According to our previous studies the Arabidopsis gene AthH2 which is inducible by blue light and phytohormones codes for an intrinsic membrane protein. It bears a resemblance to several distinct channel proteins of plant and animal species classified as the MIP/NOD-26/GlpF family. In the present study biochemical analyses and electron microscopic immunochemistry were used to elucidate the subcellular location of the AthH2 protein. The results clearly demonstrate that it is an exclusive constituent of the plasmalemma. Furthermore, the expression of the AthH2 gene in transgenic Arabidopsis plants containing the promoter region of AthH2 fused to the beta-glucuronidase (gus) reporter gene was studied. The in situ localization of gus activity revealed that the specific promoter is temporally activated by light in expanding and/or differentiating cells comprising newly formed tissues and organs: root elongation zone, guard cells of stomata, vascular bundle sheaths, filaments of stamen and young siliques. Several sites of gus expression coincide spatially with those of in situ hybridization and the immunocytochemical reaction, respectively, suggesting that the AthH2 promoter had correctly responded to light as an important exogenous factor with relevance to the complex pattern of differentiation. Studies with protoplasts from plants transformed with an antisense construct revealed a water transport capacity of the AthH2 protein.

Endosymbiotic bacteria in the genus Wolbachia remarkably infect nearly half of all arthropod species. They spread in part because of manipulations of host sexual reproduction that enhance the maternal transmission of the bacteria, including male killing (death of infected males) and unidirectional cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI; death of offspring from infected fathers and uninfected mothers). Recent discoveries identified several genes in prophage WO of Wolbachia (wmk, cifA, and cifB) that fully or partially recapitulate male killing or CI when transgenically expressed in Drosophila melanogaster. However, it is not yet fully resolved if other gene candidates contribute to these phenotypes. Here, we transgenically tested 10 additional gene candidates for their involvement in male killing and/or CI. The results show that despite sequence and protein architecture similarities or comparative associations with reproductive parasitism, transgenic expression of the candidates does not recapitulate male killing or CI. Sequence analysis across Wmk and its closest relatives reveals amino acids that may be important to its function. In addition, evidence is presented to propose new hypotheses regarding the relationship between wmk transcript length and its ability to kill a given host, as well as copy number of wmk homologs within a bacterial strain, which may be predictive of host resistance. Together, these analyses continue to build the evidence for identification of wmk, cifA, and cifB as the major genes that have thus far been shown to cause reproductive parasitism in Wolbachia, and the transgenic resources provide a basis for further functional study of phage WO genes. IMPORTANCE Wolbachia are widespread bacterial endosymbionts that manipulate the reproduction of diverse arthropods to spread through a population and can substantially shape host evolution. Recently, reports identified three prophage WO genes (wmk, cifA, and cifB) that transgenically recapitulate many aspects of reproductive manipulation in Drosophila melanogaster. Here, we transgenically tested 10 additional gene candidates for CI and/or male killing in flies. The results yield no evidence for the involvement of these gene candidates in reproductive parasitism, bolstering the evidence for identification of the cif and wmk genes as the major factors involved in their phenotypes. In addition, evidence supports new hypotheses for prediction of male-killing phenotypes or lack thereof based on wmk transcript length and copy number. These experiments inform efforts to understand the full basis of reproductive parasitism for basic and applied purposes and lay the foundation for future work on the function of an interesting group of Wolbachia and phage WO genes.

Wolbachia are the most widespread bacterial endosymbionts in animals. Within arthropods, these maternally-transmitted bacteria can selfishly hijack host reproductive processes to increase the relative fitness of their transmitting females. One such form of reproductive parasitism called male killing, or the selective killing of infected males, is recapitulated to degrees by transgenic expression of the WO-mediated killing (wmk) gene. Here, we characterize the genotype-phenotype landscape of wmk-induced male killing in D. melanogaster using transgenic expression. While phylogenetically distant wmk homologs induce no sex-ratio bias, closely-related homologs exhibit complex phenotypes spanning no death, male death, or death of all hosts. We demonstrate that alternative start codons, synonymous codons, and notably a single synonymous nucleotide in wmk can ablate killing. These findings reveal previously unrecognized features of transgenic wmk-induced killing and establish new hypotheses for the impacts of post-transcriptional processes in male killing variation. We conclude that synonymous sequence changes are not necessarily silent in nested endosymbiotic interactions with life-or-death consequences.

Wolbachia are the most widespread bacterial endosymbionts in animals. Within arthropods, these maternally-transmitted bacteria can selfishly hijack host reproductive processes to increase the relative fitness of their transmitting females. One such form of reproductive parasitism called male killing, or the selective killing of infected males, is recapitulated to degrees by transgenic expression of the WO-mediated killing gene wmk. Here, we characterize the genotype-phenotype landscape of wmk-induced male killing in D. melanogaster. While phylogenetically distant wmk homologs induce no sex-ratio bias, closely-related homologs exhibit complex phenotypes spanning no death, male death, or death of all hosts. We demonstrate that alternative start codons and, notably, one synonymous mutation in wmk can ablate killing. These findings reveal previously unrecognized relationships of wmk-induced killing and establish new hypotheses for the impacts of post-transcriptional processes in wmk-induced male killing. We conclude that single synonymous sequence changes are not necessarily silent in important nested symbiotic interactions.

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