The endosymbionts of tsetse flies: manipulating host–parasite interactions

Dale, Colin; Welburn, Susan C.

doi:10.1016/s0020-7519(01)00151-5

Cited by 135 publications

(120 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…The occurrence of Westeberhardia in C. wroughtonii and in different populations of C. obscurior indicates an ancestral infection and secondary loss of Westeberhardia in OypB. As the impact of facultative symbionts depends on the particular environmental conditions (Dale and Welburn, 2001;Hansen et al, 2007), a shift in diet or different gut microbiota could explain symbiont loss by natural selection. Owing to proximity of host lineages, an alternative, more parsimonious explanation is mutational loss of Westeberhardia and subsequent fixation through drift (Reuter et al, 2005).…”

Section: Westeberhardia As a Possible Source Of A Hgt Eventmentioning

confidence: 99%

A novel intracellular mutualistic bacterium in the invasive ant Cardiocondyla obscurior

et al. 2015

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The evolution of eukaryotic organisms is often strongly influenced by microbial symbionts that confer novel traits to their hosts. Here we describe the intracellular Enterobacteriaceae symbiont of the invasive ant Cardiocondyla obscurior, 'Candidatus Westeberhardia cardiocondylae'. Upon metamorphosis, Westeberhardia is found in gut-associated bacteriomes that deteriorate following eclosion. Only queens maintain Westeberhardia in the ovarian nurse cells from where the symbionts are transmitted to late-stage oocytes during nurse cell depletion. Functional analyses of the streamlined genome of Westeberhardia (533 kb, 23.41% GC content) indicate that neither vitamins nor essential amino acids are provided for the host. However, the genome encodes for an almost complete shikimate pathway leading to 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate, which could be converted into tyrosine by the host. Taken together with increasing titers of Westeberhardia during pupal stage, this suggests a contribution of Westeberhardia to cuticle formation. Despite a widespread occurrence of Westeberhardia across host populations, one ant lineage was found to be naturally symbiont-free, pointing to the loss of an otherwise prevalent endosymbiont. This study yields insights into a novel intracellular mutualist that could play a role in the invasive success of C. obscurior.

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Section: Westeberhardia As a Possible Source Of A Hgt Eventmentioning

confidence: 99%

A novel intracellular mutualistic bacterium in the invasive ant Cardiocondyla obscurior

et al. 2015

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“…Sodalis is believed nonessential for host survival and reproduction, but a recent study showed that this endosymbiont may positively affect tsetse longevity (30). Tsetse flies have viviparous modes of reproduction and symbiont transmission, wherein three larval instars develop within the female uterus and receive nutrients and the symbionts, Wigglesworthia and Sodalis, through milk gland secretions ("milk gland transmission") (6,9).…”

Section: Special Issuementioning

confidence: 99%

Endosymbiotic Bacteria in Insects: Their Diversity and Culturability

2009

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Many animals and plants possess symbiotic microorganisms inside their body, wherein intimate interactions occur between the partners. The Insecta, often rated as the most diverse animal group, show various types of endosymbiotic associations, ranging from obligate mutualism to facultative parasitism. Although technological advancements in culture-independent molecular techniques, such as quantitative PCR, molecular phylogeny and in situ hybridization, as well as genomic and metagenomic analyses, have allowed us to directly observe endosymbiotic associations in vivo, the molecular mechanisms underlying insect-microbe interactions are not well understood, because most of these insect endosymbionts are neither culturable nor genetically manipulatable. However, recent studies have succeeded in the isolation of several facultative symbionts by using insect cell lines or axenic media, revolutionizing studies of insect endosymbiosis. This article reviews the amazing diversity of bacterial endosymbiosis in insects, focusing on several model systems with culturable endosymbionts, which provide a new perspective towards understanding how intimate symbiotic associations may have evolved and how they are maintained within insects.

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“…Grouped within the latter designation is Sodalis glossinidius, a tsetse endosymbiont that is closely related to other insect symbionts from Hippoboscid flies (4), grain weevils (5), and lice (6) as well as to important enteric human pathogens including Escherichia coli, Salmonella, and Yersinia. Selective elimination of Sodalis results in reduced tsetse longevity (7). Phylogenetic reconstruction analysis using ftsZ indicated that Sodalis from distant tsetse species have undergone minimal coevolution with their hosts, thus signifying the relatively recent establishment of this symbiosis (8).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

An insect symbiosis is influenced by bacterium-specific polymorphisms in outer-membrane protein A

Weiss

Schwank

et al. 2008

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Beneficial bacterial symbioses are ubiquitous in nature. However, the functional and molecular basis of host tolerance to resident symbiotic microbes, in contrast to resistance to closely related bacteria that are recognized as foreign, remain largely unknown. We used the tsetse fly (Glossina morsitans), which depends on symbiotic flora for fecundity and has limited exposure to foreign microbes, to investigate the tolerance phenomenon exhibited during symbiosis. We examined the potential role of bacterium-specific polymorphisms present in the major bacterial surface protein, outer-membrane protein A (OmpA), on host infection outcomes. Tsetse were successfully superinfected with their mutualistic facultative symbiont, Sodalis glossinidius, whereas infections with Escherichia coli K12 were lethal. In contrast, tsetse were resistant to an E. coli OmpA mutant strain, whereas recombinant Sodalis expressing E. coli OmpA became pathogenic. Profiling of tsetse immunity-related gene expression incriminated peptidoglycan recognition protein (pgrp)-lb as a determinant of the infection outcomes we observed. RNAi-induced knockdown of tsetse pgrp-lb significantly reduced host mortality after infection with otherwise lethal E. coli K12. Our results show that polymorphisms in the exposed loop domains of OmpA represent a microbial adaptation that mediates host tolerance of endogenous symbiotic bacteria.peptidoglycan recognition protein LB ͉ Sodalis glossinidius ͉ tsetse

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The endosymbionts of tsetse flies: manipulating host–parasite interactions

Cited by 135 publications

References 11 publications

A novel intracellular mutualistic bacterium in the invasive ant Cardiocondyla obscurior

A novel intracellular mutualistic bacterium in the invasive ant Cardiocondyla obscurior

Endosymbiotic Bacteria in Insects: Their Diversity and Culturability

An insect symbiosis is influenced by bacterium-specific polymorphisms in outer-membrane protein A

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