scholarly journals Introgressive and horizontal acquisition of Wolbachia by Drosophila yakuba-clade hosts and horizontal transfer of incompatibility loci between distantly related Wolbachia

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brandon S. Cooper ◽  
Dan Vanderpool ◽  
William R. Conner ◽  
Daniel R. Matute ◽  
Michael Turelli
Keyword(s):  
Horizontal Transfer ◽  
Cytoplasmic Incompatibility ◽  
Statistical Tests ◽  
Horizontal Transmission ◽  
West African ◽  
Mitochondrial Genomes ◽  
Egg Hatch ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
Drosophila Yakuba ◽  
Horizontal Acquisition

ABSTRACTMaternally transmitted Wolbachia infect about half of insect species, yet the predominant mode(s) of Wolbachia acquisition remains uncertain. Species-specific associations could be old, with Wolbachia and hosts co-diversifying (i.e., cladogenic acquisition), or relatively young and acquired by horizontal transfer or introgression. The three Drosophila yakuba-clade hosts ((D. santomea, D. yakuba), D. teissieri) diverged about three million years ago and currently hybridize on Bioko and São Tomé, west African islands. Each species is polymorphic for nearly identical Wolbachia that cause weak cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI)–reduced egg hatch when uninfected females mate with infected males. D. yakuba-clade Wolbachia are closely related to wMel, globally polymorphic in D. melanogaster. We use draft Wolbachia and mitochondrial genomes to demonstrate that D. yakuba-clade Wolbachia and mitochondrial phylogenies tend to follow host nuclear phylogenies; however, roughly half of D. santomea individuals, sampled both inside and outside of the São Tomé hybrid zone, have introgressed D. yakuba mitochondria. Both mitochondria and Wolbachia possess far more recent common ancestors than the bulk of the host nuclear genomes, precluding cladogenic Wolbachia acquisition. General concordance of Wolbachia and mitochondrial phylogenies suggests that horizontal transmission is rare, but varying relative rates of molecular divergence complicate time-based statistical tests. Loci that cause CI in wMel are disrupted in D. yakuba-clade Wolbachia; however, a second set of loci predicted to cause CI are located in the same WO prophage region. These alternative CI loci seem to have been acquired horizontally from distantly related Wolbachia, with transfer mediated by flanking Wolbachia-specific ISWpi1 transposons.

scholarly journals Wolbachia Endosymbiont of the Horn Fly (Haematobia irritans irritans): a Supergroup A Strain with Multiple Horizontally Acquired Cytoplasmic Incompatibility Genes

2020 ◽  
Vol 86 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mukund Madhav ◽  
Rhys Parry ◽  
Jess A. T. Morgan ◽  
Peter James ◽  
Sassan Asgari
Keyword(s):  
Cytoplasmic Incompatibility ◽  
The United States ◽  
Whole Genome ◽  
Evolutionary Analysis ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Wolbachia Pipientis ◽  
Haematobia Irritans ◽  
Horn Fly ◽  
Horn Flies ◽  
Horizontal Acquisition

