• Lateral phage transfer in obligate intracellular bacteria (wolbachia): verification from natural populations. (mbl.edu)
  • Wolbachia , obligate intracellular bacteria, infect the majority of arthropods, including many mosquito species of medical importance. (biomedcentral.com)
  • Wolbachia ( w Bm) is an obligate endosymbiotic bacterium of Brugia malayi , a parasitic filarial nematode of humans and one of the causative agents of lymphatic filariasis. (biomedcentral.com)
  • Evolutionary genomics of a temperate bacteriophage in an obligate intracellular bacteria (Wolbachia).Kent BN, Funkhouser LJ, Setia S, Bordenstein SR. (ritchielab.org)
  • A team led by TIGR's senior director of bioinformatics, Steven Salzberg, used TIGR's data from the first Wolbachia to be sequenced ( W. pipientis wMel ) as a probe to analyze fruitfly Trace Archive data for other strains of the endosymbiont. (jcvi.org)
  • When the TIGR team compared the new Wolbachia genomes with the known genome of the wMel strain of W. pipientis , they found new genes - as many as 464 new genes in wAna - as well as indications of extensive rearrangements between wMel and wAna . (jcvi.org)
  • The DNA sequencing of amplicons revealed 100% similarity to Wolbachia pipientis , confirming the specificity of amplification. (biomedcentral.com)
  • The Wolbachia pipientis assemblage has been divided into two major groups (A and B) and 12 subgroups. (lshtm.ac.uk)
  • Wolbachia pipientis is an intracellular inherited bacterium found in arthropods, where it manipulates host reproduction using phenotypes such as cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI), male killing, parthenogenesis and feminization, and can spread rapidly through insect populations [ 1 ]. (biomedcentral.com)
  • Wolbachia is a bacterial genus consisting of only one recognized species, Wolbachia pipientis , with several divergent supergroups. (uu.se)
  • When M. uniraptor females receive experimentally administered antibiotics, such as rifampicin, the strains of Wolbachia become eradicated, and the females should hypothetically be able to produce both male and female offspring since the bacteria are not present to induce thelytoky. (wikipedia.org)
  • An intriguing twist to the story is the discovery of female-biased sex ratios, similar to those conferred by Wolbachia , in strains of A. vulgare that do not carry such symbionts. (andrewgray.com)
  • Some Wolbachia strains interfere with the development of Plasmodium parasites in female Anopheles , a major vector of malaria. (biomedcentral.com)
  • Hence, identification of native Wolbachia strains in areas where malaria transmission is low may uncover a particular Wolbachia strain capable of Plasmodium interference. (biomedcentral.com)
  • This study aims to identify native Wolbachia strains in female Anopheles spp. (biomedcentral.com)
  • The DNA sequences of the amplicons were phylogenetically compared with those of known Wolbachia strains. (biomedcentral.com)
  • The phylogenetic trees indicate a close relationship with Wolbachia strains in subgroup B. (biomedcentral.com)
  • Group B Wolbachia strains showed more phylogenetic concordance with their host taxa than group A strains. (lshtm.ac.uk)
  • Of the 25 positive mosquito species, five were superinfected with group A bacteria strains (AA), eight were superinfected with A and B strains (AB), and one was superinfected with group B strains (BB). (lshtm.ac.uk)
  • Some strains of the inherited bacterium Wolbachia have been shown to be effective at reducing the transmission of dengue virus (DENV) and other RNA viruses by Aedes aegypti in both laboratory and field settings and are being deployed for DENV control. (bvsalud.org)
  • The degree of virus inhibition varies between Wolbachia strains. (bvsalud.org)
  • Density and tissue tropism can contribute to these differences but there are also indications that this is not the only factor involved: for example, strains wAu and wAlbA are maintained at similar intracellular densities but only wAu produces strong DENV inhibition. (bvsalud.org)
  • aegypti lines carrying strains wAu and wAlbA: with the hypothesis that differences in perturbations may underline Wolbachia-mediated antiviral activity. (bvsalud.org)
  • Together these results suggest that wAu could show unique features in its inhibition of arboviruses compared to previously characterized Wolbachia strains. (bvsalud.org)
  • and two Wolbachia strains. (biomedcentral.com)
  • Additionally, bidirectional CI can occur if the male and female are infected with different Wolbachia strains and has been implicated as a cause of host speciation and is also being exploited as a method for biocontrol of insect disease vectors. (uu.se)
