Conjugal DNA Transfer in <named-content content-type="genus-species">Sodalis glossinidius</named-content>, a Maternally Inherited Symbiont of Tsetse Flies

ABSTRACT Stable associations between insects and bacterial species are widespread in nature. This is the case for many economically important insects, such as tsetse flies. Tsetse flies are the vectors of Trypanosoma brucei, the etiological agent of African trypanosomiasis—a zoonotic disease that in...

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Autores principales:	Christopher G. Kendra, Chelsea M. Keller, Roberto E. Bruna, Mauricio H. Pontes
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	American Society for Microbiology 2020
Materias:	Sodalis glossinidius insect endosymbiont symbiont transformation conjugation genetic modification Microbiology QR1-502
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/98334fb9d2f346598703c67a0f547792
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:98334fb9d2f346598703c67a0f5477922021-11-15T15:31:13ZConjugal DNA Transfer in <named-content content-type="genus-species">Sodalis glossinidius</named-content>, a Maternally Inherited Symbiont of Tsetse Flies10.1128/mSphere.00864-202379-5042https://doaj.org/article/98334fb9d2f346598703c67a0f5477922020-12-01T00:00:00Zhttps://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/mSphere.00864-20https://doaj.org/toc/2379-5042ABSTRACT Stable associations between insects and bacterial species are widespread in nature. This is the case for many economically important insects, such as tsetse flies. Tsetse flies are the vectors of Trypanosoma brucei, the etiological agent of African trypanosomiasis—a zoonotic disease that incurs a high socioeconomic cost in regions of endemicity. Populations of tsetse flies are often infected with the bacterium Sodalis glossinidius. Following infection, S. glossinidius establishes a chronic, stable association characterized by vertical (maternal) and horizontal (paternal) modes of transmission. Due to the stable nature of this association, S. glossinidius has been long sought as a means for the implementation of anti-Trypanosoma paratransgenesis in tsetse flies. However, the lack of tools for the genetic modification of S. glossinidius has hindered progress in this area. Here, we establish that S. glossinidius is amenable to DNA uptake by conjugation. We show that conjugation can be used as a DNA delivery method to conduct forward and reverse genetic experiments in this bacterium. This study serves as an important step in the development of genetic tools for S. glossinidius. The methods highlighted here should guide the implementation of genetics for the study of the tsetse-Sodalis association and the evaluation of S. glossinidius-based tsetse fly paratransgenesis strategies. IMPORTANCE Tsetse flies are the insect vectors of T. brucei, the causative agent of African sleeping sickness—a zoonotic disease that inflicts a substantial economic cost on a broad region of sub-Saharan Africa. Notably, tsetse flies can be infected with the bacterium S. glossinidius to establish an asymptomatic chronic infection. This infection can be inherited by future generations of tsetse flies, allowing S. glossinidius to spread and persist within populations. To this effect, S. glossinidius has been considered a potential expression platform to create flies which reduce T. brucei stasis and lower overall parasite transmission to humans and animals. However, the efficient genetic manipulation of S. glossinidius has remained a technical challenge due to its complex growth requirements and uncharacterized physiology. Here, we exploit a natural mechanism of DNA transfer among bacteria and develop an efficient technique to genetically manipulate S. glossinidius for future studies in reducing trypanosome transmission.Christopher G. KendraChelsea M. KellerRoberto E. BrunaMauricio H. PontesAmerican Society for MicrobiologyarticleSodalis glossinidiusinsect endosymbiontsymbionttransformationconjugationgenetic modificationMicrobiologyQR1-502ENmSphere, Vol 5, Iss 6 (2020)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Sodalis glossinidius insect endosymbiont symbiont transformation conjugation genetic modification Microbiology QR1-502
