Transcriptomic study reveals Spiroplasma alters testicular energy and sperm pathways in tsetse flies, suggesting reduced male reproductive fitness.
Key Points
Investigate how the bacterial endosymbiont Spiroplasma alters male reproductive physiology and gene expression in the testes and accessory glands of the tsetse fly Glossina fuscipes fuscipes.
Conducted high-throughput RNA sequencing on testes and accessory glands from a laboratory colony of Glossina fuscipes fuscipes to assess differential gene expression in the presence of Spiroplasma.
Profiled the relative abundance and impact of Spiroplasma infection on co-occurring endosymbionts, including obligate Wigglesworthia.
Spiroplasma significantly altered testes physiology by downregulating genes essential for energy metabolism and sperm function, indicating impaired male reproductive fitness.
Accessory gland gene expression remained largely unaffected by Spiroplasma infection despite the bacterium exploiting ejaculate for transmission.
Spiroplasma presence correlated with a heightened abundance of other core symbionts, notably Wigglesworthia.