" Wolbachia – mutualistic and pathogenic symbionts of Drosophila melanogaster"
Event details
| Date | 15.01.2015 |
| Hour | 16:00 › 17:00 |
| Speaker | Ewa Chrostek - Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência (IGC) - Portugal |
| Location | |
| Category | Conferences - Seminars |
Microbes form complex and intimate relationships with their animal hosts. Wolbachia, intracellular vertically transmitted bacteria, live within the cells of numerous arthropod species. Wolbachia are famous master manipulators of insect reproduction: to favour their own spread they can induce male killing, parthenogenesis or cytoplasmic incompatibility. Wolbachia can also protect various insects from pathogens, which makes them a potential tool for the control of vector-borne diseases. Field trials are already being conducted, involving releases of mosquitoes with Wolbachia in the wild. Yet, how Wolbachia manipulate their hosts remains largely unknown. To gain an insight into Wolbachia-host interaction we have recently compared different closely related Wolbachia variants in Drosophila melanogaster. The strength of antiviral protection, symbiont titres, host longevity and complete genome sequences allowed us to divide the variants into distinct groups. Moreover, analysis of an over-replicating and life-shortening Wolbachia variant genome led us to discover the genetic cause of its virulence. Using experimental evolution we show that mutualists can rapidly become pathogenic and that regulation of endosymbiont titres can be broken with a single genetic change in the symbiont. Finally, our results provide the first link between genotype and phenotype in Wolbachia endosymbionts.
Practical information
- General public
- Free
Organizer
- Bruno Lemaitre (UPLEM)
Contact
- Bruno Lemaitre (UPLEM)