ABSTRACT The horn fly, Haematobia irritans irritans, is a hematophagous parasite of livestock distributed throughout Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas. Welfare losses on livestock due to horn fly infestation are estimated to cost between $1 billion and $2.5 billion (U.S. dollars) annually in North America and Brazil. The endosymbiotic bacterium Wolbachia pipientis is a maternally inherited manipulator of reproductive biology in arthropods and naturally infects laboratory colonies of horn flies from Kerrville, TX, and Alberta, Canada, but it has also been identified in wild-caught samples from Canada, the United States, Mexico, and Hungary. Reassembly of PacBio long-read and Illumina genomic DNA libraries from the Kerrville H. i. irritans genome project allowed for a complete and circularized 1.3-Mb Wolbachia genome (wIrr). Annotation of wIrr yielded 1,249 coding genes, 34 tRNAs, 3 rRNAs, and 5 prophage regions. Comparative genomics and whole-genome Bayesian evolutionary analysis of wIrr compared to published Wolbachia genomes suggested that wIrr is most closely related to and diverged from Wolbachia supergroup A strains known to infect Drosophila spp. Whole-genome synteny analyses between wIrr and closely related genomes indicated that wIrr has undergone significant genome rearrangements while maintaining high nucleotide identity. Comparative analysis of the cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI) genes of wIrr suggested two phylogenetically distinct CI loci and acquisition of another cifB homolog from phylogenetically distant supergroup A Wolbachia strains, suggesting horizontal acquisition of these loci. The wIrr genome provides a resource for future examination of the impact Wolbachia may have in both biocontrol and potential insecticide resistance of horn flies. IMPORTANCE Horn flies, Haematobia irritans irritans, are obligate hematophagous parasites of cattle having significant effects on production and animal welfare. Control of horn flies mainly relies on the use of insecticides, but issues with resistance have increased interest in development of alternative means of control. Wolbachia pipientis is an endosymbiont bacterium known to have a range of effects on host reproduction, such as induction of cytoplasmic incompatibility, feminization, male killing, and also impacts vector transmission. These characteristics of Wolbachia have been exploited in biological control approaches for a range of insect pests. Here we report the assembly and annotation of the circular genome of the Wolbachia strain of the Kerrville, TX, horn fly (wIrr). Annotation of wIrr suggests its unique features, including the horizontal acquisition of additional transcriptionally active cytoplasmic incompatibility loci. This study provides the foundation for future studies of Wolbachia-induced biological effects for control of horn flies.

Differences in the susceptibility of seeds of selected varieties of cowpea to Bruchidius atrolineatus (Coleoptera: Bruchidae)

1995 ◽  
Vol 85 (2) ◽  
pp. 259-265 ◽  
Author(s):  
T.I. Ofuya ◽  
P.F. Credland
Keyword(s):  
Adult Emergence ◽  
Life Time ◽  
West African ◽  
Egg Hatch ◽  
Adult Weight ◽  
Significant Damage ◽  
Cowpea Varieties ◽  
Bruchidius Atrolineatus ◽  
West African Sahel ◽  
Protein Rich

AbstractThe bruchid Bruchidius atrolineatus (Pic) causes significant damage to the stored protein rich seeds of cowpea, Vigna unguiculata, in the West African Sahel. Twenty varieties of cowpea were evaluated for susceptibility to attack by B. atrolineatus in the laboratory. The bruchid showed differential response to the seeds in terms of developmental period, percentage adult emergence, seed weight loss due to feeding by one larva, adult weight at emergence and life-time fecundity of females reared from them. Based on these criteria, IT85F-2205 and IT84S-275-9 were the least susceptible varieties. The development of B. atrolineatus was most significantly delayed in these varieties. The beetle larvae consumed less of their seed material and adults reared from them were smallest and least fecund. The varieties IT87S-1393, IT90K-391 and IT84D-460 also had relatively lower susceptibility to the beetle than others. In a no-choice oviposition experiment, B. atrolineatus females laid equally on all varieties. Percentage egg hatch on the different cowpea varieties did not differ significantly. The results are discussed in relation to previous reports on susceptibility of cowpea and other legumes to bruchids.

scholarly journals High Incidence of Related Wolbachia across Unrelated Leaf-Mining Diptera

Insects ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 788
Author(s):  
Xuefen Xu ◽  
Peter M. Ridland ◽  
Paul A. Umina ◽  
Alex Gill ◽  
Perran A. Ross ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Horizontal Transfer ◽  
Cytoplasmic Incompatibility ◽  
Wolbachia Infection ◽  
Wolbachia Pipientis ◽  
Reciprocal Crosses ◽  
Gene Set ◽  
Incompatible Insect Technique ◽  
Leaf Mining ◽  
High Incidence ◽  
Wolbachia Density

The maternally inherited endosymbiont, Wolbachia pipientis, plays an important role in the ecology and evolution of many of its hosts by affecting host reproduction and fitness. Here, we investigated 13 dipteran leaf-mining species to characterize Wolbachia infections and the potential for this endosymbiont in biocontrol. Wolbachia infections were present in 12 species, including 10 species where the Wolbachia infection was at or near fixation. A comparison of Wolbachia relatedness based on the wsp/MLST gene set showed that unrelated leaf-mining species often shared similar Wolbachia, suggesting common horizontal transfer. We established a colony of Liriomyza brassicae and found adult Wolbachia density was stable; although Wolbachia density differed between the sexes, with females having a 20-fold higher density than males. Wolbachia density increased during L. brassicae development, with higher densities in pupae than larvae. We removed Wolbachia using tetracycline and performed reciprocal crosses between Wolbachia-infected and uninfected individuals. Cured females crossed with infected males failed to produce offspring, indicating that Wolbachia induced complete cytoplasmic incompatibility in L. brassicae. The results highlight the potential of Wolbachia to suppress Liriomyza pests based on approaches such as the incompatible insect technique, where infected males are released into populations lacking Wolbachia or with a different incompatible infection.

