Wolbachia Offers Protection Against Two Common Natural Viruses of Drosophila

Author(s)

Pimentel, Andre C. ; Cesar, Cassia S. ; Martins, Arthur H. B. ; Martins, Marcos ; Cogni, Rodrigo

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: MICROBIAL ECOLOGY; v. 88, n. 1, p. 13-pg., 2025-04-09.

Abstract

Wolbachiapipientis is a maternally transmitted endosymbiont infecting more than half of terrestrial arthropod species. Wolbachia can express parasitic phenotypes such as manipulation of host reproduction and mutualist phenotypes such as protection against RNA virus infections. Because Wolbachia can invade populations by reproductive manipulation and block virus infection, it is used to modify natural insect populations. However, the ecological importance of virus protection is not yet clear, especially due to scarce information on Wolbachia protection against viruses that are common in nature. We used systemic infection to investigate whether Wolbachia protects its host by suppressing the titer of DMELDAV and DMelNora virus, two viruses that commonly infect Drosophila melanogaster flies in natural populations. Antiviral protection was tested in three systems to assess the impact of Wolbachia strains across species: (1) a panel of Wolbachia strains transfected into Drosophila simulans, (2) two Wolbachia strains introgressed into the natural host D. melanogaster, and (3) two native Wolbachia strains in their natural hosts Drosophila baimaii and Drosophila tropicalis. We showed that certain Wolbachia strains provide protection against DMelNora virus and DMELDAV, and this protection is correlated with Wolbachia density, which is consistent with what has been observed in protection against other RNA viruses. Additionally, we found that Wolbachia does not protect its original host, D. melanogaster, from DMELDAV infection. While native Wolbachia can reduce DMELDAV titers in D. baimaii, this effect was not detected in D. tropicalis. Although the Wolbachia protection-induced phenotype seems to depend on the virus, the specific Wolbachia strain, and the host species, our findings suggest that antiviral protection may be one of the mutualistic effects that helps explain why Wolbachia is so widespread in arthropod populations. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 21/06874-9 - Ecological genomics of insects' phase 2: climate adaptations and evolution of ecological interactions
• Grantee: Rodrigo Cogni
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Young Investigators Grants - Phase 2
• FAPESP's process: 18/20088-3 - The incidence of sigma viruses in drosophilids collected in an Atlantic forest altitudinal gradient
• Grantee: Arthur Herminio Bressan Martins
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• FAPESP's process: 23/02166-5 - A highly integrative approach to study clinal variation in South American D. melanogaster populations
• Grantee: André Coppe Pimentel
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• FAPESP's process: 15/08307-3 - Evolution of virus resistance in D. melanogaster: effects of the endosymbiont Wolbachia and polymorphisms in the gene pastrel in a selection experiment
• Grantee: Rodrigo Cogni
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research
• FAPESP's process: 13/25991-0 - Ecological genomics of insects: climate adaptations and evolution of ecological interactions
• Grantee: Rodrigo Cogni
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Young Investigators Grants
• FAPESP's process: 18/01295-8 - Quantitative description of a drosophilid community and its natural enemies in an Atlantic Forest altitudinal gradient
• Grantee: Marcos Aurélio Martins Oliveira da Silva
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• FAPESP's process: 19/03997-2 - On the host-symbiont-natural enemy interaction: from parasitism to mutualism
• Grantee: Cássia de Souza Siqueira Cesar
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate