McNamara, C. J., Ant, T. J., Harvey-Samuel, T., White-Cooper, H., Martinez, J. , Alphey, L. and Sinkins, S. P. (2024) Transgenic expression of cif genes from Wolbachia strain wAlbB recapitulates cytoplasmic incompatibility in Aedes aegypti. Nature Communications, 15, 869. (doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-45238-7) (PMID:38287029) (PMCID:PMC10825118)
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Abstract
The endosymbiotic bacteria Wolbachia can invade insect populations by modifying host reproduction through cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI), an effect that results in embryonic lethality when Wolbachia-carrying males mate with Wolbachia-free females. Here we describe a transgenic system for recreating CI in the major arbovirus vector Aedes aegypti using CI factor (cif) genes from wAlbB, a Wolbachia strain currently being deployed to reduce dengue transmission. CI-like sterility is induced when cifA and cifB are co-expressed in testes; this sterility is rescued by maternal cifA expression, thereby reproducing the pattern of Wolbachia-induced CI. Expression of cifB alone is associated with extensive DNA damage and disrupted spermatogenesis. The strength of rescue by maternal cifA expression is dependent on the comparative levels of cifA/cifB expression in males. These findings are consistent with CifB acting as a toxin and CifA as an antitoxin, with CifA attenuating CifB toxicity in both the male germline and in developing embryos. These findings provide important insights into the interactions between cif genes and their mechanism of activity and provide a foundation for the building of a cif gene-based drive system in Ae. aegypti.
| Item Type: | Articles |
|---|---|
| Additional Information: | The study was supported by MRC award MC_ST_CVR_2019 and Wellcome Trust Award 202888/Z/16/Z. |
| Status: | Published |
| Refereed: | Yes |
| Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: | Harvey-Samuel, Dr Tim and Martinez, Dr Julien and Sinkins, Professor Steven and Ant, Dr Thomas and McNamara, Cameron |
| Authors: | McNamara, C. J., Ant, T. J., Harvey-Samuel, T., White-Cooper, H., Martinez, J., Alphey, L., and Sinkins, S. P. |
| College/School: | College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Infection & Immunity > Centre for Virus Research |
| Journal Name: | Nature Communications |
| Publisher: | Nature Research |
| ISSN: | 2041-1723 |
| ISSN (Online): | 2041-1723 |
| Copyright Holders: | Copyright © 2024 The Authors |
| First Published: | First published in Nature Communications 15: 869 |
| Publisher Policy: | Reproduced under a Creative Commons License |
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