The cytoplasm is a crowded, active medium whose mechanical properties underpin essential cellular functions, yet how intracellular rheology adapts during tissue maturation remains unclear. Here, we ex...

The cytoplasm is a crowded, active medium whose mechanical properties underpin essential cellular functions, yet how intracellular rheology adapts during tissue maturation remains unclear. Here, we ex...

Abstract. Plant responses to pathogens often rely on receptor-like cytoplasmic kinases (RLCKs) that mediate signaling through interactions with receptor ki

The vault or vault cytoplasmic ribonucleoprotein is a eukaryotic organelle whose function is not yet fully understood. | Download free 3D printable STL models

by Xinjun Hou, Feng Guang Goh, Sen Liu, Yao Liu, Xin Ee Yong, Qingsong Lin, Yu Cai The widespread prevalence of the endosymbiotic bacterium Wolbachia among insect species relies on its ability to invade and manipulate host reproduction via several ways, among which cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI) is most studied. Two non-mutually exclusive models, the Host-Modification (HM) and the Toxin-Antidote (TA), have been proposed to explain the molecular basis of CI. Here, we investigate the CI-inducing activity of the Type III CI factors (cifs) from wAlbB, a strain currently being deployed to combat mosquito-borne diseases. This set of Cifs displays conserved subcellular localization dynamics in various insect cells. Both cifA and cifB are required for the induction of DNA damage in cultured cells, and transgenic Drosophila. Moreover, these cifs induce CI in Drosophila through the two-by-one manner, meaning cifA and cifB act together during spermatogenesis to induce CI, and maternal cifA can reverse the effect. Mechanistically, genetic, biochemical, cellular, and proteomic analyses reveal that this pair of cifs acts during the early stage of spermatogenesis but is dispensable in late-stage germline cells for CI induction. Collectively, our findings support the notion that wAlbB Type III cifs induce CI via a HM-based mechanism. Additional analyses suggest that different Wolbachia strains may employ distinct molecular mechanisms to induce CI.

Author summary Mosquito-borne diseases remain a major global health challenge, infecting hundreds of millions of people and causing hundreds of thousands of deaths each year. Wolbachia-based vector control is a promising strategy for reducing transmission of these pathogens and is currently being implemented in dozens of countries. This approach relies on cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI), a form of reproductive manipulation imposed by Wolbachia. Although the genes responsible for CI, known as CI factors (cifs), have been identified, the molecular mechanism underlying CI has remained controversial. We show here that Type III cifs from wAlbB induce CI through a Host Modification mechanism. We further provide evidence that different Wolbachia strains may use distinct molecular mechanisms to induce CI, with important implications for understanding and improving Wolbachia-based disease control strategies.

Author summary Mosquito-borne diseases remain a major global health challenge, infecting hundreds of millions of people and causing hundreds of thousands of deaths each year. Wolbachia-based vector co...

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Read the full paper: Mechanisms linking cytoplasmic decay of translation-defective mRNA to transcriptional adaptation