Virus evolution in Wolbachia-infected Drosophila.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Martinez J
PROVIDER: S-EPMC6823055 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:The Drosophila-Wolbachia system is being used to study the molecular nature of the interactions between a host and a symbiont. This system offers a unique opportunity for such a study since the Drosophila genome sequence is available, several Wolbachi genomes will also be available soon and there are at least three known Wolbachia strains infecting Drosophila: a) mod+ strain that induces cytoplasmic incompatibility, b) mod- strain that cannot induce cytoplasmic incompatibility, and c) popcorn strain, a virulent strain which reduces in half the adult lifespan of Drosophila due to its massive proliferation in adult brain. The Drosophila-Wolbachia interaction manifests itself in 3 main ways; first, destruction of the CNS in infected adults, second, induction of some kind of modification or imprinting in the male germ-line resulting in an early failure in embryonic development, (cytoplasmic incompatability (CI)) and third, modification of the female germ-line resulting in resistance to modified sperm. We are interested in identifying Drosophila genes with changes in expression due to Wolbachia infection. We have generated a series of isogenic fly lines (those being used in the IGF P-element project) which we have infected with Wolbachia strains, infection is readily cured by growth on medium containing tetracycline. Thus, we have equivalent genetic background with and without the parasite. We have tested all of the transgenic lines for the level of CI and find strain-specific levels ranging from 0-50%. We also have a strain of D. simulans that shows over 95% CI. Plan: For our initial experiments we wish to make 4 comparisons, in all cases 2 day old males will be collected and for each comparison we will isolate 3 independent biological replicates: Melanogaster no CI [tet] x Melanogaster no CI [+wol] Melanogaster high CI [tet] x Melanogaster high CI [+wol] We will therefore identify genes with changed expression levels in the male upon Wolbachia infection by comparing the melanogaster strains with high or no CI in the presence of tetracycline and Wolbachia. We also hope to identify similar genes in simulans (where we expect the magnitude of the effect to be larger), differences between melanogaster and simulans are controlled for in the mel v sim comparison.
2004-05-07 | E-FLYC-3 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:Transcriptional profiling of Drosophila melanogaster larval testes with and without the wMel strain of Wolbachia and found that 296 genes had at least a 1.5 fold change [q-value (%)<5%] in transcript levels, with 167 genes up-regulated and 129 genes down-regulated when comparing Wolbachia-infected flies to uninfected ones. Differential expression of genes related to metabolism, immunity, reproduction and other functions were observed.
2012-07-01 | GSE32601 | GEO
Project description:Wolbachia is a maternally transmitted bacterial symbiont that is estimated to infect approximately half of arthropod species. In the laboratory it can increase the resistance of insects to viral infection, but its effect on viruses in nature is unknown. Here we report that in a natural population of Drosophila melanogaster, individuals that are infected with Wolbachia are less likely to be infected by viruses. By characterising the virome by metagenomic sequencing and then testing individual flies for infection, we found the protective effect of Wolbachia was virus-specific, with the prevalence of infection being up to 15% greater in Wolbachia-free flies. The antiviral effects of Wolbachia may contribute to its extraordinary ecological success, and in nature the symbiont may be an important component of the antiviral defences of insects.
| S-EPMC8617179 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BACKGROUND: Wolbachia are endosymbiotic bacteria that are frequently found in arthropods and nematodes. These maternally inherited bacteria manipulate host reproduction by several mechanisms including cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI). CI is the most common phenotype induced by Wolbachia and results in the developmental arrest of embryos derived from crosses between Wolbachia-infected males and uninfected females. Although the molecular mechanisms of CI are currently unknown, several studies suggest that host sperm is modified by Wolbachia during spermatogenesis. RESULTS: We compared the gene expression of Drosophila melanogaster larval testes with and without the wMel strain of Wolbachia to identify candidate genes that could be involved in the interaction between Wolbachia and the insect host. Microarray, quantitative RT-PCR and in situ hybridization analyses were carried out on D. melanogaster larval testes to determine the effect of Wolbachia infection on host gene expression. A total of 296 genes were identified by microarray analysis to have at least a 1.5 fold change [q-value < 5%] in expression. When comparing Wolbachia-infected flies to uninfected flies, 167 genes were up-regulated and 129 genes down-regulated. Differential expression of genes related to metabolism, immunity, reproduction and other functions were observed. Quantitative RT-PCR (qRT-PCR) confirmed 12 genes are differentially expressed in the testes of the 3rd instar larvae of Wolbachia-infected and uninfected flies. In situ hybridization demonstrated that Wolbachia infection changes the expression of several genes putatively associated with spermatogenesis including JH induced protein-26 and Mst84Db, or involved in immune (kenny) or metabolism (CG4988-RA). CONCLUSIONS: Wolbachia change the gene expression of 296 genes in the larval testes of D. melanogaster including genes related to metabolism, immunity and reproduction. Interestingly, most of the genes putatively involved in immunity were up-regulated in the presence of Wolbachia. In contrast, most of the genes putatively associated with reproduction (especially spermatogenesis) were down-regulated in the presence of Wolbachia. These results suggest Wolbachia may activate the immune pathway but inhibit spermatogenesis. Our data provide a significant panel of candidate genes that may be involved in the interaction between Wolbachia and their insect hosts. This forms a basis to help elucidate the underlying mechanisms of Wolbachia-induced CI in Drosophila and the influence of Wolbachia on spermatogenesis.
