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Maintaining Aedes aegypti Mosquitoes Infected with Wolbachia
Published on: August 14, 2017
Strain-specific response to ampicillin in Wolbachia-infected mosquito cell lines
1Department of Entomology, University of Minnesota, 1980 Folwell Ave, St. Paul, MN, 55108, USA. fallo002@umn.edu.
Abstract:
Wolbachia pipientis (Rickettsiales; Anaplasmataceae) is an obligate intracellular alpha proteobacterium that occurs in arthropods and filarial worms. Some strains of Wolbachia can be maintained as persistent infections in insect cell lines. C/wStr1 cells from the mosquito Aedes albopictus maintain a robust infection with Wolbachia strain wStr, originally isolated from the planthopper, Laodelphax striatellus. To explore possible functions of penicillin-binding proteins expressed from the wStr genome, C/wStr1 cells were exposed to ampicillin. Absolute levels of Wolbachia increased 3.5-fold in ampicillin-treated cells and fivefold in naive cells newly infected with wStr. Because cell numbers were depressed by ampicillin treatment, Wolbachia yield on a per-cell basis increased by 15-fold. The absence of a similar effect on wAlbB in Aa23 host cells suggests that the Wolbachia strain, the presence/absence of genes encoding penicillin-binding proteins, or the interaction between wAlbB and its host cells may modulate the effects of ampicillin.
Insights
Ampicillin treatment surprisingly increased Wolbachia pipientis bacterial levels in mosquito cells. This suggests penicillin-binding proteins in Wolbachia may influence bacterial proliferation and host cell interactions.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Cell Biology
- Arthropod-borne Pathogens
Background:
- Wolbachia pipientis is an obligate intracellular bacterium infecting arthropods and filarial worms.
- Certain Wolbachia strains, like wStr from Laodelphax striatellus, can persist in insect cell lines, such as C/wStr1 from Aedes albopictus.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the function of penicillin-binding proteins (PBPs) encoded by the wStr genome.
- To determine the effect of ampicillin exposure on Wolbachia levels in infected insect cells.
Main Methods:
- C/wStr1 mosquito cells infected with Wolbachia strain wStr were treated with ampicillin.
- Absolute Wolbachia levels and host cell numbers were quantified in treated and control groups.
- A comparison was made with the wAlbB strain in Aa23 host cells.
Main Results:
- Ampicillin treatment led to a 3.5-fold increase in absolute Wolbachia levels in C/wStr1 cells.
- Per-cell Wolbachia yield increased 15-fold due to ampicillin's depression of host cell numbers.
- No similar effect was observed for the wAlbB strain in Aa23 host cells.
Conclusions:
- The study suggests that penicillin-binding proteins in Wolbachia wStr may play a role in regulating bacterial proliferation.
- The differential response to ampicillin highlights strain-specific and host-specific interactions influencing Wolbachia dynamics.
- Further research is needed to elucidate the precise mechanisms of ampicillin's effect and the function of Wolbachia PBPs.
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