Highly transmissible cytoplasmic incompatibility by the extracellular insect symbiont Spiroplasma
Marie Pollmann,
Logan D. Moore,
Elena Krimmer,
Paul D'Alvise,
Martin Hasselmann,
Steve J. Perlman,
Matthew J. Ballinger,
Johannes L.M. Steidle,
Yuval Gottlieb
Affiliations
Marie Pollmann
Department of Chemical Ecology 190t, Institute of Biology, University of Hohenheim, 70599 Stuttgart, Germany
Logan D. Moore
Department of Biological Sciences, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS 39762, USA
Elena Krimmer
Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, Biocenter, University of Wuerzburg, 97074 Wuerzburg, Germany
Paul D'Alvise
Institute of Medical Microbiology and Hygiene, University Hospital of Tuebingen, 72016 Tuebingen, Germany
Martin Hasselmann
Department of Livestock Population Genomics 460h, Institute of Animal Science, University of Hohenheim, 70599 Stuttgart, Germany
Steve J. Perlman
Department of Biology, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC V8W 3N5, Canada
Matthew J. Ballinger
Department of Biological Sciences, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS 39762, USA
Johannes L.M. Steidle
Department of Chemical Ecology 190t, Institute of Biology, University of Hohenheim, 70599 Stuttgart, Germany; KomBioTa - Center of Biodiversity and Integrative Taxonomy, University of Hohenheim, 70599 Stuttgart, Germany; Corresponding author
Yuval Gottlieb
Koret School of Veterinary Medicine, Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, POB 12, Rehovot 76100, Israel
Summary: Cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI) is a form of reproductive manipulation caused by maternally inherited endosymbionts infecting arthropods, like Wolbachia, whereby matings between infected males and uninfected females produce few or no offspring. We report the discovery of a new CI symbiont, a strain of Spiroplasma causing CI in the parasitoid wasp Lariophagus distinguendus. Its extracellular occurrence enabled us to establish CI in uninfected adult insects by transferring Spiroplasma-infected hemolymph. We sequenced the CI-Spiroplasma genome and did not find any homologues of any of the cif genes discovered to cause CI in Wolbachia, suggesting independent evolution of CI. Instead, the genome contains other potential CI-causing candidate genes, such as homologues of high-mobility group (HMG) box proteins that are crucial in eukaryotic development but rare in bacterial genomes. Spiroplasma’s extracellular nature and broad host range encompassing medically and agriculturally important arthropods make it a promising tool to study CI and its applications.
