Genetic and cytogenetic bases of Cardinium-caused cytoplasmic incompatibility in arthropods

已知沃尔巴克氏体细菌感染了世界上大量的昆虫物种（以及其他陆生无脊椎动物），对其动物宿主的生物学产生了重要影响。在许多昆虫中，沃尔巴克氏体导致一种细菌诱导的生殖失败，称为“细胞质不相容性”（CI），这种现象有利于受沃尔巴克氏体感染的昆虫的生存，尽管进行了大量研究，但仍然知之甚少。最近，在第二种与沃尔巴克氏体无关的细菌Cardinium中发现了CI，这项研究的研究人员将探索Cardinium在寄生蜂中的CI机制。该项目代表了除沃尔巴克氏体以外的细菌中CI机制的首次研究;通过该实验系统的易处理性和它可以提供的比较见解，这项调查将最终增强对沃尔巴克氏体和Cardinium中CI的理解。 为了解决这些问题，研究人员将分析感染Cardinium的雄性和雌性黄蜂的基因表达。他们还将对由CI引起的Cardinium引起的胚胎死亡率进行显微镜分析。CI的见解将有助于有效地操纵CI引起的细菌共生体的重要害虫和疾病媒介的管理。该项目还将通过关于昆虫和微生物相互作用的课程补充，促进中学科学教育和培训。最后，该项目还将对一名研究生、两名本科生进行研究培训（包括国际培训），并对两名研究生进行K-12科学推广培训。

The bacterium Wolbachia is known to infect a large number of the world's insect species (among other terrestrial invertebrates), with important effects on the biology of its animal hosts. In many insects, Wolbachia causes a kind of bacteria-induced reproductive failure called "cytoplasmic incompatibility" (CI), a phenomenon that favors the survival of Wolbachia-infected insects by a mechanism that, despite intense study, is still poorly understood. Having made a recent, surprising discovery of CI in a second bacterium, Cardinium, that is unrelated to Wolbachia, the investigators in this study will probe the CI mechanisms of Cardinium in parasitic wasps. This project represents the first study of CI mechanisms in a bacterium other than Wolbachia; through the tractability of this experimental system and the comparative insights it can provide, this investigation will ultimately enhance understanding of CI in Wolbachia as well as Cardinium. To address these questions, the investigators will analyze the expression of genes in male and female Cardinium-infected wasps. They will also conduct a microscopic analysis of the mortality of embryos due to CI-causing Cardinium. The insights into CI will contribute to the effective manipulation of CI-causing bacterial symbionts for management of important insect pests and disease vectors. The project will also contribute to middle school science education and training with a curriculum supplement on insects and microbe interactions. Lastly, the project will result in research training (including international training) of a graduate student, two undergraduates, as well as training of two graduate students in K-12 science outreach.