no stimulatory effects on ecdysteroidogenesis or yolk deposition into oocytes. Conclusions Whole blood, blood fractions and specific blood proteins supported egg formation in three species of anautogenous mosquitoes but specific responses varied with the vertebrate source of the blood components tested.![]()
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruby E Harrison
- Department of Entomology, The University of Georgia, 120 Cedar Street, 420 Biological Sciences, Athens, GA, 30602, USA
| | - Mark R Brown
- Department of Entomology, The University of Georgia, 120 Cedar Street, 420 Biological Sciences, Athens, GA, 30602, USA
| | - Michael R Strand
- Department of Entomology, The University of Georgia, 120 Cedar Street, 420 Biological Sciences, Athens, GA, 30602, USA.
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19
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Patel V, Chevignon G, Manzano-Marín A, Brandt JW, Strand MR, Russell JA, Oliver KM. Cultivation-Assisted Genome of Candidatus Fukatsuia symbiotica; the Enigmatic "X-Type" Symbiont of Aphids. Genome Biol Evol 2020; 11:3510-3522. [PMID: 31725149 PMCID: PMC7145644 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evz252] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/13/2019] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Heritable symbionts are common in terrestrial arthropods and often provide beneficial services to hosts. Unlike obligate, nutritional symbionts that largely persist under strict host control within specialized host cells, heritable facultative symbionts exhibit large variation in within-host lifestyles and services rendered with many retaining the capacity to transition among roles. One enigmatic symbiont, Candidatus Fukatsuia symbiotica, frequently infects aphids with reported roles ranging from pathogen, defensive symbiont, mutualism exploiter, and nutritional co-obligate symbiont. Here, we used an in vitro culture-assisted protocol to sequence the genome of a facultative strain of Fukatsuia from pea aphids (Acyrthosiphon pisum). Phylogenetic and genomic comparisons indicate that Fukatsuia is an aerobic heterotroph, which together with Regiella insecticola and Hamiltonella defensa form a clade of heritable facultative symbionts within the Yersiniaceae (Enterobacteriales). These three heritable facultative symbionts largely share overlapping inventories of genes associated with housekeeping functions, metabolism, and nutrient acquisition, while varying in complements of mobile DNA. One unusual feature of Fukatsuia is its strong tendency to occur as a coinfection with H. defensa. However, the overall similarity of gene inventories among aphid heritable facultative symbionts suggests that metabolic complementarity is not the basis for coinfection, unless playing out on a H. defensa strain-specific basis. We also compared the pea aphid Fukatsuia with a strain from the aphid Cinara confinis (Lachninae) where it is reported to have transitioned to co-obligate status to support decaying Buchnera function. Overall, the two genomes are very similar with no clear genomic signatures consistent with such a transition, which suggests co-obligate status in C. confinis was a recent event.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vilas Patel
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia
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20
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Thomas GWC, Dohmen E, Hughes DST, Murali SC, Poelchau M, Glastad K, Anstead CA, Ayoub NA, Batterham P, Bellair M, Binford GJ, Chao H, Chen YH, Childers C, Dinh H, Doddapaneni HV, Duan JJ, Dugan S, Esposito LA, Friedrich M, Garb J, Gasser RB, Goodisman MAD, Gundersen-Rindal DE, Han Y, Handler AM, Hatakeyama M, Hering L, Hunter WB, Ioannidis P, Jayaseelan JC, Kalra D, Khila A, Korhonen PK, Lee CE, Lee SL, Li Y, Lindsey ARI, Mayer G, McGregor AP, McKenna DD, Misof B, Munidasa M, Munoz-Torres M, Muzny DM, Niehuis O, Osuji-Lacy N, Palli SR, Panfilio KA, Pechmann M, Perry T, Peters RS, Poynton HC, Prpic NM, Qu J, Rotenberg D, Schal C, Schoville SD, Scully ED, Skinner E, Sloan DB, Stouthamer R, Strand MR, Szucsich NU, Wijeratne A, Young ND, Zattara EE, Benoit JB, Zdobnov EM, Pfrender ME, Hackett KJ, Werren JH, Worley KC, Gibbs RA, Chipman AD, Waterhouse RM, Bornberg-Bauer E, Hahn MW, Richards S. Gene content evolution in the arthropods. Genome Biol 2020; 21:15. [PMID: 31969194 PMCID: PMC6977273 DOI: 10.1186/s13059-019-1925-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 100] [Impact Index Per Article: 25.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2019] [Accepted: 12/26/2019] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Arthropods comprise the largest and most diverse phylum on Earth and play vital roles in nearly every ecosystem. Their diversity stems in part from variations on a conserved body plan, resulting from and recorded in adaptive changes in the genome. Dissection of the genomic record of sequence change enables broad questions regarding genome evolution to be addressed, even across hyper-diverse taxa within arthropods. RESULTS Using 76 whole genome sequences representing 21 orders spanning more than 500 million years of arthropod evolution, we document changes in gene and protein domain content and provide temporal and phylogenetic context for interpreting these innovations. We identify many novel gene families that arose early in the evolution of arthropods and during the diversification of insects into modern orders. We reveal unexpected variation in patterns of DNA methylation across arthropods and examples of gene family and protein domain evolution coincident with the appearance of notable phenotypic and physiological adaptations such as flight, metamorphosis, sociality, and chemoperception. CONCLUSIONS These analyses demonstrate how large-scale comparative genomics can provide broad new insights into the genotype to phenotype map and generate testable hypotheses about the evolution of animal diversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gregg W. C. Thomas
- 0000 0001 0790 959Xgrid.411377.7Department of Biology and Department of Computer Science, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN USA
| | - Elias Dohmen
- Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity, University of Münsterss, 48149 Münster, Germany ,0000 0001 2287 2617grid.9026.dInstitute for Bioinformatics and Chemoinformatics, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany ,Westphalian University of Applied Sciences, 45665 Recklinghausen, Germany
| | - Daniel S. T. Hughes
- 0000 0001 2160 926Xgrid.39382.33Human Genome Sequencing Center, Department of Human and Molecular Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX 77030 USA ,0000000419368729grid.21729.3fPresent Address: Institute for Genomic Medicine, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032 USA
| | - Shwetha C. Murali
- 0000 0001 2160 926Xgrid.39382.33Human Genome Sequencing Center, Department of Human and Molecular Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX 77030 USA ,0000000122986657grid.34477.33Present Address: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195 USA
| | - Monica Poelchau
- 0000 0001 2113 2895grid.483014.aNational Agricultural Library, USDA, Beltsville, MD 20705 USA
| | - Karl Glastad
- 0000 0001 2097 4943grid.213917.fSchool of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332 USA ,0000 0004 1936 8972grid.25879.31Present Address: Penn Epigenetics Institute, Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104 USA
| | - Clare A. Anstead
- 0000 0001 2179 088Xgrid.1008.9Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010 Australia
| | - Nadia A. Ayoub
- grid.268042.aDepartment of Biology, Washington and Lee University, 204 West Washington Street, Lexington, VA 24450 USA
| | - Phillip Batterham
- 0000 0001 2179 088Xgrid.1008.9School of BioSciences Science Faculty, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3010 Australia
| | - Michelle Bellair
- 0000 0001 2160 926Xgrid.39382.33Human Genome Sequencing Center, Department of Human and Molecular Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX 77030 USA ,Present Address: CooperGenomics, Houston, TX USA
| | - Greta J. Binford
- 0000 0004 1936 9043grid.259053.8Department of Biology, Lewis & Clark College, Portland, OR 97219 USA
| | - Hsu Chao
- 0000 0001 2160 926Xgrid.39382.33Human Genome Sequencing Center, Department of Human and Molecular Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX 77030 USA
| | - Yolanda H. Chen
- 0000 0004 1936 7689grid.59062.38Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Vermont, Burlington, USA
| | - Christopher Childers
- 0000 0001 2113 2895grid.483014.aNational Agricultural Library, USDA, Beltsville, MD 20705 USA
| | - Huyen Dinh
- 0000 0001 2160 926Xgrid.39382.33Human Genome Sequencing Center, Department of Human and Molecular Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX 77030 USA
| | - Harsha Vardhan Doddapaneni
- 0000 0001 2160 926Xgrid.39382.33Human Genome Sequencing Center, Department of Human and Molecular Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX 77030 USA
| | - Jian J. Duan
- 0000 0004 0404 0958grid.463419.dBeneficial Insects Introduction Research Unit, United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Newark, DE USA
| | - Shannon Dugan
- 0000 0001 2160 926Xgrid.39382.33Human Genome Sequencing Center, Department of Human and Molecular Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX 77030 USA
| | - Lauren A. Esposito
- 0000 0004 0461 6769grid.242287.9Institute for Biodiversity Science and Sustainability, California Academy of Sciences, 55 Music Concourse Drive, San Francisco, CA 94118 USA
| | - Markus Friedrich
- 0000 0001 1456 7807grid.254444.7Department of Biological Sciences, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202 USA
