Intrasperm vertical symbiont transmission
Abstract
Diverse organisms are commonly associated with bacterial endosymbionts, which often affect hosts' biology and phenotypes in a variety of ways. The majority of these symbionts are generally present in the host cell cytoplasm and maternally transmitted through host generations. Here, however, this conventional knowledge is countered by our discovery of intrasperm vertical transmission of nuclear-targeting bacterial symbiont (Rickettsia) in an insect (leafhopper Nephotettix cincticeps), which potentially erodes the nuclear-cytoplasmic conflict that governs the majority of endosymbiotic associations. The molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying the sperm head infection without disturbing sperm functioning are of not only basic but also applied interest, which may provide insights into the development of sperm-mediated genetic transformation and/or material delivery technologies.
- Publication:
-
Proceedings of the National Academy of Science
- Pub Date:
- May 2014
- DOI:
- 10.1073/pnas.1402476111
- Bibcode:
- 2014PNAS..111.7433W