Wbm0076, a candidate effector protein of the Wolbachia endosymbiont of Brugia malayi, disrupts eukaryotic actin dynamics
Authors: Mills Michael K. , McCabe Lindsey G. , Lechtreck Karl F. , Starai Vincent J. 
Published: August 2022

Brugia malayi, a parasitic roundworm of humans, is colonized by the obligate intracellular bacterium, Wolbachia pipientis. The symbiosis between this nematode and bacterium is essential for nematode reproduction and long-term survival in a human host. Therefore, identifying molecular mechanisms required by Wolbachia to persist in and colonize B. malayi tissues will provide new essential information regarding the basic biology of this endosymbiosis. Wolbachia utilize a Type IV secretion system to translocate so-called “effector” proteins into the cytosol of B. malayi cells to promote colonization of the eukaryotic host. However, the characterization of these Wolbachia secreted proteins (wSPs) has remained elusive due to the genetic intractability of both organisms. Strikingly, expression of the wSP, Wbm0076, in the surrogate eukaryotic cell model, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, resulted in the disruption of the yeast actin cytoskeleton and inhibition of endocytosis. Genetic analyses show that Wbm0076 is a member of the family of Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome proteins (WAS[p]), a well-conserved eukaryotic protein family required for the organization of actin skeletal structures. Thus, Wbm0076 likely plays a central role in the active cell-to-cell movement of Wolbachia throughout B. malayi tissues during nematode development. As most Wolbachia isolates sequenced to date encode at least partial orthologs of Wbm0076, we find it likely that the ability of Wolbachia to directly manipulate host actin dynamics is an essential requirement of all Wolbachia endosymbioses, independent of host cell species.

AUTHOR SUMMARY

Filarial nematodes of the family Onchocercidae cause several debilitating human diseases such as lymphatic filariasis and onchocerciasis; more than 50 million people are infected by these arthropod-borne roundworms in mostly tropical and sub-tropical regions. Many of these nematodes, including Brugia malayi, are obligately colonized by an intracellular bacterium of the genus Wolbachia, which is absolutely required for the proper development and reproduction of these worms in a mammalian host. Clearance of Wolbachia from these nematodes leads to a loss of both worm viability and its ability to cause disease in humans. Efforts to understand the molecular interactions required to maintain this important bacterium:nematode endosymbiosis, however, have been hampered due to the genetic intractability of these organisms. In this work, we utilize yeast as a surrogate eukaryotic cell to show that a candidate secreted effector protein from Wolbachia, Wbm0076, disrupts actin dynamics and endocytosis. We also observe interactions of Wbm0076 with a highly-conserved eukaryotic actin regulatory protein. As some intracellular bacteria manipulate host actin dynamics to promote mobility within or into host cells, our study provides evidence of an important Wolbachia protein activity that may be essential for its proper localization during the development of B. malayi.