| | - Jessica Garb
- 0000 0000 9620 1122grid.225262.3Department of Biological Sciences, University of Massachusetts Lowell, 198 Riverside Street, Lowell, MA 01854 USA
| | - Robin B. Gasser
- 0000 0001 2179 088Xgrid.1008.9Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010 Australia
| | - Michael A. D. Goodisman
- 0000 0001 2097 4943grid.213917.fSchool of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332 USA
| | - Dawn E. Gundersen-Rindal
- 0000 0004 0404 0958grid.463419.dUSDA-ARS Invasive Insect Biocontrol and Behavior Laboratory, Beltsville, MD USA
| | - Yi Han
- 0000 0001 2160 926Xgrid.39382.33Human Genome Sequencing Center, Department of Human and Molecular Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX 77030 USA
| | - Alfred M. Handler
- 0000 0004 0404 0958grid.463419.dUSDA-ARS, Center for Medical, Agricultural, and Veterinary Entomology, 1700 S.W. 23rd Drive, Gainesville, FL 32608 USA
| | - Masatsugu Hatakeyama
- 0000 0001 0699 0373grid.410590.9Division of Insect Sciences, National Institute of Agrobiological Sciences, Owashi, Tsukuba, 305-8634 Japan
| | - Lars Hering
- 0000 0001 1089 1036grid.5155.4Department of Zoology, Institute of Biology, University of Kassel, 34132 Kassel, Germany
| | - Wayne B. Hunter
- 0000 0004 0404 0958grid.463419.dUSDA ARS, U. S. Horticultural Research Laboratory, Ft. Pierce, FL 34945 USA
| | - Panagiotis Ioannidis
- 0000 0001 2322 4988grid.8591.5Department of Genetic Medicine and Development and Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, University of Geneva, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland ,0000 0004 0635 685Xgrid.4834.bPresent Address: Foundation for Research and Technology Hellas, Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Vassilika Vouton, 70013 Heraklion, Greece
| | - Joy C. Jayaseelan
- 0000 0001 2160 926Xgrid.39382.33Human Genome Sequencing Center, Department of Human and Molecular Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX 77030 USA
| | - Divya Kalra
- 0000 0001 2160 926Xgrid.39382.33Human Genome Sequencing Center, Department of Human and Molecular Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX 77030 USA
| | - Abderrahman Khila
- 0000 0001 2150 7757grid.7849.2Université de Lyon, Institut de Génomique Fonctionnelle de Lyon, CNRS UMR 5242, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, 46 allée d’Italie, 69364 Lyon, France
| | - Pasi K. Korhonen
- 0000 0001 2179 088Xgrid.1008.9Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010 Australia
| | - Carol Eunmi Lee
- 0000 0001 0701 8607grid.28803.31Department of Integrative Biology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706 USA
| | - Sandra L. Lee
- 0000 0001 2160 926Xgrid.39382.33Human Genome Sequencing Center, Department of Human and Molecular Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX 77030 USA
| | - Yiyuan Li
- 0000 0001 2168 0066grid.131063.6Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, 109B Galvin Life Sciences, Notre Dame, IN 46556 USA
| | - Amelia R. I. Lindsey
- 0000 0001 2222 1582grid.266097.cDepartment of Entomology, University of California Riverside, Riverside, CA USA ,0000 0001 0790 959Xgrid.411377.7Present Address: Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN USA
| | - Georg Mayer
- 0000 0001 1089 1036grid.5155.4Department of Zoology, Institute of Biology, University of Kassel, 34132 Kassel, Germany
| | - Alistair P. McGregor
- 0000 0001 0726 8331grid.7628.bDepartment of Biological and Medical Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, Gipsy Lane, Oxford, OX3 0BP UK
| | - Duane D. McKenna
- 0000 0000 9560 654Xgrid.56061.34Department of Biological Sciences, University of Memphis, 3700 Walker Ave, Memphis, TN 38152 USA
| | - Bernhard Misof
- 0000 0001 2216 5875grid.452935.cCenter for Molecular Biodiversity Research, Zoological Research Museum Alexander Koenig, Bonn, Germany
| | - Mala Munidasa
- 0000 0001 2160 926Xgrid.39382.33Human Genome Sequencing Center, Department of Human and Molecular Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX 77030 USA
| | - Monica Munoz-Torres
- 0000 0001 2231 4551grid.184769.5Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, USA ,0000 0004 4665 2899grid.497331.bPresent Address: Phoenix Bioinformatics, 39221 Paseo Padre Parkway, Ste. J., Fremont, CA 94538 USA
| | - Donna M. Muzny
- 0000 0001 2160 926Xgrid.39382.33Human Genome Sequencing Center, Department of Human and Molecular Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX 77030 USA
| | - Oliver Niehuis
- grid.5963.9Evolutionary Biology and Ecology, Institute of Biology I (Zoology), Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg, 79104 Freiburg (Brsg.), Germany
| | - Nkechinyere Osuji-Lacy
- 0000 0001 2160 926Xgrid.39382.33Human Genome Sequencing Center, Department of Human and Molecular Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX 77030 USA
| | - Subba R. Palli
- 0000 0004 1936 8438grid.266539.dDepartment of Entomology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40546 USA
| | - Kristen A. Panfilio
- 0000 0000 8809 1613grid.7372.1School of Life Sciences, University of Warwick, Gibbet Hill Campus, Coventry, CV4 7AL UK
| | - Matthias Pechmann
- 0000 0000 8580 3777grid.6190.eCologne Biocenter, Zoological Institute, Department of Developmental Biology, University of Cologne, 50674 Cologne, Germany
| | - Trent Perry
- 0000 0001 2179 088Xgrid.1008.9School of BioSciences Science Faculty, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3010 Australia
| | - Ralph S. Peters
- 0000 0001 2216 5875grid.452935.cCentre of Taxonomy and Evolutionary Research, Arthropoda Department, Zoological Research Museum Alexander Koenig, Bonn, Germany
| | - Helen C. Poynton
- 0000 0004 0386 3207grid.266685.9School for the Environment, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, MA 02125 USA
| | - Nikola-Michael Prpic
- 0000 0001 2364 4210grid.7450.6Johann-Friedrich-Blumenbach-Institut für Zoologie und Anthropologie, Abteilung für Entwicklungsbiologie, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany ,0000 0001 2364 4210grid.7450.6Göttingen Center for Molecular Biosciences (GZMB), Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Jiaxin Qu
- 0000 0001 2160 926Xgrid.39382.33Human Genome Sequencing Center, Department of Human and Molecular Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX 77030 USA
| | - Dorith Rotenberg
- 0000 0001 2173 6074grid.40803.3fDepartment of Entomology and Plant Pathology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27606 USA
| | - Coby Schal
- 0000 0001 2173 6074grid.40803.3fDepartment of Entomology and W.M. Keck Center for Behavioral Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695 USA
| | - Sean D. Schoville
- 0000 0001 2167 3675grid.14003.36Department of Entomology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, USA
| | - Erin D. Scully
- Stored Product Insect and Engineering Research Unit, USDA-ARS Center for Grain and Animal Health Research, Manhattan, KS 66502 USA
| | - Evette Skinner
- 0000 0001 2160 926Xgrid.39382.33Human Genome Sequencing Center, Department of Human and Molecular Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX 77030 USA
| | - Daniel B. Sloan
- 0000 0004 1936 8083grid.47894.36Department of Biology, Colorado State University, Ft. Collins, CO USA
| | - Richard Stouthamer
- 0000 0001 2222 1582grid.266097.cDepartment of Entomology, University of California Riverside, Riverside, CA USA
| | - Michael R. Strand
- 0000 0004 1936 738Xgrid.213876.9Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA USA
| | - Nikolaus U. Szucsich
- 0000 0001 2169 5989grid.252381.fPresent Address: Arkansas Biosciences Institute, Arkansas State University, Jonesboro, AR USA
| | - Asela Wijeratne
- 0000 0000 9560 654Xgrid.56061.34Department of Biological Sciences, University of Memphis, 3700 Walker Ave, Memphis, TN 38152 USA ,0000 0001 2112 4115grid.425585.bNatural History Museum Vienna, Burgring 7, 1010 Vienna, Austria
| | - Neil D. Young
- 0000 0001 2179 088Xgrid.1008.9Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010 Australia
| | - Eduardo E. Zattara
- 0000 0001 2112 473Xgrid.412234.2INIBIOMA, Univ. Nacional del Comahue – CONICET, Bariloche, Argentina
| | - Joshua B. Benoit
- 0000 0001 2179 9593grid.24827.3bDepartment of Biological Sciences, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221 USA
| | - Evgeny M. Zdobnov
- 0000 0001 2322 4988grid.8591.5Department of Genetic Medicine and Development and Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, University of Geneva, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Michael E. Pfrender
- 0000 0001 2168 0066grid.131063.6Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, 109B Galvin Life Sciences, Notre Dame, IN 46556 USA
| | - Kevin J. Hackett
- 0000 0004 0404 0958grid.463419.dCrop Production and Protection, U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville, MD 20705 USA
| | - John H. Werren
- 0000 0004 1936 9174grid.16416.34Department of Biology, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14627 USA
| | - Kim C. Worley
- 0000 0001 2160 926Xgrid.39382.33Human Genome Sequencing Center, Department of Human and Molecular Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX 77030 USA
| | - Richard A. Gibbs
- 0000 0001 2160 926Xgrid.39382.33Human Genome Sequencing Center, Department of Human and Molecular Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX 77030 USA
| | - Ariel D. Chipman
- 0000 0004 1937 0538grid.9619.7Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, The Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Edmond J. Safra Campus, Givat Ram, 91904 Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Robert M. Waterhouse
- 0000 0001 2165 4204grid.9851.5Department of Ecology & Evolution and Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, University of Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Erich Bornberg-Bauer
- Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity, University of Münsterss, 48149 Münster, Germany ,0000 0001 2287 2617grid.9026.dInstitute for Bioinformatics and Chemoinformatics, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany ,0000 0001 1014 8330grid.419495.4Department Protein Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Matthew W. Hahn
- 0000 0001 0790 959Xgrid.411377.7Department of Biology and Department of Computer Science, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN USA
| | - Stephen Richards
- 0000 0001 2160 926Xgrid.39382.33Human Genome Sequencing Center, Department of Human and Molecular Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX 77030 USA ,0000 0004 1936 9684grid.27860.3bPresent Address: UC Davis Genome Center, University of California, Davis, CA 95616 USA
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21
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Abstract
Most species of mosquitoes are detritivores that feed on decaying plant and animal materials in their aquatic environment. Studies of several detritivorous mosquito species indicate that they host relatively low diversity communities of microbes that are acquired from the environment while feeding. Our recent results also indicate that detritivorous species normally require a living gut microbiota to grow beyond the first instar. Less well known is that some mosquitoes, including those belonging to the genus Toxorhynchites, are predators that feed on other species of mosquitoes and nektonic prey. In this study, we asked whether predaceous Toxorhynchites amboinensis larvae still require living microbes in their gut in order to develop. Using the detritivorous mosquito Aedes aegypti as prey, we found that T. amboinensis larvae harbour bacterial communities that are highly similar to that of their prey. Functional assays showed that T. amboinensis first instars provided axenic (i.e. bacteria-free) prey failed to develop, while two bacterial species present in gnotobiotic (i.e. colonized by one or more known bacterial species) prey successfully colonized the T. amboinensis gut and rescued development. Axenic T. amboinensis larvae also displayed defects in growth consistent with previously identified roles for microbe-mediated gut hypoxia in nutrient acquisition and assimilation in A. aegypti. Collectively, these results support a conserved role for gut microbes in regulating the development of mosquitoes with different feeding strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kerri L Coon
- Department of Entomology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - Luca Valzania
- Department of Entomology, The University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Mark R Brown
- Department of Entomology, The University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Michael R Strand
- Department of Entomology, The University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
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22
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Shi M, Wang Z, Ye X, Xie H, Li F, Hu X, Wang Z, Yin C, Zhou Y, Gu Q, Zou J, Zhan L, Yao Y, Yang J, Wei S, Hu R, Guo D, Zhu J, Wang Y, Huang J, Pennacchio F, Strand MR, Chen X. The genomes of two parasitic wasps that parasitize the diamondback moth. BMC Genomics 2019; 20:893. [PMID: 31752718 PMCID: PMC6873472 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-019-6266-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2018] [Accepted: 11/05/2019] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Parasitic insects are well-known biological control agents for arthropod pests worldwide. They are capable of regulating their host's physiology, development and behaviour. However, many of the molecular mechanisms involved in host-parasitoid interaction remain unknown. RESULTS We sequenced the genomes of two parasitic wasps (Cotesia vestalis, and Diadromus collaris) that parasitize the diamondback moth Plutella xylostella using Illumina and Pacbio sequencing platforms. Genome assembly using SOAPdenovo produced a 178 Mb draft genome for C. vestalis and a 399 Mb draft genome for D. collaris. A total set that contained 11,278 and 15,328 protein-coding genes for C. vestalis and D. collaris, respectively, were predicted using evidence (homology-based and transcriptome-based) and de novo prediction methodology. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the braconid C. vestalis and the ichneumonid D. collaris diverged approximately 124 million years ago. These two wasps exhibit gene gains and losses that in some cases reflect their shared life history as parasitic wasps and in other cases are unique to particular species. Gene families with functions in development, nutrient acquisition from hosts, and metabolism have expanded in each wasp species, while genes required for biosynthesis of some amino acids and steroids have been lost, since these nutrients can be directly obtained from the host. Both wasp species encode a relative higher number of neprilysins (NEPs) thus far reported in arthropod genomes while several genes encoding immune-related proteins and detoxification enzymes were lost in both wasp genomes. CONCLUSIONS We present the annotated genome sequence of two parasitic wasps C. vestalis and D. collaris, which parasitize a common host, the diamondback moth, P. xylostella. These data will provide a fundamental source for studying the mechanism of host control and will be used in parasitoid comparative genomics to study the origin and diversification of the parasitic lifestyle.
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Affiliation(s)
- Min Shi
- Institute of Insect Sciences, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China
- Ministry of Agriculture Key Lab of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China
| | - Zhizhi Wang
- Institute of Insect Sciences, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China
- Ministry of Agriculture Key Lab of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China
| | - Xiqian Ye
- Institute of Insect Sciences, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China
- State Key Lab of Rice Biology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China
| | | | - Fei Li
- Institute of Insect Sciences, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China
- Ministry of Agriculture Key Lab of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China
| | - Xiaoxiao Hu
- BGI-Tech, BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen, 518083, China
- Xingzhi College, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, 321000, Zhejiang, China
| | - Zehua Wang
- Institute of Insect Sciences, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China
- Ministry of Agriculture Key Lab of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China
| | - Chuanlin Yin
- Institute of Insect Sciences, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China
- Ministry of Agriculture Key Lab of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China
| | - Yuenan Zhou
- Institute of Insect Sciences, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China
- Ministry of Agriculture Key Lab of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China
| | - Qijuan Gu
- Institute of Insect Sciences, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China
- Ministry of Agriculture Key Lab of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China
| | - Jiani Zou
- Institute of Insect Sciences, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China
- Ministry of Agriculture Key Lab of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China
| | - Leqing Zhan
- Institute of Insect Sciences, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China
- Ministry of Agriculture Key Lab of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China
| | - Yuan Yao
- School of Physical Science and Technology, Shanghai Tech University, Shanghai, 201210, China
| | - Jian Yang
- Institute of Insect Sciences, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China
- Ministry of Agriculture Key Lab of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China
| | - Shujun Wei
- Institute of Plant and Environmental Protection, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Beijing, 100097, China
| | - Rongmin Hu
- Institute of Insect Sciences, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China
- Ministry of Agriculture Key Lab of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China
| | - Dianhao Guo
- Institute of Insect Sciences, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China
- Ministry of Agriculture Key Lab of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China
| | - Jiangyan Zhu
- Institute of Insect Sciences, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China
- State Key Lab of Rice Biology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China
| | - Yanping Wang
- Institute of Insect Sciences, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China
- State Key Lab of Rice Biology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China
| | - Jianhua Huang
- Institute of Insect Sciences, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China.
- Ministry of Agriculture Key Lab of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China.
| | - Francesco Pennacchio
- Dipartimento di Agraria, Laboratorio di Entomologia "E. Tremblay", Università di Napoli "Federico II", Via Università 100, 80055, Portici, NA, Italy
| | - Michael R Strand
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602, USA
| | - Xuexin Chen
- Institute of Insect Sciences, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China.
- Ministry of Agriculture Key Lab of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China.
- State Key Lab of Rice Biology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China.
