Crystal Structures of Wolbachia CidA and CidB Reveal Determinants of Bacteria-induced Cytoplasmic Incompatibility and Rescue

Haofeng Wang, Yunjie Xiao, Xia Chen, Mengwen Zhang, Guangxin Sun, Feng Wang, Lin Wang, Hanxiao Zhang, Xiaoyu Zhang, Xin Yang, Wenling Li, Yi Wei, Deqiang Yao, Bing Zhang, Jun Li, Wen Cui, Fenghua Wang, Cheng Chen, Wei Shen, Dan Su, Fang Bai, Jinhai Huang, Sheng Ye, Lei Zhang, Xiaoyun Ji, Wei Wang (), Zefang Wang (), Mark Hochstrasser () and Haitao Yang ()
Additional contact information
Haofeng Wang: Tianjin University
Yunjie Xiao: Tianjin University
Xia Chen: Tianjin University
Mengwen Zhang: Yale University
Guangxin Sun: Yale University
Feng Wang: Tianjin University
Lin Wang: Shanghai Institute for Advanced Immunochemical Studies and School of Life Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University
Hanxiao Zhang: Tianjin University
Xiaoyu Zhang: Tianjin University
Xin Yang: Institute of Life Sciences, Chongqing Medical University
Wenling Li: Tianjin University
Yi Wei: Tianjin University
Deqiang Yao: Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Bing Zhang: Shanghai Institute for Advanced Immunochemical Studies and School of Life Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University
Jun Li: Shanghai Institute for Advanced Immunochemical Studies and School of Life Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University
Wen Cui: Tianjin University
Fenghua Wang: Tianjin University
Cheng Chen: Tianjin University
Wei Shen: Shanghai Institute for Advanced Immunochemical Studies and School of Life Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University
Dan Su: Sichuan University and Collaborative Innovation Center for Biotherapy
Fang Bai: Shanghai Institute for Advanced Immunochemical Studies and School of Life Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University
Jinhai Huang: Tianjin University
Sheng Ye: Tianjin University
Lei Zhang: Tianjin University
Xiaoyun Ji: Nanjing University
Wei Wang: Institute of Life Sciences, Chongqing Medical University
Zefang Wang: Tianjin University
Mark Hochstrasser: Yale University
Haitao Yang: Tianjin University

Nature Communications, 2022, vol. 13, issue 1, 1-11

Abstract: Abstract Cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI) results when Wolbachia bacteria-infected male insects mate with uninfected females, leading to embryonic lethality. “Rescue” of viability occurs if the female harbors the same Wolbachia strain. CI is caused by linked pairs of Wolbachia genes called CI factors (CifA and CifB). The co-evolution of CifA-CifB pairs may account in part for the incompatibility patterns documented in insects infected with different Wolbachia strains, but the molecular mechanisms remain elusive. Here, we use X-ray crystallography and AlphaFold to analyze the CI factors from Wolbachia strain wMel called CidAwMel and CidBwMel. Substituting CidAwMel interface residues with those from CidAwPip (from strain wPip) enables the mutant protein to bind CidBwPip and rescue CidBwPip-induced yeast growth defects, supporting the importance of CifA-CifB interaction in CI rescue. Sequence divergence in CidAwPip and CidBwPip proteins affects their pairwise interactions, which may help explain the complex incompatibility patterns of mosquitoes infected with different wPip strains.

Date: 2022
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-29273-w

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