ArticlePLoS biology2022
The Cif proteins from Wolbachia prophage WO modify sperm genome integrity to establish cytoplasmic incompatibility.
Article in PLoS biology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 42 papers.
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42 citing papers in PubMed.
- Wolbachia strain wLhui induces temperature-dependent incomplete cytoplasmic incompatibility in the invasive pest Liriomyza huidobrensis with biocontrol potential.Pest management science · 2026Article
- Calibrating and documenting host-switching and evolution of incompatibility loci for two closely related Wolbachia clades.Genetics · 2026Article
- Temperature-sensitive cytoplasmic incompatibility across divergent Wolbachia partly reflects cifB transcription, not endosymbiont density.Molecular biology and evolution · 2026Article
- Article
- Three decades of analyzing Wolbachia bacterial endosymbionts in arthropods: Trends and gaps.Parasitology research · 2026Review
- Article
- Wolbachia-induced Cytoplasmic Incompatibility drives epigenetic and maternally-influenced post-embryonic defects.PLoS pathogens · 2026Article
- Article
- Temperature-sensitive cytoplasmic incompatibility across divergentbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Rapid Genomic Adaptation of Drosophila Melanogaster to Wolbachia Elimination.Microbial ecology · 2026Article
- Calibrating and documenting host-switching and evolution of incompatibility loci for two closely relatedbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Differential gene expression in Chorthippus parallelus (Zetterstedt, 1821) (Orthoptera: Acrididae: Gomphocerinae) induced by Wolbachia infection.Insect science · 2025Article
- Deubiquitylases and nucleases in bacterial symbiont-induced cytoplasmic incompatibility.Biochemical Society transactions · 2025Review
- Histone acetylation modulation by a small molecule inhibitor recapitulates symbiont-induced cytoplasmic incompatibility.Cell reports · 2025Article
- Wolbachia-mediated reproductive manipulation in rice planthoppers.Crop health · 2025Review
- Evolutionary Diversification and Functions of the Candidate Male Killing Gene wmk.Genome biology and evolution · 2025Article
- Recombination, Truncation and Horizontal Transfer Shape the Diversity of Wolbachia-induced Cytoplasmic Incompatibility Patterns.Molecular biology and evolution · 2025Article
- An orphan gene is essential for efficient sperm entry into eggs in Drosophila melanogaster.Genetics · 2025Article
- Article
- Cytoplasmic incompatibility factor proteins fromProceedings. Biological sciences · 2025Article
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Abstract
Inherited microorganisms can selfishly manipulate host reproduction to drive through populations. In Drosophila melanogaster, germline expression of the native Wolbachia prophage WO proteins CifA and CifB cause cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI) in which embryos from infected males and uninfected females suffer catastrophic mitotic defects and lethality; however, in infected females, CifA expression rescues the embryonic lethality and thus imparts a fitness advantage to the maternally transmitted Wolbachia. Despite widespread relevance to sex determination, evolution, and vector control, the mechanisms underlying when and how CI impairs male reproduction remain unknown and a topic of debate. Here, we use cytochemical, microscopic, and transgenic assays in D. melanogaster to demonstrate that CifA and CifB proteins of wMel localize to nuclear DNA throughout the process of spermatogenesis. Cif proteins cause abnormal histone retention in elongating spermatids and protamine deficiency in mature sperms that travel to the female reproductive tract with Cif proteins. Notably, protamine gene knockouts enhance wild-type CI. In ovaries, CifA localizes to germ cell nuclei and cytoplasm of early-stage egg chambers; however, Cifs are absent in late-stage oocytes and subsequently in fertilized embryos. Finally, CI and rescue are contingent upon a newly annotated CifA bipartite nuclear localization sequence. Together, our results strongly support the Host modification model of CI in which Cifs initially modify the paternal and maternal gametes to bestow CI-defining embryonic lethality and rescue.
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