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23
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Lynn-Bell NL, Strand MR, Oliver KM. Erratum: Bacteriophage acquisition restores protective mutualism. Microbiology (Reading) 2019; 165:1151. [PMID: 31575384 DOI: 10.1099/mic.0.000852] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Nicole L Lynn-Bell
- Department of Microbiology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Michael R Strand
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Kerry M Oliver
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
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24
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Michael R. Strand
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Kerry M. Oliver
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
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25
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Mbata GN, Shapiro-Ilan DI, Alborn HT, Strand MR. Preferential infectivity of entomopathogenic nematodes in an envenomed host. Int J Parasitol 2019; 49:737-745. [PMID: 31306662 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpara.2019.05.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2018] [Revised: 05/16/2019] [Accepted: 05/22/2019] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
Entomopathogenic nematodes and parasitoid wasps are used as biological control agents for management of insect pests such as the Indian meal moth, Plodia interpunctella. The parasitoid wasp Habrobracon hebetor injects a paralytic venom into P. interpunctella larvae before laying eggs. A previous study reported that the entomopathogenic nematode Heterorhabditis indica preferentially infects P. interpunctella that have been envenomed by H. hebetor while results in this study showed a similar preference by the entomopathogenic nematode, Steinernema glaseri. We therefore tested four hypotheses for why nematode infection rates are higher in envenomed hosts: (1) elevated CO2 emission from envenomed hosts attracts nematodes, (2) paralysis prevents hosts from escaping nematodes, (3) volatile chemicals emitted from envenomed hosts attract nematodes and increase infection, and (4) reduced immune defenses in envenomed hosts increase nematode survival. Results showed that envenomed P. interpunctella larvae emitted lower amounts of CO2 than non-envenomed larvae. Physical immobilization of P. interpunctella larvae did not increase infection rates by S. glaseri but did increase infection rates by H. indica. Emissions from envenomed hosts were collected and analyzed by thermal desorption gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. The most abundant compound, 3-methyl-3-buten-1-ol, was found to be an effective cue for S. glaseri attraction and infection but was not an effective stimulus for H. indica. Envenomed P. interpunctella exhibited a stronger immune response toward nematodes than non-envenomed hosts. Altogether, we conclude that different mechanisms underlie preferential infection in the two nematode species: host immobilization for H. indica and chemical cues for S. glaseri.
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Affiliation(s)
- George N Mbata
- Agricultural Research Station, Fort Valley State University, 1005 University Drive, Fort Valley, GA 31030, USA
| | - David I Shapiro-Ilan
- USDA, Agricultural Research Service, Southeastern Fruit and Tree Nut Research Laboratory, 21 Dunbar Road, Byron, GA 31008, USA.
| | - Hans T Alborn
- USDA-ARS Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology, Gainesville, FL 32608, USA
| | - Michael R Strand
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
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26
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Abstract
Polydnaviruses (PDVs) were originally viewed as large DNA viruses that are beneficial symbionts of parasitoid wasps. Two groups of PDVs were also recognized: bracoviruses (BVs), which are associated with wasps in the family Braconidae, and ichnoviruses (IVs), which are associated with wasps in the family Ichneumonidae. Results to date indicate that BVs are endogenous virus elements (EVEs) that evolved from an ancient betanudivirus. IVs are also likely EVEs but are unrelated to BVs. BVs and IVs are very unusual relative to most known EVEs because they retain many viral functions that benefit wasps in parasitizing hosts. However, BVs and IVs cannot be considered beneficial symbionts because all components of their genomes are fixed in wasps. Recent studies indicate that other nudiviruses have endogenized in insects. Each exhibits a different functional fate from BVs but shares certain architectural features. We discuss options for classifying BVs and other endogenized nudiviruses. We also discuss future directions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael R Strand
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
| | - Gaelen R Burke
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
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27
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Valzania L, Mattee MT, Strand MR, Brown MR. Blood feeding activates the vitellogenic stage of oogenesis in the mosquito Aedes aegypti through inhibition of glycogen synthase kinase 3 by the insulin and TOR pathways. Dev Biol 2019; 454:85-95. [PMID: 31153832 DOI: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2019.05.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2019] [Revised: 05/21/2019] [Accepted: 05/22/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Most mosquitoes, including Aedes aegypti, only produce eggs after blood feeding on a vertebrate host. Oogenesis in A. aegypti consists of a pre-vitellogenic stage before blood feeding and a vitellogenic stage after blood feeding. Primary egg chambers remain developmentally arrested during the pre-vitellogenic stage but complete oogenesis to form mature eggs during the vitellogenic stage. In contrast, the signaling factors that maintain primary egg chambers in pre-vitellogenic arrest or that activate vitellogenic growth are largely unclear. Prior studies showed that A. aegypti females release insulin-like peptide 3 (ILP3) and ovary ecdysteroidogenic hormone (OEH) from brain neurosecretory cells after blood feeding. Here, we report that primary egg chambers exit pre-vitellogenic arrest by 8 h post-blood meal as evidenced by proliferation of follicle cells, endoreplication of nurse cells, and formation of cytoophidia. Ex vivo assays showed that ILP3 and OEH stimulate primary egg chambers to exit pre-vitellogenic arrest in the presence of nutrients but not in their absence. Characterization of associated pathways indicated that activation of insulin/insulin growth factor signaling (IIS) by ILP3 or OEH inactivated glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK3) via phosphorylation by phosphorylated Akt. GSK3 inactivation correlated with accumulation of the basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor Max and primary egg chambers exiting pre-vitellogenic arrest. Direct inhibition of GSK3 by CHIR-99021 also stimulated Myc/Max accumulation and primary egg chambers exiting pre-vitellogenic arrest. Collectively, our results identify GSK3 as a key factor in regulating the pre- and vitellogenic stages of oogenesis in A. aegypti.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luca Valzania
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602, USA
| | - Melissa T Mattee
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602, USA
| | - Michael R Strand
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602, USA
| | - Mark R Brown
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602, USA.
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28
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Chowdhury M, Li CF, He Z, Lu Y, Liu XS, Wang YF, Ip YT, Strand MR, Yu XQ. Toll family members bind multiple Spätzle proteins and activate antimicrobial peptide gene expression in Drosophila. J Biol Chem 2019; 294:10172-10181. [PMID: 31088910 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.ra118.006804] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2018] [Revised: 05/10/2019] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
The Toll signaling pathway in Drosophila melanogaster regulates several immune-related functions, including the expression of antimicrobial peptide (AMP) genes. The canonical Toll receptor (Toll-1) is activated by the cytokine Spätzle (Spz-1), but Drosophila encodes eight other Toll genes and five other Spz genes whose interactions with one another and associated functions are less well-understood. Here, we conducted in vitro assays in the Drosophila S2 cell line with the Toll/interleukin-1 receptor (TIR) homology domains of each Toll family member to determine whether they can activate a known target of Toll-1, the promoter of the antifungal peptide gene drosomycin. All TIR family members activated the drosomycin promoter, with Toll-1 and Toll-7 TIRs producing the highest activation. We found that the Toll-1 and Toll-7 ectodomains bind Spz-1, -2, and -5, and also vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) virions, and that Spz-1, -2, -5, and VSV all activated the promoters of drosomycin and several other AMP genes in S2 cells expressing full-length Toll-1 or Toll-7. In vivo experiments indicated that Toll-1 and Toll-7 mutants could be systemically infected with two bacterial species (Enterococcus faecalis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa), the opportunistic fungal pathogen Candida albicans, and VSV with different survival times in adult females and males compared with WT fly survival. Our results suggest that all Toll family members can activate several AMP genes. Our results further indicate that Toll-1 and Toll-7 bind multiple Spz proteins and also VSV, but they differentially affect adult survival after systemic infection, potentially because of sex-specific differences in Toll-1 and Toll-7 expression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Munmun Chowdhury
- From the Division of Cell Biology and Biophysics, School of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Kansas City, Missouri 64110
| | - Chun-Feng Li
- From the Division of Cell Biology and Biophysics, School of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Kansas City, Missouri 64110.,the State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400716, China
| | - Zhen He
- From the Division of Cell Biology and Biophysics, School of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Kansas City, Missouri 64110.,the School of Life Sciences, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, China
| | - Yuzhen Lu
- the Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Insect Development Regulation and Application Research, Institute of Insect Science and Technology and School of Life Sciences, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China
| | - Xu-Sheng Liu
- the School of Life Sciences, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, China
| | - Yu-Feng Wang
- the School of Life Sciences, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, China
| | - Y Tony Ip
- the Program in Molecular Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts 01605
| | - Michael R Strand
- the Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602, and
| | - Xiao-Qiang Yu
- From the Division of Cell Biology and Biophysics, School of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Kansas City, Missouri 64110, .,the School of Life Sciences, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, China.,the Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Insect Development Regulation and Application Research, Institute of Insect Science and Technology and School of Life Sciences, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China
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Nansen C, Strand MR. Proximal Remote Sensing to Non-destructively Detect and Diagnose Physiological Responses by Host Insect Larvae to Parasitism. Front Physiol 2018; 9:1716. [PMID: 30564138 PMCID: PMC6288355 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2018.01716] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2018] [Accepted: 11/15/2018] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
As part of identifying and characterizing physiological responses and adaptations by insects, it is paramount to develop non-destructive techniques to monitor individual insects over time. Such techniques can be used to optimize the timing of when in-depth (i.e., destructive sampling of insect tissue) physiological or molecular analyses should be deployed. In this article, we present evidence that hyperspectral proximal remote sensing can be used effectively in studies of host responses to parasitism. We present time series body reflectance data acquired from individual soybean loopers (Chrysodeixis includens) without parasitism (control) or parasitized by one of two species of parasitic wasps with markedly different life histories: Microplitis demolitor, a solitary larval koinobiont endoparasitoid and Copidosoma floridanum, a polyembryonic (gregarious) egg-larval koinobiont endoparasitoid. Despite considerable temporal variation in reflectance data 1-9 days post-parasitism, the two parasitoids caused uniquely different host body reflectance responses. Based on reflectance data acquired 3-5 days post-parasitism, all three treatments (control larvae, and those parasitized by either M. demolitor or C. floridanum) could be classified with >85 accuracy. We suggest that hyperspectral proximal imaging technologies represent an important frontier in insect physiology, as they are non-invasive and can be used to account for important time scale factors, such as: minutes of exposure or acclimation to abiotic factors, circadian rhythms, and seasonal effects. Although this study is based on data from a host-parasitoid system, results may be of broad relevance to insect physiologists. Described approaches provide a non-invasive and rapid method that can provide insights into when to destructively sample tissue for more detailed mechanistic studies of physiological responses to stressors and environmental conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian Nansen
- Department of Entomology and Nematology, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
| | - Michael R. Strand
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States
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Strand MR. Composition and functional roles of the gut microbiota in mosquitoes. Curr Opin Insect Sci 2018; 28:59-65. [PMID: 30551768 PMCID: PMC6296257 DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2018.05.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 68] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2018] [Revised: 05/13/2018] [Accepted: 05/16/2018] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
An estimated 3500 species of mosquitoes (family Culicidae) exist worldwide of which several are known vectors of pathogens that cause disease in humans and other vertebrates. Mosquitoes also host communities of microbes in their digestive tract that form a gut microbiota. Recent studies provide important insights on how mosquitoes acquire a gut microbiota and the community of microbes that are present. Results also indicate that the gut microbiota affects several aspects of mosquito biology. Altogether, these effects impact mosquito fitness with potential consequences for disease prevalence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael R Strand
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, United States of America.