  • I am currently involved in several genome sequencing projects of Wolbachia strains infecting different Drosophila species with the aim of determining the evolutionary mechanisms involved inshaping their genomes and determining the genetic factors in phenotypic expression. (uu.se)
  • The evolutionary importance of horizontal gene transfer (HGT) from Wolbachia endosymbiotic bacteria to their eukaryotic hosts is a topic of considerable interest and debate. (biomedcentral.com)
  • The data support the argument that HGT between Wolbachia endosymbiotic bacteria and their hosts has produced evolutionary innovation. (biomedcentral.com)
  • The candidate will in part join a National Science Foundation project to study the genetic basis of symbioses between insects (Nasonia parasitoid wasps) and endosymbiotic bacteria (Wolbachia). (blogspot.com)
  • We also study endosymbiotic bacteria that live in eukaryotic cellsand often manipulate their hosts by causing changes to the ubiquitin system. (yale.edu)
  • A third, more recent research focus has been on endosymbiotic bacteria that manipulate their eukaryotic hosts by secreting enzymes, including ubiquitin-specific proteases, into the host cell cytoplasm. (yale.edu)
  • Wolbachia are a group of intracellular inherited bacteria that infect a wide range of arthropods. (lshtm.ac.uk)
  • Here, arthropods were collected on the Vanderbilt University campus in Nashville, Tennessee, where Wolbachia frequency has not been previously studied. (ajuronline.org)
  • One of Wolbachia 's greatest weapons is the ability to poison sperm and nullify that poison in eggs, all of which enable the bacteria to spread like wildfire in arthropods and to control mosquitoes. (blogspot.com)
  • Wolbachia (Rickettsiales: Anaplasmataceae) are maternally transmitted intracellular bacteria that infect approximately half of all insect species. (ajuronline.org)
  • Wolbachia are maternally transmitted bacteria that are estimated to infect millions of arthropod species worldwide. (blogspot.com)
  • The bacterium has been known to cause negative side effects such as cytoplasmic incompatibility, thelytoky, and feminization in the reproductive habits of these various insect species. (wikipedia.org)
  • These range from classical mutualism to reproductive parasitism as characterized by the ability of Wolbachia to override chromosomal sex determination, induce parthenogenesis, selectively kill males, influence sperm competition and generate cytoplasmic incompatibility in early embryos. (gnxp.com)
  • This kind of 'cytoplasmic sex determination' involving intracellular symbionts is found in various other crustacean families. (andrewgray.com)
  • Wolbachia bacteria reside in the cytoplasmic vacuoles of various types of insect somatic and germ cells, allowing maternal transmission to their progeny. (biomedcentral.com)
  • Wolbachia is capable of manipulating host reproduction through cytoplasmic incompatibility [ 8 , 9 ], in which Wolbachia -infected eggs form viable offspring and noninfected eggs do not. (biomedcentral.com)
  • Using the Wolbachia Bacterial Symbiont to Teach Inquiry-Based Science: A High School Laboratory Series. (mbl.edu)
  • For example, a maternally inherited symbiont bacteria, e.g. (bvsalud.org)
  • WOLBACHIA, induces changes in sperm of the host, causing mitotic defects in the fertilized embryo only in crosses between symbiotic males and females harboring a different or no symbiont. (bvsalud.org)
  • The actual process of gamete duplication differs among the insects that have been infected with Wolbachia, including a similar species of wasp called Muscidifurax raptorellus. (wikipedia.org)
  • However, the bacterium, Wolbachia, has evolved with this species of wasp through vertical transfer to induce irreversible thelytokous reproduction of only female offspring. (wikipedia.org)
  • Therefore, without the symbiotic relationship between Wolbachia and M. uniraptor, the wasp species would not persist alone by means of sexual reproduction because of these evolutionary alterations that increase the fitness of the persisting relationship with the bacteria. (wikipedia.org)
  • From the fruitfly species D. ananassae , they retrieved an estimated 98 percent of the genome of a new Wolbachia species, which they identified as Wolbachia wAna . (jcvi.org)
  • The first complete genome of a Wolbachia species was published by TIGR and collaborators in the March 2004 issue of PLoS Biology . (jcvi.org)
  • Living inside the gonad cells of more than a million species of insects, spiders, crustaceans and worms, most members of the Wolbachia family of intracellular bacteria manipulate the reproduction of their host to help ensure their own survival. (jcvi.org)
