Symbiogenesis | EPFL Graph Search

Symbiogenesis (endosymbiotic theory, or serial endosymbiotic theory) is the leading evolutionary theory of the origin of eukaryotic cells from prokaryotic organisms. The theory holds that mitochondria, plastids such as chloroplasts, and possibly other organelles of eukaryotic cells are descended from formerly free-living prokaryotes (more closely related to the Bacteria than to the Archaea) taken one inside the other in endosymbiosis. Mitochondria appear to be phylogenetically related to Rickettsiales bacteria, while chloroplasts are thought to be related to cyanobacteria. The idea that chloroplasts were originally independent organisms that merged into a symbiotic relationship with other one-celled organisms dates back to the 19th century, when it was espoused by researchers such as Andreas Schimper. The endosymbiotic theory was articulated in 1905 and 1910 by the Russian botanist Konstantin Mereschkowski, and advanced and substantiated with microbiological evidence

The double-edged toxins

Mario Gonzalo Garcia Arraez

Many insect species are associated with endosymbiotic bacteria which have the particularity of living within host tissues. Endosymbionts benefit from this stable and nutritious environment, while providing ecological advantages to their host, such as protection against parasites or thermal tolerance. Spiroplasma poulsonii is an endosymbiotic bacterium that infects natural populations of Drosophila melanogaster. Spiroplasma poulsonii lacks a cell wall, a fact that renders it invisible to the host immune system and allows it to thrive in the host hemolymph. It invades the female germline by co-opting the hostâs yolk transport and uptake machinery, which ensures its vertical transmission. Its efficient transmission is associated with a phenotype called male-killing, whereby infected male embryos die during their early development while infected females survive. The mechanisms that ensure the stability of Drosophila-Spiroplasma symbiosis are increasingly well understood, but the bacterial genes involved remain poorly known because of the intractability of Spiroplasma. This project aims at better characterizing the Drosophila-Spiroplasma interaction, with particular focus on the bacterial side. In the first part, I developed a method to cultivate Spiroplasma poulsonii in vitro by optimizing a commercially available medium. This culture method allowed comparing the transcriptome of in vitro grown versus host-grown Spiroplasma, enabling us to identify putative genes involved in the interaction with the host. Interestingly, inside its insect host, S. poulsonii up-regulates genes coding for toxins of the Ribosomal Inactivating Protein (RIP) family. RIPs were previously known for their role in host protection against macro-parasites, such as wasps and nematodes. Their up-regulation in unparasitized hosts compared to culture was thus peculiar, raising the question what effect these RIPs have on host biology. Thus, in the second part, I studied the function of S. poulsonii RIPs in the absence of parasites. I showed that two of them are constantly expressed within the host and provide evidence that these toxins shorten host life span and increase embryonic mortality. Interestingly, the expression of RIPs was more toxic to male embryos than females, suggesting that RIPs contribute to S. poulsonii-induced male-killing. Last, I studied the D. melanogaster response to RIPs, and how the host mitigates the deleterious effects of these toxins by up-regulating the cytosolic chaperone Heat-Shock-Protein 70B (HSP70B). This protein carries out essential functions in protein homeostasis under normal and stressful conditions such as folding, refolding, or increasing the half-life of proteins. Interestingly, up-regulation of Hsp70B in the presence of RIPs results in an increased lifespan and in a better tolerance to heat stress, which may be ecologically advantageous. Altogether, this work illustrates how Spiroplasma-derived RIP toxins can differentially affect Drosophila depending on the ecological context, ranging from beneficial upon parasite infection or heat shock to detrimental in the absence of such environmental pressures.

EPFL2018

Weevil pgrp-lb prevents endosymbiont TCT dissemination and chronic host systemic immune activation

Florent François Masson

Long-term intracellular symbiosis (or endosymbiosis) is widely distributed across invertebrates and is recognized as a major driving force in evolution. However, the maintenance of immune homeostasis in organisms chronically infected with mutualistic bacteria is a challenging task, and little is known about the molecular processes that limit endosymbiont immunogenicity and host inflammation. Here, we investigated peptidoglycan recognition protein (PGRP)-encoding genes in the cereal weevil Sitophilus zeamais's association with Sodalis pierantonius endosymbiont. We discovered that weevil pgrp-lb generates three transcripts via alternative splicing and differential regulation. A secreted isoform is expressed in insect tissues under pathogenic conditions through activation of the PGRP-LC receptor of the immune deficiency pathway. In addition, cytosolic and transmembrane isoforms are permanently produced within endosymbiont-bearing organ, the bacteriome, in a PGRP-LC-independent manner. Bacteriome isoforms specifically cleave the tracheal cytotoxin (TCT), a peptidoglycan monomer released by endosymbionts. pgrp-lb silencing by RNAi results in TCT escape from the bacteriome to other insect tissues, where it chronically activates the host systemic immunity through PGRP-LC. While such immune deregulations did not impact endosymbiont load, they did negatively affect host physiology, as attested by a diminished sexual maturation of adult weevils. Whereas pgrp-lb was first described in pathogenic interactions, this work shows that, in an endosymbiosis context, specific bacteriome isoforms have evolved, allowing endosymbiont TCT scavenging and preventing chronic endosymbiont-induced immune responses, thus promoting host homeostasis.

2019

Vertical transmission of a Drosophila endosymbiont via cooption of the yolk transport and internalization machinery

Jeremy Keith Herren, Bruno Lemaitre, Juan Camilo Paredes Escobar, Fanny Schüpfer

Spiroplasma is a diverse bacterial clade that includes many vertically transmitted insect endosymbionts, including Spiroplasma poulsonii, a natural endosymbiont of Drosophila melanogaster. These bacteria persist in the hemolymph of their adult host and exhibit efficient vertical transmission from mother to offspring. In this study, we analyzed the mechanism that underlies their vertical transmission, and here we provide strong evidence that these bacteria use the yolk uptake machinery to colonize the germ line. We show that Spiroplasma reaches the oocyte by passing through the intercellular space surrounding the ovarian follicle cells and is then endocytosed into oocytes within yolk granules during the vitellogenic stages of oogenesis. Mutations that disrupt yolk uptake by oocytes inhibit vertical Spiroplasma transmission and lead to an accumulation of these bacteria outside the oocyte. Impairment of yolk secretion by the fat body results in Spiroplasma not reaching the oocyte and a severe reduction of vertical transmission. We propose a model in which Spiroplasma first interacts with yolk in the hemolymph to gain access to the oocyte and then uses the yolk receptor, Yolkless, to be endocytosed into the oocyte. Cooption of the yolk uptake machinery is a powerful strategy for endosymbionts to target the germ line and achieve vertical transmission. This mechanism may apply to other endosymbionts and provides a possible explanation for endosymbiont host specificity. IMPORTANCE: Most insect species, including important disease vectors and crop pests, harbor vertically transmitted endosymbiotic bacteria. Studies have shown that many facultative endosymbionts, including Spiroplasma, confer protection against different classes of parasites on their hosts and therefore are attractive tools for the control of vector-borne diseases. The ability to be efficiently transmitted from females to their offspring is the key feature shaping associations between insects and their inherited endosymbionts, but to date, little is known about the mechanisms involved. In oviparous animals, yolk accumulates in developing eggs and serves to meet the nutritional demands of embryonic development. Here we show that Spiroplasma coopts the yolk transport and uptake machinery to colonize the germ line and ensure efficient vertical transmission. The uptake of yolk is a female germ line-specific feature and therefore an attractive target for cooption by endosymbionts that need to maintain high-fidelity maternal transmission.