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31
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Valzania L, Martinson VG, Harrison RE, Boyd BM, Coon KL, Brown MR, Strand MR. Both living bacteria and eukaryotes in the mosquito gut promote growth of larvae. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2018; 12:e0006638. [PMID: 29979680 PMCID: PMC6057668 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0006638] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2018] [Revised: 07/24/2018] [Accepted: 06/26/2018] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
We recently reported that larval stage Aedes aegypti and several other species of mosquitoes grow when living bacteria are present in the gut but do not grow when living bacteria are absent. We further reported that living bacteria induce a hypoxia signal in the gut, which activates hypoxia-induced transcription factors and other processes larvae require for growth. In this study we assessed whether other types of organisms induce mosquito larvae to grow and asked if the density of non-living microbes or diet larvae are fed obviate the requirement for living organisms prior results indicated are required for growth. Using culture conditions identical to our own prior studies, we determined that inoculation density of living Escherichia coli positively affected growth rates of Ae. aegypti larvae, whereas non-living E. coli had no effect on growth across the same range of inoculation densities. A living yeast, alga, and insect cell line induced axenic Ae. aegypti first instars to grow, and stimulated similar levels of midgut hypoxia, HIF-α stabilization, and neutral lipid accumulation in the fat body as E. coli. However, the same organisms had no effect on larval growth if heat-killed. In addition, no axenic larvae molted when fed two other diets, when fed diets supplemented with heat-killed microbes or lysed and heat-killed microbes. Experiments conducted with An. gambiae yielded similar findings. Taken together, our results indicate that organisms from different prokaryotic and eukaryotic groups induce mosquito larvae to grow, whereas no conditions were identified that stimulated larvae to grow in the absence of living organisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luca Valzania
- Department of Entomology, The University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States of America
| | - Vincent G. Martinson
- Department of Entomology, The University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States of America
| | - Ruby E. Harrison
- Department of Entomology, The University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States of America
| | - Bret M. Boyd
- Department of Entomology, The University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States of America
| | - Kerri L. Coon
- Department of Entomology, The University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States of America
| | - Mark R. Brown
- Department of Entomology, The University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States of America
| | - Michael R. Strand
- Department of Entomology, The University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States of America
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Wang ZZ, Ye XQ, Shi M, Li F, Wang ZH, Zhou YN, Gu QJ, Wu XT, Yin CL, Guo DH, Hu RM, Hu NN, Chen T, Zheng BY, Zou JN, Zhan LQ, Wei SJ, Wang YP, Huang JH, Fang XD, Strand MR, Chen XX. Parasitic insect-derived miRNAs modulate host development. Nat Commun 2018; 9:2205. [PMID: 29880839 PMCID: PMC5992160 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-04504-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2018] [Accepted: 04/30/2018] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Parasitic wasps produce several factors including venom, polydnaviruses (PDVs) and specialized wasp cells named teratocytes that benefit the survival of offspring by altering the physiology of hosts. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms for the alterations remain unclear. Here we find that the teratocytes of Cotesia vestalis, an endoparasitoid of the diamondback moth Plutella xylostella, and its associated bracovirus (CvBV) can produce miRNAs and deliver the products into the host via different ways. Certain miRNAs in the parasitized host are mainly produced by teratocytes, while the expression level of miRNAs encoded by CvBV can be 100-fold greater in parasitized hosts than non-parasitized ones. We further show that one teratocyte-produced miRNA (Cve-miR-281-3p) and one CvBV-produced miRNA (Cve-miR-novel22-5p-1) arrest host growth by modulating expression of the host ecdysone receptor (EcR). Altogether, our results show the first evidence of cross-species regulation by miRNAs in animal parasitism and their possible function in the alteration of host physiology during parasitism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhi-Zhi Wang
- Institute of Insect Science, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, 310058, Hangzhou, China
- Ministry of Agriculture Key Lab of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Zhejiang University, 310058, Hangzhou, China
| | - Xi-Qian Ye
- Institute of Insect Science, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, 310058, Hangzhou, China
- State Key Lab of Rice Biology, Zhejiang University, 310058, Hangzhou, China
| | - Min Shi
- Institute of Insect Science, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, 310058, Hangzhou, China
- Ministry of Agriculture Key Lab of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Zhejiang University, 310058, Hangzhou, China
| | - Fei Li
- Institute of Insect Science, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, 310058, Hangzhou, China
- Ministry of Agriculture Key Lab of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Zhejiang University, 310058, Hangzhou, China
| | - Ze-Hua Wang
- Institute of Insect Science, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, 310058, Hangzhou, China
- Ministry of Agriculture Key Lab of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Zhejiang University, 310058, Hangzhou, China
| | - Yue-Nan Zhou
- Institute of Insect Science, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, 310058, Hangzhou, China
- Ministry of Agriculture Key Lab of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Zhejiang University, 310058, Hangzhou, China
| | - Qi-Juan Gu
- Institute of Insect Science, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, 310058, Hangzhou, China
- Ministry of Agriculture Key Lab of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Zhejiang University, 310058, Hangzhou, China
| | - Xiao-Tong Wu
- Institute of Insect Science, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, 310058, Hangzhou, China
- Ministry of Agriculture Key Lab of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Zhejiang University, 310058, Hangzhou, China
| | - Chuan-Lin Yin
- Institute of Insect Science, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, 310058, Hangzhou, China
- Ministry of Agriculture Key Lab of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Zhejiang University, 310058, Hangzhou, China
| | - Dian-Hao Guo
- Institute of Insect Science, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, 310058, Hangzhou, China
- Ministry of Agriculture Key Lab of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Zhejiang University, 310058, Hangzhou, China
| | - Rong-Min Hu
- Institute of Insect Science, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, 310058, Hangzhou, China
- Ministry of Agriculture Key Lab of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Zhejiang University, 310058, Hangzhou, China
| | - Na-Na Hu
- Institute of Insect Science, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, 310058, Hangzhou, China
- Ministry of Agriculture Key Lab of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Zhejiang University, 310058, Hangzhou, China
| | - Ting Chen
- Institute of Insect Science, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, 310058, Hangzhou, China
- Ministry of Agriculture Key Lab of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Zhejiang University, 310058, Hangzhou, China
| | - Bo-Ying Zheng
- Institute of Insect Science, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, 310058, Hangzhou, China
- Ministry of Agriculture Key Lab of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Zhejiang University, 310058, Hangzhou, China
| | - Jia-Ni Zou
- Institute of Insect Science, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, 310058, Hangzhou, China
- Ministry of Agriculture Key Lab of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Zhejiang University, 310058, Hangzhou, China
| | - Le-Qing Zhan
- Institute of Insect Science, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, 310058, Hangzhou, China
- Ministry of Agriculture Key Lab of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Zhejiang University, 310058, Hangzhou, China
| | - Shu-Jun Wei
- Institute of Plant and Environmental Protection, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, 100097, Beijing, China
| | - Yan-Ping Wang
- Institute of Insect Science, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, 310058, Hangzhou, China
- State Key Lab of Rice Biology, Zhejiang University, 310058, Hangzhou, China
| | - Jian-Hua Huang
- Institute of Insect Science, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, 310058, Hangzhou, China
- Ministry of Agriculture Key Lab of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Zhejiang University, 310058, Hangzhou, China
| | | | - Michael R Strand
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602, USA
| | - Xue-Xin Chen
- Institute of Insect Science, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, 310058, Hangzhou, China.