spellingShingle	Sodalis glossinidius insect endosymbiont symbiont transformation conjugation genetic modification Microbiology QR1-502 Christopher G. Kendra Chelsea M. Keller Roberto E. Bruna Mauricio H. Pontes Conjugal DNA Transfer in <named-content content-type="genus-species">Sodalis glossinidius</named-content>, a Maternally Inherited Symbiont of Tsetse Flies
description	ABSTRACT Stable associations between insects and bacterial species are widespread in nature. This is the case for many economically important insects, such as tsetse flies. Tsetse flies are the vectors of Trypanosoma brucei, the etiological agent of African trypanosomiasis—a zoonotic disease that incurs a high socioeconomic cost in regions of endemicity. Populations of tsetse flies are often infected with the bacterium Sodalis glossinidius. Following infection, S. glossinidius establishes a chronic, stable association characterized by vertical (maternal) and horizontal (paternal) modes of transmission. Due to the stable nature of this association, S. glossinidius has been long sought as a means for the implementation of anti-Trypanosoma paratransgenesis in tsetse flies. However, the lack of tools for the genetic modification of S. glossinidius has hindered progress in this area. Here, we establish that S. glossinidius is amenable to DNA uptake by conjugation. We show that conjugation can be used as a DNA delivery method to conduct forward and reverse genetic experiments in this bacterium. This study serves as an important step in the development of genetic tools for S. glossinidius. The methods highlighted here should guide the implementation of genetics for the study of the tsetse-Sodalis association and the evaluation of S. glossinidius-based tsetse fly paratransgenesis strategies. IMPORTANCE Tsetse flies are the insect vectors of T. brucei, the causative agent of African sleeping sickness—a zoonotic disease that inflicts a substantial economic cost on a broad region of sub-Saharan Africa. Notably, tsetse flies can be infected with the bacterium S. glossinidius to establish an asymptomatic chronic infection. This infection can be inherited by future generations of tsetse flies, allowing S. glossinidius to spread and persist within populations. To this effect, S. glossinidius has been considered a potential expression platform to create flies which reduce T. brucei stasis and lower overall parasite transmission to humans and animals. However, the efficient genetic manipulation of S. glossinidius has remained a technical challenge due to its complex growth requirements and uncharacterized physiology. Here, we exploit a natural mechanism of DNA transfer among bacteria and develop an efficient technique to genetically manipulate S. glossinidius for future studies in reducing trypanosome transmission.
format	article
author	Christopher G. Kendra Chelsea M. Keller Roberto E. Bruna Mauricio H. Pontes
author_facet	Christopher G. Kendra Chelsea M. Keller Roberto E. Bruna Mauricio H. Pontes
author_sort	Christopher G. Kendra
title	Conjugal DNA Transfer in <named-content content-type="genus-species">Sodalis glossinidius</named-content>, a Maternally Inherited Symbiont of Tsetse Flies
title_short	Conjugal DNA Transfer in <named-content content-type="genus-species">Sodalis glossinidius</named-content>, a Maternally Inherited Symbiont of Tsetse Flies
title_full	Conjugal DNA Transfer in <named-content content-type="genus-species">Sodalis glossinidius</named-content>, a Maternally Inherited Symbiont of Tsetse Flies
title_fullStr	Conjugal DNA Transfer in <named-content content-type="genus-species">Sodalis glossinidius</named-content>, a Maternally Inherited Symbiont of Tsetse Flies
title_full_unstemmed	Conjugal DNA Transfer in <named-content content-type="genus-species">Sodalis glossinidius</named-content>, a Maternally Inherited Symbiont of Tsetse Flies
title_sort	conjugal dna transfer in <named-content content-type="genus-species">sodalis glossinidius</named-content>, a maternally inherited symbiont of tsetse flies
publisher	American Society for Microbiology
publishDate	2020
url	https://doaj.org/article/98334fb9d2f346598703c67a0f547792
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Conjugal DNA Transfer in <named-content content-type="genus-species">Sodalis glossinidius</named-content>, a Maternally Inherited Symbiont of Tsetse Flies

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