Date
2018Journal
Genome Biology and EvolutionPublisher
Oxford University PressType
Article
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While typically a flea parasite and opportunistic human pathogen, the presence of Rickettsia felis (strain LSU-Lb) in the non-bloodfeeding, parthenogenetically reproducing booklouse, Liposcelis bostrychophila, provides a system to ascertain factors governing not only host transitions but also obligate reproductive parasitism (RP). Analysis of plasmid pLbAR, unique to R. felis str. LSU-Lb, revealed a toxin-antitoxin module with similar features to prophage-encoded toxin-antitoxin modules utilized by parasitic Wolbachia strains to induce another form of RP, cytoplasmic incompatibility, in their arthropod hosts. Curiously, multiple deubiquitinase and nuclease domains of the large (3,841 aa) pLbAR toxin, as well the entire antitoxin, facilitated the detection of an assortment of related proteins from diverse intracellular bacteria, including other reproductive parasites. Our description of these remarkable components of the intracellular mobilome, including their presence in certain arthropod genomes, lends insight on the evolution of RP, while invigorating research on parasite-mediated biocontrol of arthropod-borne viral and bacterial pathogens. Copyright The Author(s) 2018.Sponsors
This work was supported with funds from the National Institute of Health/ National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases grants (R01AI017828 and R01AI126853 to A.F.A., R21AI26108 to J.J.G. and M.S.R., and AI22672 to K.R.M.).Keyword
Cytoplasmic incompatibilityIntracellular bacteria
Parthenogenesis
Reproductive parasitism
Rickettsia
Wolbachia
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https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85054888213&doi=10.1093%2fgbe%2fevy159&partnerID=40&md5=a1dd26c9623f595d4f8b598aa716a87c; http://hdl.handle.net/10713/9184ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1093/gbe/evy159
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