scholarly journals A w AlbB Wolbachia transinfection displays stable phenotypic effects across divergent Aedes aegypti mosquito backgrounds

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Perran A. Ross ◽  
Xinyue Gu ◽  
Katie L. Robinson ◽  
Qiong Yang ◽  
Ellen Cottingham ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Aedes Aegypti ◽  
Cytoplasmic Incompatibility ◽  
Mosquito Control ◽  
Host Genotype ◽  
Egg Hatch ◽  
Genetic Changes ◽  
Control Programs ◽  
Nuclear Background ◽  
The Stability

Aedes mosquitoes harboring intracellular Wolbachia bacteria are being released in arbovirus and mosquito control programs. With releases taking place around the world, understanding the contribution of host variation to Wolbachia phenotype is crucial. We generated a Wolbachia transinfection ( w AlbB Q ) in Aedes aegypti and performed backcrossing to introduce the infection into Australian or Malaysian nuclear backgrounds. Whole Wolbachia genome sequencing shows that the w AlbB Q transinfection is near-identical to the reference w AlbB genome, suggesting few changes since the infection was first introduced to Ae. aegypti over 15 years ago. However, these sequences were distinct from other available w AlbB genome sequences, highlighting the potential diversity of w AlbB in natural Ae. albopictus populations. Phenotypic comparisons demonstrate effects of w AlbB infection on egg hatch and nuclear background on fecundity and body size, but no interactions between w AlbB infection and nuclear background for any trait. The w AlbB infection was stable at high temperatures and showed perfect maternal transmission and cytoplasmic incompatibility regardless of host background. Our results demonstrate the stability of w AlbB across host backgrounds and point to its long-term effectiveness for controlling arbovirus transmission and mosquito populations. Importance Wolbachia bacteria are being used to control the transmission of dengue and other arboviruses by mosquitoes. For Wolbachia release programs to be effective globally, Wolbachia infections must be stable across mosquito populations from different locations. In this study, we transferred Wolbachia (strain w AlbB) to Aedes aegypti mosquitoes with an Australian genotype and introduced the infection to Malaysian mosquitoes through backcrossing. We found that the phenotypic effects of Wolbachia are stable across both mosquito backgrounds. We sequenced the genome of w AlbB and found very few genetic changes despite spending over 15 years in a novel mosquito host. Our results suggest that the effects of Wolbachia infections are likely to remain stable across time and host genotype.

scholarly journals Are ecological communities the seat of endosymbiont horizontal transfer and diversification? A case study with soil arthropod community.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manisha Gupta ◽  
Rajbir Kaur ◽  
Ankita Gupta ◽  
Rhitoban Raychoudhury
Keyword(s):  
Horizontal Transfer ◽  
Statistical Tests ◽  
Rrna Gene ◽  
Arthropod Community ◽  
Ecological Communities ◽  
Biological Organization ◽  
Strain Characterization ◽  
Individual Host ◽  
Soil Arthropod ◽  
Group B

