ArticleNature communications2023
A male-killing gene encoded by a symbiotic virus of Drosophila.
Article in Nature communications, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed.
- Transcriptomic analysis of oriental tea tortrix infected with male-killing virus.Molecular biology reports · 2026Article
- Mycoviruses diversity in the black kōji mold, Aspergillus luchuensis (section Nigri) isolated from liquor-production environments in Japan.Virus research · 2026Article
- Article
- Endosymbionts interacting with sex-determining genes and processes.Current opinion in insect science · 2025Review
- Article
- A heritable RNA virus facilitates egg hatching of a parasitoid wasp.Annals of the Entomological Society of America · 2025Article
- Elucidating the Molecular Mechanisms of Sex Ratio Distortion Mediated by Cytoplasmic Symbionts.Genome biology and evolution · 2025Review
- Prophage-encodedeLife · 2025Article
- Infection pattern of male-killing viruses alters phenotypes in the tea tortrix moth Homona magnanima.Heredity · 2025Article
- Cell-based assays and comparative genomics revealed the conserved and hidden effects ofPNAS nexus · 2024Article
- Transcriptome Analysis Reveals a Diverse Range of Novel Viruses in Australian Sugarcane Soldier Fly (Viruses · 2024Article
- Two male-killingRoyal Society open science · 2024Article
- Wolbachia: Advancing into a Second Century.Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.) · 2024Article
- Male-killing virus in a noctuid mothProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2023Article
- Impact of intraspecific variation in insect microbiomes on host phenotype and evolution.The ISME journal · 2023Review
- The intriguing phenomenon of cross-kingdom infections of plant and insect viruses to fungi: Can other animal viruses also cross-infect fungi?PLoS pathogens · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
Abstract
In most eukaryotes, biparentally inherited nuclear genomes and maternally inherited cytoplasmic genomes have different evolutionary interests. Strongly female-biased sex ratios that are repeatedly observed in various arthropods often result from the male-specific lethality (male-killing) induced by maternally inherited symbiotic bacteria such as Spiroplasma and Wolbachia. However, despite some plausible case reports wherein viruses are raised as male-killers, it is not well understood how viruses, having much smaller genomes than bacteria, are capable of inducing male-killing. Here we show that a maternally inherited double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) virus belonging to the family Partitiviridae (designated DbMKPV1) induces male-killing in Drosophila. DbMKPV1 localizes in the cytoplasm and possesses only four genes, i.e., one gene in each of the four genomic segments (dsRNA1-dsRNA4), in contrast to ca. 1000 or more genes possessed by Spiroplasma or Wolbachia. We also show that a protein (designated PVMKp1; 330 amino acids in size), encoded by a gene on the dsRNA4 segment, is necessary and sufficient for inducing male-killing. Our results imply that male-killing genes can be easily acquired by symbiotic viruses through reassortment and that symbiotic viruses are hidden players in arthropod evolution. We anticipate that host-manipulating genes possessed by symbiotic viruses can be utilized for controlling arthropods.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.