Genomic evidence for plant-parasitic nematodes as the earliest Wolbachia hosts

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 6; no. 1; p. 34955
• Main Authors: Brown, Amanda M. V., Wasala, Sulochana K., Howe, Dana K., Peetz, Amy B., Zasada, Inga A., Denver, Dee R.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 13-10-2016; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 14/19; 14/32; 45/22; 45/23; 631/114/2785; 631/181/2474; 631/208/191; 631/208/325/1506; 631/326/325/1506; Biological control; Dengue fever; Endosymbionts; Genomes; Homeostasis; Humanities and Social Sciences; Invasions; Iron; Malaria; multidisciplinary; Nematodes; Nutrient content; Pandemics; Parasites; Science; Vector-borne diseases
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/srep34955

Wolbachia
, one of the most widespread endosymbionts, is a target for biological control of mosquito-borne diseases (malaria and dengue virus), and antibiotic elimination of infectious filarial nematodes. We sequenced and analyzed the genome of a new
Wolbachia
strain (wPpe) in the plant-parasitic nematode
Pratylenchus penetrans
. Phylogenomic analyses placed wPpe as the earliest diverging
Wolbachia
, suggesting two evolutionary invasions into nematodes. The next branches comprised strains in sap-feeding insects, suggesting
Wolbachia
may have first evolved as a nutritional mutualist. Genome size, protein content, %GC, and repetitive DNA allied wPpe with mutualistic
Wolbachia
, whereas gene repertoire analyses placed it between parasite (A, B) and mutualist (C, D, F) groups. Conservation of iron metabolism genes across
Wolbachia
suggests iron homeostasis as a potential factor in its success. This study enhances our understanding of this globally pandemic endosymbiont, highlighting genetic patterns associated with host changes. Combined with future work on this strain, these genomic data could help provide potential new targets for plant-parasitic nematode control.