- Ministry of Agriculture Key Lab of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Zhejiang University, 310058, Hangzhou, China.
- State Key Lab of Rice Biology, Zhejiang University, 310058, Hangzhou, China.
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Brandt JW, Chevignon G, Oliver KM, Strand MR. Culture of an aphid heritable symbiont demonstrates its direct role in defence against parasitoids. Proc Biol Sci 2018; 284:rspb.2017.1925. [PMID: 29093227 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2017.1925] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2017] [Accepted: 10/05/2017] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Heritable symbionts are common in insects with many contributing to host defence. Hamiltonella defensa is a facultative, bacterial symbiont of the pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum that provides protection against the endoparasitoid wasp Aphidius ervi Protection levels vary among strains of H. defensa that are differentially infected by bacteriophages named APSEs. By contrast, little is known about mechanism(s) of resistance owing to the intractability of host-restricted microbes for functional study. Here, we developed methods for culturing strains of H. defensa that varied in the presence and type of APSE. Most H. defensa strains proliferated at 27°C in co-cultures with the TN5 cell line or as pure cultures with no insect cells. The strain infected by APSE3, which provides high levels of protection in vivo, produced a soluble factor(s) that disabled development of A. ervi embryos independent of any aphid factors. Experimental transfer of APSE3 also conferred the ability to disable A. ervi development to a phage-free strain of H. defensa Altogether, these results provide a critical foundation for characterizing symbiont-derived factor(s) involved in host protection and other functions. Our results also demonstrate that phage-mediated transfer of traits provides a mechanism for innovation in host restricted symbionts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jayce W Brandt
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Germain Chevignon
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Kerry M Oliver
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Michael R Strand
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
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Chevignon G, Boyd BM, Brandt JW, Oliver KM, Strand MR. Culture-Facilitated Comparative Genomics of the Facultative Symbiont Hamiltonella defensa. Genome Biol Evol 2018; 10:786-802. [PMID: 29452355 PMCID: PMC5841374 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evy036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/13/2018] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Many insects host facultative, bacterial symbionts that confer conditional fitness benefits to their hosts. Hamiltonella defensa is a common facultative symbiont of aphids that provides protection against parasitoid wasps. Protection levels vary among strains of H. defensa that are also differentially infected by bacteriophages named APSEs. However, little is known about trait variation among strains because only one isolate has been fully sequenced. Generating complete genomes for facultative symbionts is hindered by relatively large genome sizes but low abundances in hosts like aphids that are very small. Here, we took advantage of methods for culturing H. defensa outside of aphids to generate complete genomes and transcriptome data for four strains of H. defensa from the pea aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum. Chosen strains also spanned the breadth of the H. defensa phylogeny and differed in strength of protection conferred against parasitoids. Results indicated that strains shared most genes with roles in nutrient acquisition, metabolism, and essential housekeeping functions. In contrast, the inventory of mobile genetic elements varied substantially, which generated strain specific differences in gene content and genome architecture. In some cases, specific traits correlated with differences in protection against parasitoids, but in others high variation between strains obscured identification of traits with likely roles in defense. Transcriptome data generated continuous distributions to genome assemblies with some genes that were highly expressed and others that were not. Single molecule real-time sequencing further identified differences in DNA methylation patterns and restriction modification systems that provide defense against phage infection.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Bret M Boyd
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia
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Valzania L, Coon KL, Vogel KJ, Brown MR, Strand MR. Hypoxia-induced transcription factor signaling is essential for larval growth of the mosquito Aedes aegypti. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2018; 115:457-465. [PMID: 29298915 PMCID: PMC5777003 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1719063115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Gut microbes positively affect the physiology of many animals, but the molecular mechanisms underlying these benefits remain poorly understood. We recently reported that bacteria-induced gut hypoxia functions as a signal for growth and molting of the mosquito Aedes aegypti In this study, we tested the hypothesis that transduction of a gut hypoxia signal requires hypoxia-induced transcription factors (HIFs). Expression studies showed that HIF-α was stabilized in larvae containing bacteria that induce gut hypoxia but was destabilized in larvae that exhibit normoxia. However, we could rescue growth of larvae exhibiting gut normoxia by treating them with a prolyl hydroxylase inhibitor, FG-4592, that stabilized HIF-α, and inhibit growth of larvae exhibiting gut hypoxia by treating them with an inhibitor, PX-478, that destabilized HIF-α. Using these tools, we determined that HIF signaling activated the insulin/insulin growth factor pathway plus select mitogen-activated kinases and inhibited the adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase pathway. HIF signaling was also required for growth of the larval midgut and storage of neutral lipids by the fat body. Altogether, our results indicate that gut hypoxia and HIF signaling activate multiple processes in A. aegypti larvae, with conserved functions in growth and metabolism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luca Valzania
- Department of Entomology, The University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602
| | - Kerri L Coon
- Department of Entomology, The University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602
| | - Kevin J Vogel
- Department of Entomology, The University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602
| | - Mark R Brown
- Department of Entomology, The University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602
| | - Michael R Strand
- Department of Entomology, The University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602
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36
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McKinney DA, Strand MR, Brown MR. Evaluation of ecdysteroid antisera for a competitive enzyme immunoassay and extraction procedures for the measurement of mosquito ecdysteroids. Gen Comp Endocrinol 2017; 253:60-69. [PMID: 28866256 PMCID: PMC5646215 DOI: 10.1016/j.ygcen.2017.08.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2017] [Revised: 08/08/2017] [Accepted: 08/29/2017] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Ecdysteroid hormones regulate several aspects of insect development and reproduction. The predominant ecdysteroids produced by insects including mosquitoes are ecdysone (E) and 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E). The ability to measure E and 20E titers is essential for many studies, but few sensitive, low cost options are currently available for doing so. To address this deficiency, we developed a new enzyme-linked immunoassay (EIA). In the first part of the study, we compared the affinity of two new antisera named EAB25 and EAB27 to other available ecdysteroid antisera. EAB25 had a 27-fold higher affinity for 20E than E, while EAB27 had a four-fold higher affinity for 20E. In the second part of the study, EIA protocols were developed for analyzing E and 20E produced by the mosquito Aedes aegypti. Results indicated that pelts from fourth instar larvae and ovaries from blood-fed, adult females produced E and 20E. Methanol extraction in the presence of magnesium from whole body samples altered antibody recognition of E and 20E by EIA. However, extraction with 1-butanol and two organic/water phase separations eliminated this problem and improved assay performance. We conclude the new antisera used in the EIA provide a low-cost, flexible, and sensitive method for measuring E and 20E in insects.
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Affiliation(s)
- David A McKinney
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Michael R Strand
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Mark R Brown
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA.
