Viral pathogens hitchhike with insect sperm for paternal transmission
Viral pathogens hitchhike with insect sperm for paternal transmission
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病毒病原体与昆虫精子搭便车进行父系传播
DOI：
10.1038/s41467-019-08860-4
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发表时间：
2019-02-27
影响因子：
16.6
通讯作者：
Wei, Taiyun
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Mao, Qianzhuo;Wu, Wei;Wei, Taiyun
节肢动物传播的病毒（虫媒病毒）可以通过雌性昆虫传播给它们的后代，然而，雄性精子是否可以直接与虫媒病毒相互作用并介导其父代传播尚不清楚。在这里，我们报告了一个重要的水稻虫媒病毒是由男性叶蝉通过搭便车与精子父传。病毒与精子的结合是由病毒衣壳蛋白和精子头部表面硫酸乙酰肝素蛋白多糖的相互作用介导的。交配实验表明，父亲的病毒传播比母亲的传播更有效。这种父本病毒传播几乎不影响成年雄性或其后代的健康状况，并且在田间不利于水稻宿主的季节对病毒种群的维持起着关键作用。我们的研究结果表明，虫媒病毒垂直传播的首选模式已经通过与昆虫精子搭便车而进化而来，而不会干扰精子功能，促进了病毒的长期流行和在自然界中的持久性。
Arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses) can be maternally transmitted by female insects to their offspring, however, it is unknown whether male sperm can directly interact with the arbovirus and mediate its paternal transmission. Here we report that an important rice arbovirus is paternally transmitted by the male leafhoppers by hitchhiking with the sperm. The virus-sperm binding is mediated by the interaction of viral capsid protein and heparan sulfate proteoglycan on the sperm head surfaces. Mating experiments reveal that paternal virus transmission is more efficient than maternal transmission. Such paternal virus transmission scarcely affects the fitness of adult males or their offspring, and plays a pivotal role in maintenance of viral population during seasons unfavorable for rice hosts in the field. Our findings reveal that a preferred mode of vertical arbovirus transmission has been evolved by hitchhiking with insect sperm without disturbing sperm functioning, facilitating the long-term viral epidemic and persistence in nature.