scholarly journals A Tangled Web: Origins of Reproductive Parasitism

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 2292-2309 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph J Gillespie ◽  
Timothy P Driscoll ◽  
Victoria I Verhoeve ◽  
Mohammed Sayeedur Rahman ◽  
Kevin R Macaluso ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Parasitism

scholarly journals Somatic deficiency causes reproductive parasitism in a fungus

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexey A. Grum-Grzhimaylo ◽  
Eric Bastiaans ◽  
Joost van den Heuvel ◽  
Cristina Berenguer Millanes ◽  
Alfons J. M. Debets ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Neurospora Crassa ◽  
Experimental Evolution ◽  
Evolutionary Dynamics ◽  
Genetic Load ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Fusion Frequency ◽  
Somatic Fusion ◽  
Extensive Variation ◽  
Reproductive Parasitism ◽  
Multicellular Organisms

AbstractSome multicellular organisms can fuse because mergers potentially provide mutual benefits. However, experimental evolution in the fungus Neurospora crassa has demonstrated that free fusion of mycelia favours cheater lineages, but the mechanism and evolutionary dynamics of this exploitation are unknown. Here we show, paradoxically, that all convergently evolved cheater lineages have similar fusion deficiencies. These mutants are unable to initiate fusion but retain access to wild-type mycelia that fuse with them. This asymmetry reduces cheater-mutant contributions to somatic substrate-bound hyphal networks, but increases representation of their nuclei in the aerial reproductive hyphae. Cheaters only benefit when relatively rare and likely impose genetic load reminiscent of germline senescence. We show that the consequences of somatic fusion can be unequally distributed among fusion partners, with the passive non-fusing partner profiting more. We discuss how our findings may relate to the extensive variation in fusion frequency of fungi found in nature.

scholarly journals Niche determinants in a salamander complex: Does hybridism or reproductive parasitism explain patterns of distribution?

Ecosphere ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter B. Mills ◽  
Thomas J. Hossie ◽  
Dennis L. Murray
Keyword(s):  
Patterns Of Distribution ◽  
Reproductive Parasitism

scholarly journals Transgenic Testing Does Not Support a Role for Additional Candidate Genes in Wolbachia Male Killing or Cytoplasmic Incompatibility

mSystems ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessamyn I. Perlmutter ◽  
Jane E. Meyers ◽  
Seth R. Bordenstein
Keyword(s):  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
Copy Number ◽  
Cytoplasmic Incompatibility ◽  
Functional Study ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Transgenic Expression ◽  
Additional Gene ◽  
Reproductive Parasitism ◽  
Transcript Length ◽  
Male Killing

ABSTRACT Endosymbiotic bacteria in the genus Wolbachia remarkably infect nearly half of all arthropod species. They spread in part because of manipulations of host sexual reproduction that enhance the maternal transmission of the bacteria, including male killing (death of infected males) and unidirectional cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI; death of offspring from infected fathers and uninfected mothers). Recent discoveries identified several genes in prophage WO of Wolbachia (wmk, cifA, and cifB) that fully or partially recapitulate male killing or CI when transgenically expressed in Drosophila melanogaster. However, it is not yet fully resolved if other gene candidates contribute to these phenotypes. Here, we transgenically tested 10 additional gene candidates for their involvement in male killing and/or CI. The results show that despite sequence and protein architecture similarities or comparative associations with reproductive parasitism, transgenic expression of the candidates does not recapitulate male killing or CI. Sequence analysis across Wmk and its closest relatives reveals amino acids that may be important to its function. In addition, evidence is presented to propose new hypotheses regarding the relationship between wmk transcript length and its ability to kill a given host, as well as copy number of wmk homologs within a bacterial strain, which may be predictive of host resistance. Together, these analyses continue to build the evidence for identification of wmk, cifA, and cifB as the major genes that have thus far been shown to cause reproductive parasitism in Wolbachia, and the transgenic resources provide a basis for further functional study of phage WO genes. IMPORTANCE Wolbachia are widespread bacterial endosymbionts that manipulate the reproduction of diverse arthropods to spread through a population and can substantially shape host evolution. Recently, reports identified three prophage WO genes (wmk, cifA, and cifB) that transgenically recapitulate many aspects of reproductive manipulation in Drosophila melanogaster. Here, we transgenically tested 10 additional gene candidates for CI and/or male killing in flies. The results yield no evidence for the involvement of these gene candidates in reproductive parasitism, bolstering the evidence for identification of the cif and wmk genes as the major factors involved in their phenotypes. In addition, evidence supports new hypotheses for prediction of male-killing phenotypes or lack thereof based on wmk transcript length and copy number. These experiments inform efforts to understand the full basis of reproductive parasitism for basic and applied purposes and lay the foundation for future work on the function of an interesting group of Wolbachia and phage WO genes.

scholarly journals Reproductive Parasitism: Maternally Inherited Symbionts in a Biparental World

