Penn State researchers unveil the tale of Wolbachia and its viral accomplice manipulating insect reproduction.
There is now a very unlikely way to combat insects. Imagine this: a tiny bacteria named Wolbachia and its accomplice, a virus called prophage WO, are causing sterility in male insects by hijacking their sperm, preventing them from fertilizing eggs of females that do not have the same bacteria and virus.
And it is not just a bacteria in itself. Many bacteria organisms usually have a prophage attached to them. They are called bacteriophages. In this case, Wolbachia has genes from aWO integrated into its genome. The genes include cifA and cifB. They are the masterminds behind the discovery of this study
Assistant Research Professor Rupinder Kaur explained, “The virus proteins control sperm by depleting the long non-coding RNAs required for normal sperm function.” The study used fruit flies with Wolbachia to establish a link between the bacteria and long non-coding RNA. Thus revealing a potential avenue for manipulating insect populations.
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