title: Wolbachia small noncoding RNAs and their role in cross-kingdom communications.
abstract: In prokaryotes, small noncoding RNAs (snRNAs) of 50-500 nt are produced that are important in bacterial virulence and response to environmental stimuli. Here, we identified and characterized snRNAs from the endosymbiotic bacteria, Wolbachia, which are widespread in invertebrates and cause reproductive manipulations. Most importantly, some strains of Wolbachia inhibit replication of several vector-borne pathogens in insects. We demonstrate that two abundant snRNAs, WsnRNA-46 and WsnRNA-49, are expressed in Wolbachia from noncoding RNA transcripts that contain precursors with stem-loop structures. WsnRNAs were detected in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes infected with the wMelPop-CLA strain of Wolbachia and in Drosophila melanogaster and Drosophila simulans infected with wMelPop and wAu strains, respectively, indicating that the WsnRNAs are conserved across species and strains. In addition, we show that the WsnRNAs may potentially regulate host genes and Wolbachia genes. Our findings provide evidence for the production of functional snRNAs by Wolbachia that play roles in cross-kingdom communication between the endosymbiont and the host.
authors.affiliation: Australian Infectious Disease Research Centre, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane QLD 4072 Australia; and.
authors.forename: Jaime G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Mayoral
authors.affiliation: Australian Infectious Disease Research Centre, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane QLD 4072 Australia; and.
authors.forename: Mazhar
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hussain
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia.
authors.forename: D Albert
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Joubert
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia.
authors.forename: Iñaki
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Iturbe-Ormaetxe
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia.
authors.forename: Scott L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: O'Neill
authors.affiliation: Australian Infectious Disease Research Centre, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane QLD 4072 Australia; and s.asgari@uq.edu.au.
authors.forename: Sassan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Asgari
mesh_terms: D000330:Aedes / Q000382:microbiology*; D000818:Animals; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster; D012329:RNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D058727:RNA, Small Untranslated / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D020577:Wolbachia / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D012329:RNA, Bacterial; D058727:RNA, Small Untranslated
keywords: Aedes aegypti; microRNA; mosquito