A Wolbachia infection from Drosophila that causes cytoplasmic incompatibility despite low prevalence and densities in males

Richardson, Kelly; Griffin, Philippa C.; Lee, Siu Fai; Ross, Perran A; Endersby‐Harshman, Nancy M.; Schiffer, Michele; Hoffmann, Ary A.

doi:10.1038/s41437-018-0133-7

Cited by 32 publications

(57 citation statements)

References 57 publications

(82 reference statements)

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“…This pattern is consistent with a previous study in Ae. aegypti [22] and Drosophila research showing that males from infected lines can induce incompatibility even when the males are very weakly infected, or lack detectable levels of Wolbachia [37]. Therefore, under certain conditions in the field, wMel-infected populations may become partially self-incompatible.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Heatwaves cause fluctuations in wMel Wolbachia densities and frequencies in Aedes aegypti

et al. 2020

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Aedes aegypti mosquitoes infected with the wMel strain of Wolbachia are being released into natural mosquito populations in the tropics as a way of reducing dengue transmission. High temperatures adversely affect wMel, reducing Wolbachia density and cytoplasmic incompatibility in some larval habitats that experience large temperature fluctuations. We monitored the impact of a 43.6˚C heatwave on the wMel infection in a natural population in Cairns, Australia, where wMel was first released in 2011 and has persisted at a high frequency. Wolbachia infection frequencies in the month following the heatwave were reduced to 83% in larvae sampled directly from field habitats and 88% in eggs collected from ovitraps, but recovered to be near 100% four months later. Effects of the heatwave on wMel appeared to be stage-specific and delayed, with reduced frequencies and densities in fieldcollected larvae and adults reared from ovitraps but higher frequencies in field-collected adults. Laboratory experiments showed that the effects of heatwaves on cytoplasmic incompatibility and density are life stage-specific, with first instar larvae being the most vulnerable to temperature effects. Our results indicate that heatwaves in wMel-infected populations will have only temporary effects on Wolbachia frequencies and density once the infection has established in the population. Our results are relevant to ongoing releases of wMel-infected Ae. aegypti in several tropical countries.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Heatwaves cause fluctuations in wMel Wolbachia densities and frequencies in Aedes aegypti

et al. 2020

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“…It’s possible that while the warm and cool treatments equally depressed Cardinium density, the heat treatment may have damaged Cardinium or denatured proteins and other effector molecules involved in expression of CI, while the cold treatment only repressed Cardinium replication. Nevertheless, while density may be a reliable indicator of phenotypic strength for some symbionts, more examples are emerging in which phenotype strength and symbiont density are decoupled, and this rule may not be as general as originally thought [7, 9, 10, 56, 59]. In the case of low-density symbionts, like the CI- Cardinium strains infecting Encarsia wasps and citrus thrips ( Pezothrips kellyanus ) [37] or some CI- Wolbachia strains [59], other factors may be of equal or greater importance than symbiont density.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Nevertheless, while density may be a reliable indicator of phenotypic strength for some symbionts, more examples are emerging in which phenotype strength and symbiont density are decoupled, and this rule may not be as general as originally thought [7, 9, 10, 56, 59]. In the case of low-density symbionts, like the CI- Cardinium strains infecting Encarsia wasps and citrus thrips ( Pezothrips kellyanus ) [37] or some CI- Wolbachia strains [59], other factors may be of equal or greater importance than symbiont density. These include host factors, like developmental time in this study, or the density of extrachromosomal elements harbored by many heritable bacteria [7].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exposure to opposing temperature extremes causes comparable effects on Cardinium density but contrasting effects on Cardinium-induced cytoplasmic incompatibility

2019

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Terrestrial arthropods, including insects, commonly harbor maternally inherited intracellular symbionts that confer benefits to the host or manipulate host reproduction to favor infected female progeny. These symbionts may be especially vulnerable to thermal stress, potentially leading to destabilization of the symbiosis and imposing costs to the host. For example, increased temperatures can reduce the density of a common reproductive manipulator, Wolbachia , and the strength of its crossing incompatibility (cytoplasmic incompatibility, or CI) phenotype. Another manipulative symbiont, Cardinium hertigii , infects ~ 6–10% of Arthropods, and also can induce CI, but there is little homology between the molecular mechanisms of CI induced by Cardinium and Wolbachia . Here we investigated whether temperature disrupts the CI phenotype of Cardinium in a parasitic wasp host, Encarsia suzannae . We examined the effects of both warm (32°C day/ 29°C night) and cool (20°C day/ 17°C night) temperatures on Cardinium CI and found that both types of temperature stress modified aspects of this symbiosis. Warm temperatures reduced symbiont density, pupal developmental time, vertical transmission rate, and the strength of both CI modification and rescue. Cool temperatures also reduced symbiont density, however this resulted in stronger CI, likely due to cool temperatures prolonging the host pupal stage. The opposing effects of cool and warm-mediated reductions in symbiont density on the resulting CI phenotype indicates that CI strength may be independent of density in this system. Temperature stress also modified the CI phenotype only if it occurred during the pupal stage, highlighting the likely importance of this stage for CI induction in this symbiosis.

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“…While Cp values do not give definitive quantification, they provide a relative guide as to the concentration of a Wolbachia infection when compared to the host. However, in other work, we have found a good agreement between relative Wolbachia densities established through Cp values with those obtained via a Droplet Digital system that directly measures absolute copy number [32].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 58%

Effects of Alternative Blood Sources on Wolbachia Infected Aedes aegypti Females within and across Generations

Paris¹,

Cottingham²,

Ross³

et al. 2018

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Wolbachia bacteria have been identified as a tool for reducing the transmission of arboviruses transmitted by Aedes aegypti. Research groups around the world are now mass rearing Wolbachia-infected Ae. aegypti for deliberate release. We investigated the fitness impact of a crucial element of mass rearing: the blood meal required by female Ae. aegypti to lay eggs. Although Ae. aegypti almost exclusively feed on human blood, it is often difficult to use human blood in disease-endemic settings. When females were fed on sheep or pig blood rather than human blood, egg hatch rates decreased in all three lines tested (uninfected, or infected by wMel, or wAlbB Wolbachia). This finding was particularly pronounced when fed on sheep blood, although fecundity was not affected. Some of these effects persisted after an additional generation on human blood. Attempts to keep populations on sheep and pig blood sources only partly succeeded, suggesting that strong adaptation is required to develop a stably infected line on an alternative blood source. There was a decrease in Wolbachia density when Ae. aegypti were fed on non-human blood sources. Density increased in lines kept for multiple generations on the alternate sources but was still reduced relative to lines kept on human blood. These findings suggest that sheep and pig blood will entail a cost when used for maintaining Wolbachia-infected Ae. aegypti. These costs should be taken into account when planning mass release programs.

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A Wolbachia infection from Drosophila that causes cytoplasmic incompatibility despite low prevalence and densities in males

Cited by 32 publications

References 57 publications

Heatwaves cause fluctuations in wMel Wolbachia densities and frequencies in Aedes aegypti

Heatwaves cause fluctuations in wMel Wolbachia densities and frequencies in Aedes aegypti

Exposure to opposing temperature extremes causes comparable effects on Cardinium density but contrasting effects on Cardinium-induced cytoplasmic incompatibility

Effects of Alternative Blood Sources on Wolbachia Infected Aedes aegypti Females within and across Generations

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