Transmission electron micrograph of Wolbachia within an insect cellPLOS BIOLOGY, SCOTT O'NEILLWolbachia bacteria live inside the cells of other species and can strongly influence the lives of their hosts. These bacteria manipulate host reproductive biology to increase their own transmission. Wolbachia have been documented in more than 40 percent of terrestrial arthropods.
Exactly how Wolbachia manage to manipulate a wide variety of hosts has puzzled scientists for decades. In a paper published in PNAS today (December 15), Sassan Asgari from the University of Queensland, Australia, and his colleagues propose a microRNA-mediated mechanism by which Wolbachia could achieve such “cross-kingdom communication.”
“This is one of the first instances showing how the bacteria are communicating with the host at a cellular level,” said Rhitoban Raychoudhury, an evolutionary geneticist at the Indian Institute of Science Education & Research Mohali who was not involved in the work.
Previous studies have shown that Wolbachia can regulate certain microRNAs (miRNAs) in the host Aedes aegypti, resulting in increased production of certain enzymes and decreased production of others, both in favor Wolbachia persistence. Using ...
