Virus-like Particles from <i>Wolbachia</i>-Infected Cells May Include a Gene Transfer Agent
<i>Wolbachia</i> are obligate intracellular bacteria that occur in insects and filarial worms. Strains that infect insects have genomes that encode mobile genetic elements, including diverse lambda-like prophages called Phage WO. Phage WO packages an approximately 65 kb viral genome that...
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2023-06-01
|
| Series: | Insects |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/14/6/516 |
| _version_ | 1797594239951962112 |
|---|---|
| author | Ann M. Fallon Elissa M. Carroll |
| author_facet | Ann M. Fallon Elissa M. Carroll |
| author_sort | Ann M. Fallon |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <i>Wolbachia</i> are obligate intracellular bacteria that occur in insects and filarial worms. Strains that infect insects have genomes that encode mobile genetic elements, including diverse lambda-like prophages called Phage WO. Phage WO packages an approximately 65 kb viral genome that includes a unique eukaryotic association module, or EAM, that encodes unusually large proteins thought to mediate interactions between the bacterium, its virus, and the eukaryotic host cell. The <i>Wolbachia</i> supergroup B strain, <i>w</i>Stri from the planthopper <i>Laodelphax striatellus</i>, produces phage-like particles that can be recovered from persistently infected mosquito cells by ultracentrifugation. Illumina sequencing, assembly, and manual curation of DNA from two independent preparations converged on an identical 15,638 bp sequence that encoded packaging, assembly, and structural proteins. The absence of an EAM and regulatory genes defined for Phage WO from the wasp, <i>Nasonia vitripennis,</i> was consistent with the possibility that the 15,638 bp sequence represents an element related to a gene transfer agent (GTA), characterized by a signature head–tail region encoding structural proteins that package host chromosomal DNA. Future investigation of GTA function will be supported by the improved recovery of physical particles, electron microscopic examination of potential diversity among particles, and rigorous examination of DNA content by methods independent of sequence assembly. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T02:19:49Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d5c870153fc04361a8ed1e275c7f5ae9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2075-4450 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T02:19:49Z |
| publishDate | 2023-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Insects |
| spelling | doaj.art-d5c870153fc04361a8ed1e275c7f5ae92023-11-18T10:55:54ZengMDPI AGInsects2075-44502023-06-0114651610.3390/insects14060516Virus-like Particles from <i>Wolbachia</i>-Infected Cells May Include a Gene Transfer AgentAnn M. Fallon0Elissa M. Carroll1Department of Entomology, University of Minnesota, 1980 Folwell Ave., St. Paul, MN 55108, USADepartment of Entomology, University of Minnesota, 1980 Folwell Ave., St. Paul, MN 55108, USA<i>Wolbachia</i> are obligate intracellular bacteria that occur in insects and filarial worms. Strains that infect insects have genomes that encode mobile genetic elements, including diverse lambda-like prophages called Phage WO. Phage WO packages an approximately 65 kb viral genome that includes a unique eukaryotic association module, or EAM, that encodes unusually large proteins thought to mediate interactions between the bacterium, its virus, and the eukaryotic host cell. The <i>Wolbachia</i> supergroup B strain, <i>w</i>Stri from the planthopper <i>Laodelphax striatellus</i>, produces phage-like particles that can be recovered from persistently infected mosquito cells by ultracentrifugation. Illumina sequencing, assembly, and manual curation of DNA from two independent preparations converged on an identical 15,638 bp sequence that encoded packaging, assembly, and structural proteins. The absence of an EAM and regulatory genes defined for Phage WO from the wasp, <i>Nasonia vitripennis,</i> was consistent with the possibility that the 15,638 bp sequence represents an element related to a gene transfer agent (GTA), characterized by a signature head–tail region encoding structural proteins that package host chromosomal DNA. Future investigation of GTA function will be supported by the improved recovery of physical particles, electron microscopic examination of potential diversity among particles, and rigorous examination of DNA content by methods independent of sequence assembly.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/14/6/516alpha-proteobacteriabacteriophageGTAmosquito cell cultureGH_25 hydrolase+1 ribosomal frameshift |
| spellingShingle | Ann M. Fallon Elissa M. Carroll Virus-like Particles from <i>Wolbachia</i>-Infected Cells May Include a Gene Transfer Agent Insects alpha-proteobacteria bacteriophage GTA mosquito cell culture GH_25 hydrolase +1 ribosomal frameshift |
| title | Virus-like Particles from <i>Wolbachia</i>-Infected Cells May Include a Gene Transfer Agent |
| title_full | Virus-like Particles from <i>Wolbachia</i>-Infected Cells May Include a Gene Transfer Agent |
| title_fullStr | Virus-like Particles from <i>Wolbachia</i>-Infected Cells May Include a Gene Transfer Agent |
| title_full_unstemmed | Virus-like Particles from <i>Wolbachia</i>-Infected Cells May Include a Gene Transfer Agent |
| title_short | Virus-like Particles from <i>Wolbachia</i>-Infected Cells May Include a Gene Transfer Agent |
| title_sort | virus like particles from i wolbachia i infected cells may include a gene transfer agent |
| topic | alpha-proteobacteria bacteriophage GTA mosquito cell culture GH_25 hydrolase +1 ribosomal frameshift |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/14/6/516 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT annmfallon viruslikeparticlesfromiwolbachiaiinfectedcellsmayincludeagenetransferagent AT elissamcarroll viruslikeparticlesfromiwolbachiaiinfectedcellsmayincludeagenetransferagent |