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Smith MS, Shirley A, Strand MR. Copidosoma floridanum (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) Rapidly Alters Production of Soldier Embryos in Response to Competition. Ann Entomol Soc Am 2017; 110:501-505. [PMID: 29563646 PMCID: PMC5846696 DOI: 10.1093/aesa/sax056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2016] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Most social insects are free living and produce castes that develop in response to extrinsic environmental cues. Caste-forming polyembryonic insects, in contrast, are all endoparasitoids that form social groups inside the bodies of host insects. The best studied polyembryonic wasp is Copidosoma floridanum (Ashmead), which produces ∼3,000 clonal offspring that develop into two castes named reproductive and soldier larvae. Caste determination in this species is mediated by whether or not embryos inherit primary germ cells (PGCs). Prior results showed that C. floridanum increases the proportion of female soldier larvae it produces per host in response to other parasitoids like Microplitis demolitor. Here we show that caste ratio shifts occur through increased formation of embryos lacking PGCs. Our results further indicated that increased soldier production was a specific response to multiparasitism elicited by the chorion of M. demolitor eggs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Margaret S Smith
- Department of Biology, University of North Georgia, Dahlonega, GA 30597 (; )
- Corresponding author, e-mail:
| | - Andrew Shirley
- Department of Biology, University of North Georgia, Dahlonega, GA 30597 (; )
| | - Michael R Strand
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602
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Sutthangkul J, Amparyup P, Eum JH, Strand MR, Tassanakajon A. Anti-melanization mechanism of the white spot syndrome viral protein, WSSV453, via interaction with shrimp proPO-activating enzyme, PmproPPAE2. J Gen Virol 2017; 98:769-778. [DOI: 10.1099/jgv.0.000729] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Jantiwan Sutthangkul
- Center of Excellence for Molecular Biology and Genomics of Shrimp, Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, 254 Phayathai Road, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
| | - Piti Amparyup
- National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (BIOTEC), National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA), 113 Paholyothin Road, Klong1, Klong Luang, Pathumthani 12120, Thailand
| | - Jai-Hoon Eum
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Michael R Strand
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Anchalee Tassanakajon
- Center of Excellence for Molecular Biology and Genomics of Shrimp, Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, 254 Phayathai Road, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
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Vogel KJ, Valzania L, Coon KL, Brown MR, Strand MR. Transcriptome Sequencing Reveals Large-Scale Changes in Axenic Aedes aegypti Larvae. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2017; 11:e0005273. [PMID: 28060822 PMCID: PMC5245907 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0005273] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2016] [Revised: 01/19/2017] [Accepted: 12/20/2016] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Mosquitoes host communities of microbes in their digestive tract that consist primarily of bacteria. We previously reported that Aedes aegypti larvae colonized by a native community of bacteria and gnotobiotic larvae colonized by only Escherichia coli develop very similarly into adults, whereas axenic larvae never molt and die as first instars. In this study, we extended these findings by first comparing the growth and abundance of bacteria in conventional, gnotobiotic, and axenic larvae during the first instar. Results showed that conventional and gnotobiotic larvae exhibited no differences in growth, timing of molting, or number of bacteria in their digestive tract. Axenic larvae in contrast grew minimally and never achieved the critical size associated with molting by conventional and gnotobiotic larvae. In the second part of the study we compared patterns of gene expression in conventional, gnotobiotic and axenic larvae by conducting an RNAseq analysis of gut and nongut tissues (carcass) at 22 h post-hatching. Approximately 12% of Ae. aegypti transcripts were differentially expressed in axenic versus conventional or gnotobiotic larvae. However, this profile consisted primarily of transcripts in seven categories that included the down-regulation of select peptidases in the gut and up-regulation of several genes in the gut and carcass with roles in amino acid transport, hormonal signaling, and metabolism. Overall, our results indicate that axenic larvae exhibit alterations in gene expression consistent with defects in acquisition and assimilation of nutrients required for growth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin J. Vogel
- Department of Entomology, The University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, United States of America
- * E-mail: (KJV); (MRS)
| | - Luca Valzania
- Department of Entomology, The University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, United States of America
| | - Kerri L. Coon
- Department of Entomology, The University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, United States of America
| | - Mark R. Brown
- Department of Entomology, The University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, United States of America
| | - Michael R. Strand
- Department of Entomology, The University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, United States of America
- * E-mail: (KJV); (MRS)
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Coon KL, Brown MR, Strand MR. Mosquitoes host communities of bacteria that are essential for development but vary greatly between local habitats. Mol Ecol 2016; 25:5806-5826. [PMID: 27718295 DOI: 10.1111/mec.13877] [Citation(s) in RCA: 167] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2016] [Revised: 09/14/2016] [Accepted: 09/26/2016] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Mosquitoes are insects of interest because several species vector disease-causing pathogens to humans and other vertebrates. We previously reported that mosquitoes from long-term laboratory cultures require living bacteria in their gut to develop, but development does not depend on particular species of bacteria. Here, we focused on three distinct but interrelated areas of study to better understand the role of bacteria in mosquito development by studying field and laboratory populations of Aedes aegypti, Aedes albopictus and Culex quinquefasciatus from the southeastern United States. Sequence analysis of bacterial 16S rRNA gene amplicons showed that bacterial community composition differed substantially in larvae from different collection sites, whereas larvae from the same site shared similarities. Although previously unknown to be infected by Wolbachia, results also indicated that Ae. aegypti from one field site hosted a dual infection. Regardless of collection site or factors like Wolbachia infection, however, each mosquito species required living bacteria in their digestive tract to develop. Results also identified several concerns in using antibiotics to eliminate the bacterial community in larvae in order to study its developmental consequences. Altogether, our results indicate that several mosquito species require living bacteria for development. We also hypothesize these species do not rely on particular bacteria because larvae do not reliably encounter the same bacteria in the aquatic habitats they develop in.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kerri L Coon
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, 120 Cedar Street, 420 Biological Sciences, Athens, GA, 30602, USA
| | - Mark R Brown
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, 120 Cedar Street, 420 Biological Sciences, Athens, GA, 30602, USA
| | - Michael R Strand
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, 120 Cedar Street, 420 Biological Sciences, Athens, GA, 30602, USA
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Coon KL, Brown MR, Strand MR. Gut bacteria differentially affect egg production in the anautogenous mosquito Aedes aegypti and facultatively autogenous mosquito Aedes atropalpus (Diptera: Culicidae). Parasit Vectors 2016; 9:375. [PMID: 27363842 PMCID: PMC4929711 DOI: 10.1186/s13071-016-1660-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 91] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2016] [Accepted: 06/21/2016] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Aedes aegypti and A. atropalpus are related mosquitoes that differ reproductively. Aedes aegypti must blood-feed to produce eggs (anautogenous) while A. atropalpus always produces a first clutch of eggs without blood-feeding (facultatively autogenous). We recently characterized the gut microbiota of A. aegypti and A. atropalpus that were reared identically in the laboratory. Here, we assessed the effects of specific members of the gut microbiota in A. aegypti and A. atropalpus on female fitness including egg production. Methods Gnotobiotic A. aegypti and A. atropalpus larvae were colonized by specific members of the gut microbiota. Survival, development time, size and egg production for each treatment was then compared to axenic and conventionally reared larvae. Results Most species of bacteria we tested supported normal development and egg production by A. aegypti but only one betaproteobacterium, a Comamonas, supported development and egg production by A. atropalpus to equivalent levels as conventionally reared females. Aedes atropalpus females colonized by Comamonas contained similar stores of glycogen and protein as conventionally reared females, whereas females colonized by Aquitalea did not. Small differences in bacterial loads were detected between gnotobiotic and conventionally reared A. aegypti and A. atropalpus, but this variation did not correlate with the beneficial effects of Comamonas in A. atropalpus. Conclusions Specific members of the gut microbiota more strongly affected survival, size and egg production by A. atropalpus than A. aegypti. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13071-016-1660-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kerri L Coon
- Department of Entomology, The University of Georgia, 120 Cedar Street, 420 Biological Sciences, Athens, GA, 30602, USA
| | - Mark R Brown
- Department of Entomology, The University of Georgia, 120 Cedar Street, 420 Biological Sciences, Athens, GA, 30602, USA
| | - Michael R Strand
- Department of Entomology, The University of Georgia, 120 Cedar Street, 420 Biological Sciences, Athens, GA, 30602, USA.