  • Depending on the specific pair of Wolbachia and host species involved, the host males are either killed, converted into females, or prevented from successfully fertilizing the eggs of uninfected females. (jcvi.org)
  • Wolbachia is an intracellular bacterium that naturally infects the majority of insect species [ 7 ]. (biomedcentral.com)
  • Wolbachia were detected in 28.1% of 89 wild-caught mosquito species, based on a polymerase chain reaction assay using ftsZ and wsp gene primers. (lshtm.ac.uk)
  • The widespread distribution of Wolbachia among mosquito species further supports their potential importance in the genetic control of disease vectors. (lshtm.ac.uk)
  • These bacteria commonly act as reproductive parasites or mutualists to enhance their transmission from mother to offspring, resulting in high prevalence among some species. (ajuronline.org)
  • and furthermore that we would expect to see Wolbachia -like genes in species that do not currently harbour Wolbachia but presumably did in the past. (biomedcentral.com)
  • Both phylogenetic analyses and theory suggest that Wolbachia can be lost over time from host species by a variety of mechanisms [ 10 - 12 ]. (biomedcentral.com)
  • All members are intracellular endosymbionts of invertebrates, and it has been estimated that as many as 15-70% of all insect species on earth are infected by Wolbachia . (uu.se)
  • In order to do so, many insect species have developed very tight symbiotic relationships with microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi that provide them with the nutrients that are lacking in their diet. (uu.se)
  • If you like beans or mushy peas or peanut brittle, you can thank Rhizobium bacteria for making these species grow so well. (blogspot.com)
  • But the offloading of genes from bacteria into multicellular organisms was thought to be rare, with limited evidence that a bacterial genus called Wolbachia , which invades the cells of other organisms and takes up permanent residence, had passed off some of its DNA onto a species of beetle and a parasitic worm. (nih.gov)
  • She and her colleagues soon discovered that Wolbachia had engaged in widespread lateral gene transfer with eight species of insects and nematode worms, possibly passing on genes and traits to their invertebrate hosts [1]. (nih.gov)
  • In natural populations of A. vulgare , Wolbachia is relatively rare. (andrewgray.com)
  • We might also speculate that in some isolated populations, Wolbachia has been the victim of its own success, driving its host population (and consequently itself) to extinction by completely eliminating the males necessary for reproduction. (andrewgray.com)
  • A promising candidate for arbovirus control and prevention relies on replacing arbovirus-susceptible Aedes aegypti populations with mosquitoes that have been colonized by the intracellular bacterium Wolbachia and thus have a reduced capacity to transmit arboviruses. (bvsalud.org)
  • Therefore, to understand the influence of Wolbachia on within-host ZIKV evolution, we characterized the genetic diversity of molecularly barcoded ZIKV virus populations replicating in Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes and found that within-host ZIKV evolution was subject to weak purifying selection and, unexpectedly, loose anatomical bottlenecks in the presence and absence of Wolbachia. (bvsalud.org)
  • Controlling diseases such as dengue fever, chikungunya and zika fever by introduction of the intracellular parasitic bacterium $Wolbachia$ in mosquito populations which are their vectors, is presently quite a promising tool to reduce their spread. (hal.science)
  • Ensuring successful introduction of $Wolbachia$ in natural populations of $Aedes aegypti$ by means of feedback control. (hal.science)
  • Release of virus-blocking Wolbachia -infected mosquitoes is an emerging disease control strategy that aims to control dengue and other arboviral infections. (biomedcentral.com)
  • Under laboratory conditions, the mosquitoes can be fed with white sugar to increase the density of Wolbachia in the body. (bmsw.net.cn)
  • Distribution and diversity of Wolbachia infections in Southeast Asian mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae). (lshtm.ac.uk)
  • We report herein the first systematic survey of Wolbachia in mosquitoes, and the first survey classifying Wolbachia infections by subgroup. (lshtm.ac.uk)
  • Comparative analyses using ZIKV-infected, uninfected tissues, and mosquitoes without Wolbachia revealed that the influence of wMel on mosquito gene transcription is multifactorial. (bvsalud.org)