| S-EPMC3261232 | biostudies-literature
Project description:INTRODUCTION: Dengue is one of the most widespread mosquito-borne diseases in the world. The causative agent, dengue virus (DENV), is primarily transmitted by the mosquito Aedes aegypti, a species that has proved difficult to control using conventional methods. The discovery that A. aegypti transinfected with the wMel strain of Wolbachia showed limited DENV replication led to trial field releases of these mosquitoes in Cairns, Australia as a biocontrol strategy for the virus. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Field collected wMel mosquitoes that were challenged with three DENV serotypes displayed limited rates of body infection, viral replication and dissemination to the head compared to uninfected controls. Rates of dengue infection, replication and dissemination in field wMel mosquitoes were similar to those observed in the original transinfected wMel line that had been maintained in the laboratory. We found that wMel was distributed in similar body tissues in field mosquitoes as in laboratory ones, but, at seven days following blood-feeding, wMel densities increased to a greater extent in field mosquitoes. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our results indicate that virus-blocking is likely to persist in Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes after their release and establishment in wild populations, suggesting that Wolbachia biocontrol may be a successful strategy for reducing dengue transmission in the field.
| S-EPMC3930499 | biostudies-other
Project description:The diversity and infection dynamics of the endosymbiont Wolbachia can be influenced by many factors, such as transmission rate, cytoplasmic incompatibility, environment, selection and genetic drift. The interplay of these factors in natural populations can result in heterogeneous infection patterns with substantial differences between populations and strains. The causes of these heterogeneities are not yet understood, partly due to the complexity of natural environments. We present experimental evolution as a new approach to study Wolbachia infection dynamics in replicate populations exposed to a controlled environment. A natural Drosophila melanogaster population infected with strains of Wolbachia belonging to different clades evolved in two laboratory environments (hot and cold) for 1.5 years. In both treatments, the rate of Wolbachia infection increased until fixation. In the hot environment, the relative frequency of different Wolbachia clades remained stable over 37 generations. In the cold environment, however, we observed marked changes in the composition of the Wolbachia population: within 15 generations, one Wolbachia clade increased more than 50% in frequency, whereas the other two clades decreased in frequency, resulting in the loss of one clade. The frequency change was highly reproducible not only among replicates, but also when flies that evolved for 42 generations in the hot environment were transferred to the cold environment. These results document how environmental factors can affect the composition of Wolbachia in D. melanogaster. The high reproducibility of the pattern suggests that experimental evolution studies can efficiently determine the functional basis of habitat-specific fitness among Wolbachia strains.
| S-EPMC4260678 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Wolbachia are maternally inherited bacteria that commonly spread through host populations by causing cytoplasmic incompatibility, often expressed as reduced egg hatch when uninfected females mate with infected males. Infected females are frequently less fecund as a consequence of Wolbachia infection. However, theory predicts that because of maternal transmission, these "parasites" will tend to evolve towards a more mutualistic association with their hosts. Drosophila simulans in California provided the classic case of a Wolbachia infection spreading in nature. Cytoplasmic incompatibility allowed the infection to spread through individual populations within a few years and from southern to northern California (more than 700 km) within a decade, despite reducing the fecundity of infected females by 15%-20% under laboratory conditions. Here we show that the Wolbachia in California D. simulans have changed over the last 20 y so that infected females now exhibit an average 10% fecundity advantage over uninfected females in the laboratory. Our data suggest smaller but qualitatively similar changes in relative fecundity in nature and demonstrate that fecundity-increasing Wolbachia variants are currently polymorphic in natural populations.
| S-EPMC1852586 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Transcriptional profiling of Drosophila melanogaster larval testes with and without the wMel strain of Wolbachia and found that 296 genes had at least a 1.5 fold change [q-value (%)<5%] in transcript levels, with 167 genes up-regulated and 129 genes down-regulated when comparing Wolbachia-infected flies to uninfected ones. Differential expression of genes related to metabolism, immunity, reproduction and other functions were observed. Two-condition experiment, Wolbachia-infected vs. Wolbachia-uninfected testes. Biological replicates: 3 control, 3 infected, independently grown and dissected. One replicate per array.
2012-06-30 | E-GEOD-32601 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:Wolbachia are maternally inherited endosymbionts that infect nearly half of all arthropod species. Wolbachia manipulate their hosts to maximize their transmission, but they can also provide benefits such as nutrients and resistance against viruses to their hosts. The Wolbachia strain wMel was recently found to increase locomotor activities and possibly trigger cytoplasmic incompatibility in the transinfected fly Drosophila nigrosparsa. Here, we investigated, in females of both D. melanogaster and D. nigrosparsa, the gene expression between animals uninfected and infected with wMel, using RNA sequencing to see if the two Drosophila species respond to the infection in the same or different ways. A total of 2164 orthologous genes were used. The two fly species responded to the infection in different ways. Significant changes shared by the fly species belong to the expression of genes involved in processes such as oxidation-reduction process, iron-ion binding, and voltage-gated potassium-channel activity. We discuss our findings also in the light of how Wolbachia survive within both the native and the novel host.
| S-EPMC8166886 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Maternally inherited bacteria of the genus Wolbachia are responsible for the early death of embryos in crosses between uninfected females and infected males in several insect species. This phenomenon, known as cytoplasmic incompatibility, also occurs between strains infected by different symbionts in some species, including Drosophila simulans. Wolbachia was found in two species closely related to D. simulans, Drosophila mauritiana, and Drosophila sechellia, and shown to cause incompatibility in the latter species but not in D. mauritiana. Comparison of bacterial and mtDNA history clarifies the origins of bacterial and incompatibility polymorphisms in D. simulans. Infection in D. mauritiana is probably the result of introgression of an infected D. simulans cytoplasm. Some D. simulans and D. sechellia cytoplasmic lineages harbor two bacteria as a consequence of a double infection which probably occurred in a common ancestor. The descendant symbionts in each species are associated with similar incompatibility relationships, which suggests that little variation of incompatibility types has occurred within maternal lineages beyond that related to the density of symbionts in their hosts.
| S-EPMC41523 | biostudies-other