{"id":1052,"date":"2018-12-09T19:01:20","date_gmt":"2018-12-09T19:01:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.aassie.net\/Pro\/?p=1052"},"modified":"2018-12-09T19:01:20","modified_gmt":"2018-12-09T19:01:20","slug":"mac-2k18-07-08","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aassie.net\/Pro\/mac-2k18-07-08\/","title":{"rendered":"Microbial Advent Calendar 2k18 – Masters of Sex"},"content":{"rendered":"[vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″ shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_link_target=”_self” column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1\/4″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” bg_image_animation=”none”][\/vc_column][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_link_target=”_self” column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1\/2″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” bg_image_animation=”none”][image_with_animation image_url=”1065″ alignment=”” animation=”Fade In” border_radius=”none” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”][\/vc_column][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_link_target=”_self” column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1\/4″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” bg_image_animation=”none”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″ shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_link_target=”_self” column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1\/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column_text]\n

For the first weekend of the Microbial Advent Calendar, we are doing a “Wolbachia Special<\/strong>“! There are so many cool things about Wolbachia<\/em> that I could have run at least a whole week with one example a day. Instead, we are going to condense the awesomeness of these bacteria in two blog posts a little bit longer than the previous ones. Wolbachia are know to be “reproductive parasites”, but in some species, they transitioned further into beneficial symbionts helping the host to overcome stressful situations.<\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner column_margin=”default” text_align=”left”][vc_column_inner column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” width=”1\/4″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” bg_image_animation=”none”][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” width=”1\/2″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” bg_image_animation=”none”][image_with_animation image_url=”1066″ alignment=”center” animation=”Fade In” border_radius=”none” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” width=”1\/4″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” bg_image_animation=”none”][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner column_margin=”default” text_align=”left” css=”.vc_custom_1544312960329{margin-top: 2% !important;}”][vc_column_inner column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” width=”1\/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column_text]\n

Today we focus on the parasite aspect of Wolbachia<\/em> and what it means to be a reproductive parasite.\u00a0These alphaproteobacterial endosymbionts are transmitted vertically through the host’s eggs and alter the host’s biology in diverse ways, including the induction of reproductive manipulations, such as feminization, male killing, parthenogenesis and sperm\u2013egg incompatibility. Let’s go through each one of those steps with examples.<\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_text_separator title=”Feminization and Male killing” i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-transgender” i_color=”orange” title_align=”separator_align_left” add_icon=”true”][vc_column_text]\n

Wolbachia<\/em> is transmitted vertically, meaning that to survive from one generation to another it needs to pass through the female line (with WZ chromosomes). What should they do then when the bacteria encounter male embryos (with ZZ chromosomes)? Simple, kill them or\u00a0manipulate them to become female even though they are a genetically male.<\/p>\n

As an example of male-killing effect: in the moth,\u00a0Ostrinia<\/em>\u00a0furnacalis<\/em>,\u00a0infected females produce only female offspring. It turns out that Wolbachia<\/em> inhibits the expression of a specific gene that encodes a protein required for masculinization, resulting in a lack of male progeny. More info on this in the paper here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

On the feminization side, we can have a look to\u00a0Zyginidia pullula,<\/em>\u00a0a grass-dwelling\u00a0leafhopper. When infected by Wolbachia<\/em>, female leafhoppers, again, produce\u00a0female only\u00a0broods. This paper\u00a0looked at karyotype of all female progeny and showed that\u00a0some of them were genetically\u00a0male.\u00a0But if you treat infected females with an antibiotic they will produce male only brood! Something similar has also been shown\u00a0in\u00a0butterflies, the species\u00a0Eurema mandarina.<\/em> When infected by Wolbachia<\/em> the female produces only female offsprings, but it might involve more complex mechanisms of sex manipulation. More info in the paper here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

On the more extreme side of this spectrum is what happens to the infected common pillbug\u00a0Armadillidium vulgare.\u00a0<\/em>A recent study identified a 3mb insert in the genome of the pillbug that directly comes from Wolbachia<\/em>. This bacterial genetic insert into an animal genome carries a feminizing agent. This, as a result, transformes a Z male chromosome in a new W female one. More info on this with this paper here<\/a>. This is a fascinating example of triggered evolution, the endosymbiont directly induces the emergence of a new chromosome type!<\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner column_margin=”default” text_align=”left”][vc_column_inner column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” width=”1\/2″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_text_separator title=”Partheneogenesis” i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-times” i_color=”orange” title_align=”separator_align_left” add_icon=”true”][vc_column_text]\n

If males\u00a0are a problem, just get rid of them entirely! In some cases, Wolbachia<\/em> induces parthenogenesis, a type of asexual reproduction in which growth and development of\u00a0embryos\u00a0occur without\u00a0fertilization. This is the case in the ladybird\u00a0Adalia bipunctata<\/i>, and the butterfly\u00a0Acraea encedon (<\/i>paper here<\/a>), and mites (paper here<\/a>).\u00a0The exact mechanism is not exactly known yet, but some people are working hard on it. This recent paper<\/a> did a genomic comparison between lineages of Wolbachia<\/em> and showed a high number of truncated genes in the parthenogenesis\u00a0inducing strains. Those genes are thought to be involved in host interactions, but their role is still unknown.<\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” width=”1\/2″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” bg_image_animation=”none”][image_with_animation image_url=”1061″ alignment=”center” animation=”Fade In” border_radius=”none” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”][vc_column_text]\n

An\u00a0 Armadillidium vulgare\u00a0<\/em>(Photo from Wikipedia<\/a>)<\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner column_margin=”default” text_align=”left”][vc_column_inner column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” width=”1\/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_text_separator title=”Cytoplasmic Incompatibility” i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-retweet” i_color=”orange” title_align=”separator_align_left” add_icon=”true”][vc_column_text]\n

Finally, Wolbachia<\/em> can assure its transmission to the next generation by having the host reproduce only with other infected hosts. In this case, if an infected female reproduces with an uninfected\u00a0male, everything goes as planned and the infection goes through. But if an infected male reproduces with an uninfected\u00a0female, there will be no offspring.<\/p>\n

Despite decades of work on this topic, the exact mechanism has not been found yet. However,\u00a0some recent studies seem to pin down Wolbachia<\/em> genes having key roles in the infection process. They are two genes carried on a prophage (here<\/a>) and enzyme related to modifying\u00a0the host protein regulation (here<\/a>).<\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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