Maternally inherited endosymbionts are one of the most abundant bacteria infecting arthropods and show extensive horizontal transfer. Such widespread distribution and extensive recombination among these endosymbionts could be an outcome of horizontal transfer as for such genetic exchanges to occur their hosts should come in contact. One such level of biological organization where different hosts can do that is the ecological community. Despite various studies focusing on known model species and specific ecological interactions among hosts, reports on community wide endosymbiont data are rare. To better understand endosymbiont spread, we investigated the incidence, diversity, extent of horizontal transfer and recombination of three such endosymbionts (Wolbachia, Cardinium and Arsenophonus) in a specific soil arthropod community. Wolbachia strain characterization was done using multiple genes whereas single 16S rRNA gene was used for Cardinium and Arsenophonus. Amongst 3509 individual host arthropods belonging to 390 morphospecies, 12.05% were infected with Wolbachia, 2.82% with Cardinium and 2.05% with Arsenophonus. Phylogenetic incongruence between host and endosymbiont indicated extensive horizontal transfer of endosymbionts within this community. Three cases of recombination between Wolbachia supergroups and eight incidences of within supergroup genetic exchange were also found. Statistical tests of similarity indicated supergroup A Wolbachia and Cardinium to show a pattern consistent with rapid horizontal transfer within the community. However same tests done for super group B Wolbachia and Arsenophonus did not show similar patterns. We highlight the importance of extensive community wide studies for a better understanding of the spread of endosymbionts across global arthropod communities.

scholarly journals Termite Taxonomy, Challenges and Prospects: West Africa, A Case Example

Insects ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith Korb ◽  
Boris Kasseney ◽  
Yvonne Cakpo ◽  
Robin Casalla Daza ◽  
Jean Gbenyedji ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Markers ◽  
Species Delimitation ◽  
Morphological Traits ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
West African ◽  
Species Level ◽  
Ecological Research ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
Structured Approach

Termites are important ecosystem engineers. Yet they are often difficult to identify due to the lack of reliable species-specific morphological traits for many species, which hampers ecological research. Recently, termitologists working with West African termites (West African Termite Taxonomy Initiative) convened for a workshop with the aim of beginning to address this problem. Repeated determination of the same termite samples by the most renowned taxonomists for West African termites identified the huge scale of the problem, as less than 10% of all species could be unambiguously determined to the species level. Intensive discussions and comparisons increased the identification success to around 25% at the end of the workshop. Yet many groups remained problematic and molecular markers and barcoding techniques combined with species delimitation approaches will be needed to help resolve these existing taxonomic problems. Based on the outcome of this workshop, we propose concerted initiatives to address termite taxonomy on a global scale. We are convinced that dedicated workshops on regional taxonomy that follow a similar structured approach, with repeated determination of the same sample, will help overcome the difficulties that termite taxonomy faces. This initiative can also serve as a blueprint for other taxonomical groups that are difficult to identify.

A single mutation weakens symbiont-induced reproductive manipulation through reductions in deubiquitylation efficiency

2021 ◽  
Vol 118 (39) ◽  
pp. e2113271118
Author(s):  
John F. Beckmann ◽  
Kelley Van Vaerenberghe ◽  
Daniel E. Akwa ◽  
Brandon S. Cooper
Keyword(s):  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
Genetic Variation ◽  
Cytoplasmic Incompatibility ◽  
Single Mutation ◽  
Single Factor ◽  
Natural Systems ◽  
Fitness Advantage ◽  
Drosophila Yakuba ◽  
Embryonic Viability

Animals interact with microbes that affect their performance and fitness, including endosymbionts that reside inside their cells. Maternally transmitted Wolbachia bacteria are the most common known endosymbionts, in large part because of their manipulation of host reproduction. For example, many Wolbachia cause cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI) that reduces host embryonic viability when Wolbachia-modified sperm fertilize uninfected eggs. Operons termed cifs control CI, and a single factor (cifA) rescues it, providing Wolbachia-infected females a fitness advantage. Despite CI’s prevalence in nature, theory indicates that natural selection does not act to maintain CI, which varies widely in strength. Here, we investigate the genetic and functional basis of CI-strength variation observed among sister Wolbachia that infect Drosophila melanogaster subgroup hosts. We cloned, Sanger sequenced, and expressed cif repertoires from weak CI–causing wYak in Drosophila yakuba, revealing mutations suspected to weaken CI relative to model wMel in D. melanogaster. A single valine-to-leucine mutation within the deubiquitylating (DUB) domain of the wYak cifB homolog (cidB) ablates a CI-like phenotype in yeast. The same mutation reduces both DUB efficiency in vitro and transgenic CI strength in the fly, each by about twofold. Our results map hypomorphic transgenic CI to reduced DUB activity and indicate that deubiquitylation is central to CI induction in cid systems. We also characterize effects of other genetic variation distinguishing wMel-like cifs. Importantly, CI strength determines Wolbachia prevalence in natural systems and directly influences the efficacy of Wolbachia biocontrol strategies in transinfected mosquito systems. These approaches rely on strong CI to reduce human disease.

