Phage WO as a vehicle to transform Wolbachia, a symbiont of major crop pests

沃尔巴克氏体是一种专性细胞内细菌，是地球上最常见的动物共生体。某些菌株已经在全世界的节肢动物种群中传播，部分原因是它们在宿主中诱导的生殖操作。沃尔巴克氏体还可以抑制病媒传播疾病的传播，这导致故意释放感染沃尔巴克氏体的蚊子来控制登革热。在一个引人注目的“俄罗斯娃娃”般的场景中，嵌入原噬菌体中的基因控制着与沃尔巴克氏体相关的生殖操作。裂解性噬菌体（病毒颗粒）也被报道感染节肢动物宿主体内的沃尔巴克氏体。这种“噬菌体WO”具有允许对沃尔巴克氏体进行遗传操作的潜力，这迄今为止还不可能，从而提供了一种增强其有益特性的手段。本项目将鉴定和测序来自农业鳞翅目（蛾）害虫的噬菌体WO，并在昆虫细胞培养中建立鳞翅目沃尔巴克氏体菌株。使用合成生物学工具和重组工程技术开发的噬菌体λ在E。该项目将产生新的细菌，在体外感染沃尔巴克氏体，开辟合理编辑其基因组和加强害虫控制的前景。

Wolbachia, an obligate intracellular bacterium, is the commonest animal symbiont on Earth. Certain strains have spread throughout arthropod populations worldwide, in part due to the reproductive manipulations they induce in their hosts. Wolbachia can also inhibit the spread of vector-borne diseases, which has led to deliberate releases of Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes to control dengue fever. In a remarkable "Russian doll"-like scenario, genes embedded in a prophage control the reproductive manipulations associated with Wolbachia. Lytic phage (viral particles) have also been reported to infect Wolbachia within the arthropod host. This "phage WO" has the potential to allow genetic manipulation of Wolbachia, which to date has not been possible, thus providing a means to enhance its beneficial characteristics. This project, will identify and sequence phage WO from lepidopteran (moth) pests of agriculture and establish lepidopteran Wolbachia strains in insect cell culture. Using synthetic biology tools and recombineering techniques developed with phage lambda in E. coli, the project will produce novel phages with which to infect Wolbachia in vitro, opening-up prospects to rationally edit its genome and enhance pest control.