title: Symmetric and asymmetric mitotic segregation patterns influence Wolbachia distribution in host somatic tissue.
abstract: Wolbachia are maternally inherited bacterial endosymbionts that occupy many but not all tissues of adult insects. During the initial mitotic divisions in Drosophila embryogenesis, Wolbachia exhibit a symmetric pattern of segregation. Wolbachia undergo microtubule-dependent and cell-cycle-regulated movement between centrosomes. Symmetric segregation occurs during late anaphase when Wolbachia cluster around duplicated and separating centrosomes. This centrosome association is microtubule-dependent and promotes an even Wolbachia distribution throughout the host embryo. By contrast, during the later embryonic and larval neuroblast divisions, Wolbachia segregate asymmetrically with the apical self-renewing neuroblast. During these polarized asymmetric neuroblast divisions, Wolbachia colocalize with the apical centrosome and apically localized Par complex. This localization depends on microtubules, but not the cortical actin-based cytoskeleton. We also found that Wolbachia concentrate in specific regions of the adult brain, which might be a direct consequence of the asymmetric Wolbachia segregation in the earlier neuroblast divisions. Finally, we demonstrate that the fidelity of asymmetric segregation to the self-renewing neuroblast is lower in the virulent Popcorn strain of Wolbachia.
authors.affiliation: Biology Department, Albion College, Albion, MI 49224, USA.
authors.forename: Roger
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Albertson
authors.forename: Catharina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Casper-Lindley
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.forename: Uyen
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Tram
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Sullivan
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000382:microbiology; D002455:Cell Division; D018385:Centrosome / Q000382:microbiology / Q000502:physiology; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000196:embryology / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000502:physiology*; D008870:Microtubules / Q000382:microbiology / Q000502:physiology; D008938:Mitosis; D009928:Organ Specificity; D020577:Wolbachia / Q000502:physiology*