Comparative analysis of 1.688 satellite DNA on D. melanogaster species subgroup provides new insights of its pervasive presence throughout both chromatin domains and reveals a recent horizontal transfer event.

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leonardo Gomes De Lima ◽  
Gustavo C. S. Kuhn
Keyword(s):  
Phylogenetic Analysis ◽  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
X Chromosome ◽  
Satellite Dna ◽  
Horizontal Transfer ◽  
Tandem Repeats ◽  
Specific Pattern ◽  
Chromosome X ◽  
Transfer Event ◽  
Species Specific

The 1.688 satellite DNA is present in the genome of Drosophila species from the melanogaster subgroup and has never been detected in species outside this subgroup. We investigated the presence and evolution of the 1.688 satDNA in all Drosophila genomes sequenced so far. Blast searches showed that 1.688 repeats are virtually confined to species from the melanogaster subgroup. Phylogenetic analysis of ~6,500 repeats extracted from D. melanogaster , D. simulans , D. sechellia , D. yakuba and D. erecta revealed the presence of 1.688 family on heterochromatin and euchromatin of all five species. Heterochromatic copies revealed a concerted mode of evolution and a species-specific pattern. Oppositely, euchromatic copies lack species-specific or array-specific pattern. Euchromatic arrays also showed a high number of insertions on 5Kb upstream/downstream of genes and in intronic regions. Unexpectedly, we found an array with at least three full 1.688 tandem repeats in the genome of D. willistoni . These repeats were highly similar to the ones present in the chromosome X of D. melanogaster , although both species have diverged from each other more than 35Mya, suggesting that 1.688 repeats from the X chromosome of D. melanogaster moved to D. willistoni by a recent horizontal transfer event.

Crossing relationships among seven members of the group of Aedes scutellaris (Walker) (Diptera: Culicidae)

1984 ◽  
Vol 74 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. R. Meek ◽  
W. W. MacDonald
Keyword(s):  
Culex Pipiens ◽  
Reciprocal Cross ◽  
Cytoplasmic Incompatibility ◽  
Female Parent ◽  
Male Parent ◽  
The West ◽  
Egg Hatch ◽  
Aedes Polynesiensis ◽  
Eastern Species

AbstractA rickettsia-free (aposymbiotic) stock of Aedes polynesiensis Marks (POLY-A) was crossed with (a) three symbiont-infected stocks of A. polynesiensis (POLY-S from Samoa and POLY-N and POLY-T from Fiji), (b) A. pseudoscutellaris (Theo.) (PSE) from Fiji, (c) A. alcasidi Huang (ALC), A. scutellaris katherinensis Woodhill (KATH), A. s. malayensis Colless (MAL) and A. s. scutellaris (Wlk.) (SCUT), which occur to the west of Fiji and (d) an aposymbiotic stock of A. cooki Belkin (CO) from Niue. It was bidirectionally compatible with CO, but in all other crosses compatibility was high when POLY-A was the male parent and very low when it was the female parent. Backcross data suggested that the crossing type was maternally inherited. ALC and KATH were bidirectionally compatible; both were virtually incompatible with POLY-S and PSE, compatible with SCUT when the latter was the female parent, and compatible with CO when the latter was the male parent. POLY-S females were moderately compatible with a third Fijian stock of A. polynesiensis (POLY-V), and POLY-N and POLY-V were compatible with PSE. If, as in Culex pipiens L., rickettsia-like symbionts are responsible for cytoplasmic incompatibility, then aposymbiotic males should cross successfully with symbiont-infected females, whereas the reciprocal cross should be unsuccessful. Since PSE, MAL and SCUT contain symbionts, their crossing relationships are consistent with the hypothesis. However, ALC and KATH appear to be aposymbiotic and their crossing relationships conflict with the hypothesis. There is little evidence of behavioural barriers to mating between species, but whereas male hybrids of two eastern species were capable of normal insemination, male hybrids between western and eastern species gave very low insemination rates. The egg-hatch rates from backcrosses of female hybrids between western and eastern species to the parents were reduced.

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