AUTHOR=Grève Pierre , Moumen Bouziane , Bouchon Didier 

TITLE=Three feminizing Wolbachia strains in a single host species: comparative genomics paves the way for identifying sex reversal factors

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=15

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2024.1416057

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2024.1416057

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<sec id="sec1"><title>Introduction</title><p>Endosymbiotic bacteria in the genus <italic>Wolbachia</italic> have evolved numerous strategies for manipulating host reproduction in order to promote their own transmission. This includes the feminization of males into functional females, a well-studied phenotype in the isopod <italic>Armadillidium vulgare</italic>. Despite an early description of this phenotype in isopods and the development of an evolutionary model of host sex determination in the presence of <italic>Wolbachia</italic>, the underlying genetic mechanisms remain elusive.</p></sec><sec id="sec2"><title>Methods</title><p>Here we present the first complete genomes of the three feminizing <italic>Wolbachia</italic> (<italic>w</italic>VulC, <italic>w</italic>VulP, and <italic>w</italic>VulM) known to date in <italic>A. vulgare</italic>. These genomes, belonging to <italic>Wolbachia</italic> B supergroup, contain a large number of mobile elements such as WO prophages with eukaryotic association modules. Taking advantage of these data and those of another <italic>Wolbachia</italic>-derived feminizing factor integrated into the host genome (<italic>f</italic> element), we used a comparative genomics approach to identify putative feminizing factors.</p></sec><sec id="sec3"><title>Results</title><p>This strategy has enabled us to identify three prophage-associated genes secreted by the Type IV Secretion System: one ankyrin repeat domain-containing protein, one helix-turn-helix transcriptional regulator and one hypothetical protein. In addition, a latrotoxin-related protein, associated with phage relic genes, was shared by all three genomes and the <italic>f</italic> element.</p></sec><sec id="sec4"><title>Conclusion</title><p>These putative feminization-inducing proteins shared canonical interaction features with eukaryotic proteins. These results pave the way for further research into the underlying functional interactions.</p></sec>