This video clip features work from the Bordenstein Lab on the discovery and application of viral enzymes from phage WO that enable the symbiotic bacterium Wolbachia to cause cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI) in insects and other arthropods. CI occurs because the CifA and CifB enzymes from phage WO enter developing sperm to cause a catastrophic cascade of cell biological errors that render the sperm incompatible to embryos lacking Wolbachia and the phage. The enzymes in developing sperm deplete messenger molecules called long noncoding RNA, damage DNA, and alter the evolutionary-conserved histone-to-protamine transition. Notably, CI is harmful to insects and is now being used for controlling pests and disease vectors of humans and agriculture.
Related links:
Bordenstein lab - bordensteinlab.com
Science article - www.science.org/doi/10.1126/s...
Penn State Research News - science.psu.edu/news/Bordenst...