2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (5) ◽  
pp. a017699 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory D.D. Hurst ◽  
Crystal L. Frost
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Parasitism

Worker reproductive parasitism in naturally orphaned colonies of the Asian red dwarf honey bee, Apis florea

2009 ◽  
Vol 57 (2) ◽  
pp. 163-167 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. C. Chapman ◽  
J. S. Higgs ◽  
W. Wattanachaiyingcharoen ◽  
M. Beekman ◽  
B. P. Oldroyd
Keyword(s):  
Honey Bee ◽  
Apis Florea ◽  
Reproductive Parasitism ◽  
Worker Reproductive Parasitism

Why acquiesce? Worker reproductive parasitism in the Eastern honeybee (Apis cerana )

2014 ◽  
Vol 27 (5) ◽  
pp. 939-949 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. J. Holmes ◽  
K. Tan ◽  
Z. Wang ◽  
B. P. Oldroyd ◽  
M. Beekman
Keyword(s):  
Apis Cerana ◽  
Reproductive Parasitism ◽  
Worker Reproductive Parasitism

scholarly journals Intergenerational reproductive parasitism in a stingless bee

2009 ◽  
Vol 18 (19) ◽  
pp. 3958-3960 ◽  
Author(s):  
BENJAMIN P. OLDROYD ◽  
MADELEINE BEEKMAN
Keyword(s):  
Stingless Bee ◽  
Reproductive Parasitism

Worker reproductive parasitism and drift in the western honeybee Apis mellifera

2009 ◽  
Vol 64 (3) ◽  
pp. 419-427 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadine C. Chapman ◽  
Madeleine Beekman ◽  
Benjamin P. Oldroyd
Keyword(s):  
Apis Mellifera ◽  
Reproductive Parasitism ◽  
Worker Reproductive Parasitism

scholarly journals Tactical reproductive parasitism via larval cannibalism in Peruvian poison frogs

2008 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 148-151 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason L Brown ◽  
Victor Morales ◽  
Kyle Summers
Keyword(s):  
Choice Experiment ◽  
Genetic Analyses ◽  
Poison Frog ◽  
Poison Frogs ◽  
Reproductive Parasitism

We report an unusual example of reproductive parasitism in amphibians. Dendrobates variabilis , an Amazonian poison frog, oviposits at the surface of the water in small pools in plants and deposits tadpoles within the pools. Tadpoles are highly cannibalistic and consume young tadpoles if they are accessible. Deposition of embryos and tadpoles in the same pool is common. Genetic analyses indicate that tadpoles are frequently unrelated to embryos in the same pool. A pool choice experiment in the field demonstrated that males carrying tadpoles prefer to place them in pools with embryos, facilitating reproductive parasitism via cannibalism.

scholarly journals Breakdown of coevolution between symbiotic bacteriaWolbachiaand their filarial hosts

PeerJ ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. e1840 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emilie Lefoulon ◽  
Odile Bain ◽  
Benjamin L. Makepeace ◽  
Cyrille d’Haese ◽  
Shigehiko Uni ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Phylogenetic Analysis ◽  
Horizontal Transmission ◽  
Parasitic Nematodes ◽  
Global Pattern ◽  
Host Group ◽  
Reproductive Parasitism ◽  
Phylogenetic Studies ◽  
The Relationship

Wolbachiais an alpha-proteobacterial symbiont widely distributed in arthropods. Since the identification ofWolbachiain certain animal-parasitic nematodes (the Onchocercidae or filariae), the relationship between arthropod and nematodeWolbachiahas attracted great interest. The obligate symbiosis in filariae, which renders infected species susceptible to antibiotic chemotherapy, was held to be distinct from theWolbachia-arthropod relationship, typified by reproductive parasitism. While co-evolutionary signatures inWolbachia-arthropod symbioses are generally weak, reflecting horizontal transmission events, strict co-evolution between filariae andWolbachiahas been reported previously. However, the absence of close outgroups for phylogenetic studies prevented the determination of which host group originally acquiredWolbachia. Here, we present the largest co-phylogenetic analysis ofWolbachiain filariae performed to date including: (i) a screening and an updated phylogeny ofWolbachia; (ii) a co-phylogenetic analysis; and (iii) a hypothesis on the acquisition ofWolbachiainfection. First, our results show a general overestimation ofWolbachiaoccurrence and support the hypothesis of an ancestral absence of infection in the nematode phylum. The accuracy of supergroup J is also underlined. Second, although a global pattern of coevolution remains, the signal is derived predominantly from filarial clades associated withWolbachiain supergroups C and J. In other filarial clades, harbouringWolbachiasupergroups D and F, horizontal acquisitions and secondary losses are common. Finally, our results suggest that supergroup C is the basalWolbachiaclade within the Ecdysozoa. This hypothesis on the origin ofWolbachiawould change drastically our understanding ofWolbachiaevolution.

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