  • Importantly, because Wolbachia limits, but does not completely prevent, replication of ZIKV and other viruses in coinfected mosquitoes, there is a possibility that these viruses could evolve resistance to pathogen blocking. (bvsalud.org)
  • This is the case of the anti-viral protection that the intracellular bacterium Wolbachia confers to various insects, which is being used to interfere with the transmission of viral diseases by mosquitoes. (ucp.pt)
  • 4 ], even though available data on specific Wolbachia -mosquitoes associations have considerably increased in the past decades [ 5 ]. (biomedcentral.com)
  • Symbiotic bacteria have played crucial roles in the evolution of sap-feeding insects and can strongly affect host function. (researchgate.net)
  • Apart from these nutritional interactions, many insects carry additional symbiotic bacteria of which we currently know quite little, but that in some insects have been shown to provide adaptation for specific conditions. (uu.se)
  • Unlike insects and worms, people don't harbor lots of bacteria in their cells. (nih.gov)
  • Objective To investigate the effects of different diets on the density of Wolbachia in the ovary, fat body, and the other tissues in female Aedes aegypti of the WB strain. (bmsw.net.cn)
  • aegypti infected with the wMel strain of Wolbachia that are being released by the World Mosquito Program in Medellín, Colombia. (bvsalud.org)
  • The bacteria have seemingly inhibited the wasps' reproductive pathways through selective pressures to increase the fitness of their relationship, and the wasp is unlikely to regress to its former state of sexual reproduction as a result of these genetic alterations. (wikipedia.org)
  • A naturally occurring reproductive phenomenon of INVERTEBRATES in which only certain combination of crosses result in viable embryos due to incompatibility between sperm and egg cells that is caused by differences in intracellular parasites (symbionts). (bvsalud.org)
  • The infected females hereby achieve a reproductive advantage over the uninfected females in a population and CI can thus result in spread of the Wolbachia infection throughout a population that was previously uninfected. (uu.se)
  • Ehrlichia chaffeensis is a small, gram negative, obligately intracellular bacterium that preferentially infects mononuclear phagocytes. (frontiersin.org)
  • We have discovered a case of HGT, involving two adjacent genes, between the genomes of Wolbachia and the currently Wolbachia -uninfected mosquito Aedes aegypti , an important human disease vector. (biomedcentral.com)
  • The association of these genes with Wolbachia prophage regions also provides a mechanism for the transfer. (biomedcentral.com)
  • gene AAEL004188 shows partial similarity to w Pip WP1349 and to w Mel WD0514 and is inverted compared to the Wolbachia genes. (biomedcentral.com)
  • As soon as we started accumulating DNA sequence data comparisons were made with the genes in what was left of the mitochondrial genome with free-living bacteria to see where the ancestor of mitochondria might have dropped in from. (blogspot.com)
  • Aedes aegypti , the most important mosquito vector of human dengue fever and various other arboviruses, is naturally Wolbachia -uninfected but has been shown to be able to support Wolbachia following artificial transinfection - with both high rates of maternal inheritance and the expression of high levels of CI [ 13 ]. (biomedcentral.com)
  • Finding the genomic equivalent of gold nuggets in the rough ore of a much larger set of data, TIGR scientists and collaborators have discovered the genomes of three new types of the microbe Wolbachia in fruitfly sequence data. (jcvi.org)
  • My research focuses on symbiotic bacteria that cannot live outside of a eukaryotic host cell. (uu.se)
  • My main interests are in finding out how these tight associations affect genome evolution, determining genetic factors involved in host interactions and exploring the diversity of symbiotic bacteria in nature. (uu.se)
  • Studies on insect-associated microbial communities have produced strong evidence that symbiotic bacteria play a major role in host biology. (biomedcentral.com)
  • Julie Dunning-Hotopp, a Wolbachia genomics expert, helped with analysis of the data. (jcvi.org)
  • Mechanisms by which E. chaffeensis establishes intracellular infection, and avoids host defenses are not well understood, but involve functionally relevant host-pathogen interactions associated with tandem and ankyrin repeat effector proteins. (frontiersin.org)
  • Thus, E. chaffeensis is an excellent model organism to study host-pathogen interactions and to understand the molecular pathobiology of obligately intracellular microbes. (frontiersin.org)