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Abstract
Mosquitoes, like other insects, produce a diversity of peptide hormones that are processed from different precursor proteins and have a range of activities. Early studies relied on purification of bioactive peptides for hormone identification, but more recently genomic data have provided the information needed to more comprehensively identify peptide hormone genes and associated receptors. The first part of this chapter summarizes the known or predicted peptide hormones that are produced by mosquitoes. The second part of this chapter discusses the sources of these molecules and their functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- M R Strand
- University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States
| | - M R Brown
- University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States
| | - K J Vogel
- University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States
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Gao F, Gu QJ, Pan J, Wang ZH, Yin CL, Li F, Song QS, Strand MR, Chen XX, Shi M. Cotesia vestalis teratocytes express a diversity of genes and exhibit novel immune functions in parasitism. Sci Rep 2016; 6:26967. [PMID: 27254821 PMCID: PMC4890588 DOI: 10.1038/srep26967] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2016] [Accepted: 05/11/2016] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Some endoparasitoid wasps lay eggs that produce cells called teratocytes. In this study, we sequenced and analyzed the transcriptome of teratocytes from the solitary endoparasitoid Cotesia vestalis (Braconidae), which parasitizes larval stage Plutella xylostella (Plutellidae). Results identified many teratocyte transcripts with potential functions in affecting host immune defenses, growth or metabolism. Characterization of teratocyte-secreted venom-like protein 8 (TSVP-8) indicated it inhibits melanization of host hemolymph in vitro, while two predicted anti-microbial peptides (CvT-def 1 and 3) inhibited the growth of bacteria. Results also showed the parasitized hosts lacking teratocytes experienced higher mortality after immune challenge by pathogens than hosts with teratocytes. Taken together, these findings indicate that C. vestalis teratocytes secrete products that alter host immune functions while also producing anti-microbial peptides with functions that help protect the host from infection by other organisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fei Gao
- State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology and Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Agricultural Entomology, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, 866 Yuhangtang Road, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Qi-juan Gu
- State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology and Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Agricultural Entomology, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, 866 Yuhangtang Road, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Jing Pan
- State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology and Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Agricultural Entomology, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, 866 Yuhangtang Road, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Ze-hua Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology and Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Agricultural Entomology, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, 866 Yuhangtang Road, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Chuan-lin Yin
- Department of Entomology, College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University and Key Lab of Monitoring and Management of Plant Diseases and Insects, Ministry of Agriculture, 1 Weigang Road, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210095, China
| | - Fei Li
- State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology and Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Agricultural Entomology, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, 866 Yuhangtang Road, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Qi-sheng Song
- Molecular Insect Physiology, Division of Plant Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri 65211, USA
| | - Michael R. Strand
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602, USA
| | - Xue-xin Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology and Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Agricultural Entomology, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, 866 Yuhangtang Road, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Min Shi
- State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology and Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Agricultural Entomology, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, 866 Yuhangtang Road, Hangzhou 310058, China
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Abstract
Virus-host associations are usually viewed as parasitic, but several studies in recent years have reported examples of viruses that benefit host organisms. The Polydnaviridae are of particular interest because these viruses are all obligate mutualists of insects called parasitoid wasps. Parasitoids develop during their immature stages by feeding inside the body of other insects, which serve as their hosts. Polydnaviruses are vertically transmitted as proviruses through the germ line of wasps but also function as gene delivery vectors that wasps rely upon to genetically manipulate the hosts they parasitize. Here we review the evolutionary origin of polydnaviruses, the organization and function of their genomes, and some of their roles in parasitism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael R Strand
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602; ,
| | - Gaelen R Burke
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602; ,
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McKinney DA, Eum JH, Dhara A, Strand MR, Brown MR. Calcium influx enhances neuropeptide activation of ecdysteroid hormone production by mosquito ovaries. Insect Biochem Mol Biol 2016; 70:160-169. [PMID: 26772671 PMCID: PMC4767660 DOI: 10.1016/j.ibmb.2016.01.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2015] [Revised: 12/23/2015] [Accepted: 01/03/2016] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
A critical step in mosquito reproduction is the ingestion of a blood meal from a vertebrate host. In mosquitoes like Aedes aegypti, blood feeding stimulates the release of ovary ecdysteroidogenic hormone (OEH) and insulin-like peptide 3 (ILP3). This induces the ovaries to produce ecdysteroid hormone (ECD), which then drives egg maturation. In many immature insects, prothoracicotropic hormone (PTTH) stimulates the prothoracic glands to produce ECD that directs molting and metamorphosis. The receptors for OEH, ILP3 and PTTH are different receptor tyrosine kinases with OEH and ILP3 signaling converging downstream in the insulin pathway and PTTH activating the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway. Calcium (Ca(2+)) flux and cAMP have also been implicated in PTTH signaling, but the role of Ca(2+) in OEH, ILP3, and cAMP signaling in ovaries is unknown. Here, we assessed whether Ca(2+) flux affects OEH, ILP3, and cAMP activity in A. aegypti ovaries and also asked whether PTTH stimulated ovaries to produce ECD. Results indicated that Ca(2+) flux enhanced but was not essential for OEH or ILP3 activity, whereas cAMP signaling was dependent on Ca(2+) flux. Recombinant PTTH from Bombyx mori fully activated ECD production by B. mori PTGs, but exhibited no activity toward A. aegypti ovaries. Recombinant PTTH from A. aegypti also failed to stimulate either B. mori PTGs or A. aegypti ovaries to produce ECD. We discuss the implications of these results in the context of mosquito reproduction and ECD biosynthesis by insects generally.
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Affiliation(s)
- David A McKinney
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Jai-Hoon Eum
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Animesh Dhara
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Michael R Strand
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Mark R Brown
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA.
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Gulia-Nuss M, Elliot A, Brown MR, Strand MR. Multiple factors contribute to anautogenous reproduction by the mosquito Aedes aegypti. J Insect Physiol 2015; 82:8-16. [PMID: 26255841 PMCID: PMC4630150 DOI: 10.1016/j.jinsphys.2015.08.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2015] [Revised: 08/04/2015] [Accepted: 08/05/2015] [Indexed: 05/11/2023]
Abstract
Aedes aegypti is an anautogenous mosquito that must blood feed on a vertebrate host to produce and lay a clutch of eggs. The rockpool mosquito, Georgecraigius atropalpus, is related to A. aegypti but is a facultatively autogenous species that produces its first clutch of eggs shortly after emerging without blood feeding. Consumption of a blood meal by A. aegypti triggers the release of ovary ecdysteroidogenic hormone (OEH) and insulin-like peptide 3 (ILP3) from the brain, which stimulate egg formation. OEH and ILP3 also stimulate egg formation in G. atropalpus but are released at eclosion independently of blood feeding. These results collectively suggest that blood meal dependent release of OEH and ILP3 is one factor that prevents A. aegypti from reproducing autogenously. Here, we examined two other factors that potentially inhibit autogeny in A. aegypti: teneral nutrient reserves and the ability of OEH and ILP3 to stimulate egg formation in the absence of blood feeding. Measures of nutrient reserves showed that newly emerged A. aegypti females had similar wet weights but significantly lower protein and glycogen reserves than G. atropalpus females when larvae were reared under identical conditions. OEH stimulated non-blood fed A. aegypti females to produce ecdysteroid hormone and package yolk into oocytes more strongly than ILP3. OEH also reduced host seeking and blood feeding behavior, yet females produced few mature eggs. Overall, our results indicate that multiple factors prevent A. aegypti from reproducing autogenously.
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Affiliation(s)
- Monika Gulia-Nuss
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Anne Elliot
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Mark R Brown
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA.
| | - Michael R Strand
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA.
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Abstract
The International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) recognized the Polydnaviridae in 1991 as a virus family associated with insects called parasitoid wasps. Polydnaviruses (PDVs) have historically received limited attention but advances in recent years have elevated interest because their unusual biology sheds interesting light on the question of what viruses are and how they function. Here, we present a succinct history of the PDV literature. We begin with the findings that first led ICTV to recognize the Polydnaviridae. We then discuss what subsequent studies revealed and how these findings have shaped views of PDV evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael R Strand
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, United States of America.
| | - Gaelen R Burke
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, United States of America
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48
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Abstract
In the polyembryonic wasp Copidosoma floridanum, females commonly lay one male and one female egg in a lepidopteran host. Both sexes proliferate clonally within the growing host larva. Distinct larval castes develop from each wasp egg, the majority being 'reproductives' plus some 'soldiers' which sacrifice reproduction and attack competitors. Maturing mixed sex broods are usually female biased, as expected when intra-brood mating is common. Pre-mating dispersal followed by outbreeding is expected to increase sexual conflict over brood sex ratios and result in greater soldier attack rates. Owing to sexually asymmetric relatedness, intra-brood conflicts are expected to be resolved primarily via female soldier attack. We observed soldier behaviour in vitro to test whether lower intra-brood relatedness (siblings from either within-strain or between-strain crosses were presented) increased inter-sexual aggression by female as well as male soldiers. As found in prior studies, females were more aggressive than males but, contrary to expectations and previous empirical observations, soldiers of both sexes showed more aggression towards more closely related embryos. We speculate that lower intra-brood relatedness indicates maternal outbreeding and may suggest a rarity of mating opportunities for reproductives maturing from the current brood, which may enhance the value of opposite sex brood-mates, or that higher aggression towards relatives may be a side-effect of mechanisms to discriminate heterospecific competitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johanna Dunn
- School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington, UK
| | - Derek W Dunn
- College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710069, People's Republic of China
| | - Michael R Strand
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
| | - Ian C W Hardy
- School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington, UK
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Abstract
Some endoparasitoid wasps (Hymenoptera) produce teratocytes, which are a type of cell that is released into host insects when wasp eggs hatch. In this short review I first summarize the different taxa of wasps that produce teratocytes, the embryonic origin of these cells, and key features of teratocyte growth. Then I discuss the known or hypothesized functions of teratocytes, and the range of teratocyte gene products that have been identified including recent transcriptome and proteome data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael R Strand
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, United States.
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Strand MR. Editorial overview: Parasites/parasitoids/biological control: The study of parasitoid physiology begins to mature. Curr Opin Insect Sci 2014; 6:vi-ix. [PMID: 32846700 DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2014.10.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Michael R Strand
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, United States.
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