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. 2013 Nov;87(21):11945-9.
doi: 10.1128/JVI.01522-13. Epub 2013 Aug 28.

The toll and Imd pathways are not required for wolbachia-mediated dengue virus interference

Edwige Rancès  1 , Travis K Johnson, Jean Popovici, Iñaki Iturbe-Ormaetxe, Tasnim Zakir, Coral G Warr, Scott L O'Neill
Affiliations

The toll and Imd pathways are not required for wolbachia-mediated dengue virus interference

Edwige Rancès et al. J Virol. 2013 Nov.

Abstract

Wolbachia blocks dengue virus replication in Drosophila melanogaster as well as in Aedes aegypti. Using the Drosophila model and mutations in the Toll and Imd pathways, we showed that neither pathway is required for expression of the dengue virus-blocking phenotype in the Drosophila host. This provides additional evidence that the mechanistic basis of Wolbachia-mediated dengue virus blocking in insects is more complex than simple priming of the host insect innate immune system.

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Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1
Wolbachia density in Drosophila lines deficient for Toll and Imd pathways. (A and B) wMelPop relative density in 2 (A)- and 8 (B)-day-old virgin females deficient for Imd (relE20wMelPop) and Toll (spz2wMelPop) pathways and the control line (w1118wMelPop). (C and D) wMelPop (C) and wMel (D) relative density in 8-day-old virgin females deficient for Toll pathway (allele spz4). n = 11 to 15; Mann-Whitney U test; ***, P < 0.001; ****, P < 0.0001.
Fig 2
Fig 2
Wolbachia tissue tropism in Drosophila lines deficient for Toll and Imd pathways. Wolbachia is shown in red and DNA in blue. (A to C) Wolbachia localization in Malpighian tubules (mt) from w1118wMelPop (WT), relE20wMelPop, and spz4wMelPop flies. (D to F) Ovary sections, showing the localization of Wolbachia in the germarium (g) and in nurse cells (n) in developing oocytes.
Fig 3
Fig 3
Dengue virus blocking in Wolbachia-infected Drosophila lines deficient for Toll and Imd pathways. (A) DENV-2 was injected into 2-day-old female flies, spz2wMelPop and relE20wMelPop, and their tetracycline-treated uninfected counterparts, spz2tet and relE20tet. (B) DENV-2 was injected into 2-day-old females, spz4wMelPop and w1118wMelPop control flies, and their tetracycline-treated counterparts, spz4tet and w1118tet. Total DENV-2 in whole female Drosophila (n = 13 to 15) was measured 6 days postinjection by qRT-PCR using a TaqMan assay specific to DENV in 1 μg of total RNA. The fraction of flies that had detectable DENV-2 infections is shown above each set of data points. Mann-Whitney U test; ****, P < 0.0001.
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References

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