  • Whether the cargo is a membrane-bound organelle, precipitated protein aggregate, or an intracellular pathogen, the solution is the same: erect a barrier, direct destructive agents into the newly-formed com-partment, and recycle or remove the debris. (1library.net)
  • Wolbachia densities in the fat body in the three groups were 0.859, 1.189, 1.298, respectively, and the differences were not statistically significant ( H =1.631, P =0.442). (bmsw.net.cn)
  • Wolbachia densities in the other tissues were 0.505, 0.405, 1.012, respectively, and the differences were not statistically significant ( H =6.306, P =0.043). (bmsw.net.cn)
  • The infection is transferred maternally from mother to offspring and Wolbachia has evolved at least four different ways to manipulate the host reproduction in order to increase the number of infected females in a population. (uu.se)
  • 1] Widespread lateral gene transfer from intracellular bacteria to multicellular eukaryotes . (nih.gov)
  • Wolbachia releases in high-density urban areas are expected to be highly cost-effective and could potentially be the first cost-saving intervention for dengue. (biomedcentral.com)
  • Por ejemplo, una bacteria simbionte heredada por vía materna, como puede ser WOLBACHIA, induce cambios en los espermatozoides del huésped, causando defectos mitóticos en el embrión fertilizado solo en cruces entre machos y hembras simbiónticos portadores de un simbionte diferente o de ningún simbionte. (bvsalud.org)
  • Wolbachia Density and Host Fitness Components in Muscidifurax uniraptor (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae)" (PDF). (wikipedia.org)
  • We predicted Wolbachia to be a highly cost-effective intervention when deployed in high-density urban areas with gross cost-effectiveness below $1500 per DALY averted. (biomedcentral.com)
  • DNA was extracted to determine the density of Wolbachia in all tissues using quantitative real-time PCR. (bmsw.net.cn)
  • The Kruskal-Wallis H test was used to compare the density of Wolbachia under different diets and at different days of age. (bmsw.net.cn)
  • The spontaneous appearance of an f factor has been observed in an A. vulgare lineage previously infected with Wolbachia , suggesting that the f factor might be a chunk of bacterial DNA that became incorporated into the nuclear genome of the woodlouse, although there are other possible explanations for its origin. (andrewgray.com)
  • Wolbachia , for example, as potential agents against Zika virus or river-blindness . (blogspot.com)
  • Archaea and bacteria with surprising microdiversity show shifts in dominance over 1,000-year time scales in hydrothermal chimneys. (mbl.edu)
  • Bacteria that cannot be grown in pure cultures make up a large part of the biomass and genetic diversity on earth and play an important role in many system, for example in the many symbiotic associations with eukaryotes. (uu.se)
  • Wolbachia are gram-negative bacteria that form intracellular inherited infections in many invertebrates. (gnxp.com)
  • An interesting variation on this is seen in certain crustaceans, in which sex determination is influenced not only by sex chromosomes but also by the presence or absence of intracellular symbionts such as the bacterium Wolbachia . (andrewgray.com)
  • Recent transfers of genome fragments from Wolbachia into insect chromosomes have been reported, but it has been argued that these fragments may be on an evolutionary trajectory to degradation and loss. (biomedcentral.com)
  • PCR-based techniques were used to assign infection states and, from these data, the first cases of Wolbachia in the Paronellidae springtails, Lithobiidae (Lithobiomorpha) centipedes, Lonchopteridae (Diptera) spear-winged flies, Sepsidae (Diptera) black scavenger flies, Cryptocercidae (Blattodea) wood roaches, and Lauxaniidae (Diptera) acalyptrate flies were identified. (ajuronline.org)
  • This sex-ratio bias disappears if the woodlice are reared at high temperatures of around 30°C, since Wolbachia are eliminated from host tissues at this temperature. (andrewgray.com)
  • In a small proportion of genotypically-male, Wolbachia -infected individuals, feminisation is incomplete and results in the development of sterile, intersexual animals possessing features of both sexes. (andrewgray.com)
  • The replacement approach contrasts with suppression strategies with Wolbachia , sterile insect techniques, or conventional vector control tools, which likely need ongoing application. (biomedcentral.com)
