Shan Hongwei, Liu Yinquan, Luan Junbo, Liu Shusheng
Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insects, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China.
College of Plant Protection, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang, 110866, China.
Sci China Life Sci. 2021 Jul;64(7):1174-1186. doi: 10.1007/s11427-020-1801-7. Epub 2020 Sep 30.
Endosymbiont transmission via eggs to future host generations has been recognized as the main strategy for its persistence in insect hosts; however, the mechanisms for transmission have yet to be elucidated. Here, we describe the dynamic locations of Rickettsia in the ovarioles and eggs during oogenesis and embryogenesis in a globally significant pest whitefly Bemisia tabaci. Field populations of the whitefly have a high prevalence of Rickettsia, and in all Rickettsia-infected individuals, the bacterium distributes in the body cavity of the host, especially in the midgut, fat body, hemocytes, hemolymph, and near bacteriocytes. The distribution of Rickettsia was subjected to dynamic changes in the ovary during oogenesis, and our ultrastructural observations indicated that the bacteria infect host ovarioles during early developmental stages via two routes: (i) invasion of the tropharium by endocytosis and then transmission into vitellarium via nutritive cord and (ii) entry into vitellarium by hijacking bacteriocyte translocation. Most of the Rickettsia are degraded in the oocyte cytoplasm in late-stage oogenesis. However, a few reside beneath the vitelline envelope of mature eggs, spread into the embryo, and proliferate during embryogenesis to sustain high-fidelity transmission to the next generation. Our findings provide novel insights into the maternal transmission underpinning the persistence and spread of insect symbionts.
通过卵将内共生体传递给未来的宿主世代已被认为是其在昆虫宿主中持续存在的主要策略;然而,传递机制尚未阐明。在这里,我们描述了立克次氏体在全球重要害虫烟粉虱卵子发生和胚胎发生过程中在卵巢管和卵中的动态定位。烟粉虱的田间种群中立克次氏体的感染率很高,在所有感染立克次氏体的个体中,这种细菌分布在宿主的体腔中,尤其是在中肠、脂肪体、血细胞、血淋巴以及靠近含菌细胞的部位。在卵子发生过程中,立克次氏体在卵巢中的分布会发生动态变化,我们的超微结构观察表明,细菌在发育早期通过两种途径感染宿主卵巢管:(i)通过内吞作用侵入滋养区,然后通过营养索传递到卵黄区;(ii)通过劫持含菌细胞易位进入卵黄区。在卵子发生后期,大多数立克次氏体在卵母细胞细胞质中被降解。然而,少数立克次氏体存在于成熟卵的卵黄膜下方,扩散到胚胎中,并在胚胎发生过程中增殖,以维持向下一代的高保真传递。我们的研究结果为昆虫共生体的持续存在和传播所依赖的母体传递提供了新的见解。