  • This implies that Wolbachia establishes itself early in the females in order to ensure its transfer into further hosts, at the risk of removing the current host's ability to sexually reproduce by not allowing it to produce fertile, viable male offspring. (wikipedia.org)
  • Despite its small genome and limited number of effector proteins, Ehrlichia efficiently establishes an intracellular infection and avoids immune defenses in vertebrate and invertebrate hosts through complex molecular and cellular reprogramming strategies. (frontiersin.org)
  • From Wolbachia 's perspective, a male host represents an evolutionary 'dead end', and the ability to convert male hosts into female ones confers a strong selective advantage. (andrewgray.com)
  • The bacteria are transmitted to mammal hosts including humans by arthropod vectors. (biomedcentral.com)
  • There are three primary reasons for why M. uniraptor has become so dependent on Wolbachia for survival and reproduction. (wikipedia.org)
  • Muscidifurax uniraptor now holds an endosymbiotic relationship with Wolbachia, and it has evolved to depend on these bacteria for reproduction and survival which results in the successful relationship we currently observe. (wikipedia.org)
  • To facilitate selection of potential drug targets we computationally ranked the w Bm genome based on confidence that a particular gene is essential for the survival of the bacterium. (biomedcentral.com)
  • In this review, we discuss the recent advances in our understanding of the molecular and cellular mechanisms that underlie Ehrlichia host cellular reprogramming strategies that enable intracellular survival. (frontiersin.org)
  • To investigate the occurrence of possible microbial candidates for symbiotic control we performed a molecular characterization of the bacteria associated to H obsoletus. (edu.sa)
  • When Julie Dunning Hotopp was a post-doctoral fellow in the early 2000s, bacteria were known for swapping bits of their DNA with other bacteria, a strategy known as lateral gene transfer. (nih.gov)
  • 2] Bacteria-human somatic cell lateral gene transfer is enriched in cancer samples . (nih.gov)
  • As of yet, the underlying molecular mechanism of CI and the genetic factors of Wolbachia that are involved are unknown. (uu.se)
  • The unique biology of Wolbachia has attracted a growing number of researchers interested in questions ranging from the evolutionary implications of infection through to the use of this agent for pest and disease control. (gnxp.com)
  • Ubiquitin and an array of related molecules (ubiquitin-like proteins or Ubls) such as SUMO are small, highly conserved proteins that are covalently attached to other intracellular proteins, resulting in various functional alterations of these targets. (yale.edu)
  • Early entomological data and modelling analyses have suggested promising outcomes, and wMel Wolbachia releases are now ongoing or planned in 12 countries. (biomedcentral.com)
  • Hypotheses also include interference by microfilarial intracellular processing and transport of specific macromolecules by DEC. (medscape.com)
  • Gene Expression: What can Wolbachia teach us about the Christian Right? (gnxp.com)
  • I am also working on the effect of Wolbachia on the host gene expression by using RNAseq. (uu.se)
  • Some evidence suggests the effect on the cornea is caused by an immune response to bacteria present in the worms. (najeya.com)
  • 4] The antibiotic doxycycline weakens the worms by killing an associated bacterium called Wolbachia, and is recommended by some as well. (najeya.com)
  • The limits of the host range of Wolbachia are not fully appreciated at this time. (gnxp.com)
  • However, in M. uniraptor, Wolbachia causes thelytoky, a type of parthenogenesis in which females asexually reproduce only female offspring. (wikipedia.org)
  • For example, in the woodlouse Armadillidium vulgare (an isopod crustacean), females infected with Wolbachia symbionts produce a disproportionately high number of female offspring, whereas uninfected individuals produce offspring with the normal 1:1 sex ratio that would be expected from Mendelian genetics. (andrewgray.com)
  • It has been shown that this is because the Wolbachia symbionts exert a feminising effect upon male A. vulgare , turning individuals that are genetically male into phenotypic females. (andrewgray.com)
  • Intracellular symbionts such as Wolbachia gain an obvious genetic advantage by converting males into females, because the symbionts are transmitted primarily down the maternal line (from mother to offspring). (andrewgray.com)
  • Wolbachia can, therefore, be used to either replace the existing mosquito population with a lower competence phenotype by releasing females or suppress existing population by releasing males. (biomedcentral.com)