Baculovirus PTP2 Functions as a Pro-Apoptotic Protein.

This is the final version. Available from MDPI via the DOI in this record.The family Baculoviridae encompasses a large number of invertebrate viruses, mainly infecting caterpillars of the order Lepidoptera. The baculovirus Spodoptera exigua multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (SeMNPV) induces physiological and behavioral changes in its host Spodoptera exigua, as well as immunological responses, which may affect virus transmission. Here we show that the SeMNPV-encoded protein tyrosine phosphatase 2 (PTP2) induces mild apoptosis in Spodoptera frugiperda (Sf) 21 cells upon transient expression. Transient expression of a catalytic-site mutant of ptp2 did not lead to apoptosis, indicating that the phosphatase activity of PTP2 is needed to induce apoptosis. We also found that the caspase level (indicator of apoptosis) was higher in cells transfected with the ptp2 gene than in cells transfected with the catalytic mutant. Adding a caspase inhibitor reduced the level of ptp2-induced apoptosis. Moreover, deletion of the ptp2 gene from the viral genome prevented the induction of apoptosis in S. exigua hemocytes. The virus titer and virulence indices (the viral infectivity and the time to death) were not affected by deletion of the ptp2 gene. However, the viral occlusion body yield from S. exigua larvae infected with the mutant virus lacking the ptp2 gene was much lower than the yield from larvae infected with the wild-type (WT) virus. We hypothesize that the observed pro-apoptotic effects of PTP2 are the result of PTP2-mediated immune suppression in larvae, which consequently leads to higher viral occlusion body yields

Climbing the walls : behavioural manipulation of insects by baculoviruses

Parasites often have severe effects on their hosts by causing developmental and physiological alterations in their hosts. These alterations may contribute to parasite growth, reproduction and survival. For example, host development may be inhibited so that more nutrients become available for the parasite. Parasites can also interfere with host behavior as a strategy to increase parasite survival or transmission. This phenomenon is known as ‘parasitic manipulation’ or ‘behavioural manipulation’. Although many examples of parasitic manipulation are known, the genetic basis underlying such manipulations is largely unexplored. A thorough understanding of how parasites manipulate their hosts’ behavior is therefore lacking, but it can be hypothesized that parasites carry specific genes that induce these behavioural alterations. Such ‘behavioural’ parasite genes likely affect one or more host proteins directly or via the expression of specific target genes in the host, which subsequently leads to altered behaviour. Understanding the details of such interactions between parasite and host is important as parasitic manipulation is thought to be wide spread in nature and to be a strong driver of the co-evolutionary arms race between parasite and host. Furthermore, the strategies employed by parasites to alter behavior likely provide important insights in the molecular mechanism of many behavioural processes. Chapter 2 of this thesis reviews our current understanding of the mechanisms of behavioural manipulation in invertebrates. It discusses known examples of behavioural manipulation and the present knowledge on the mechanistic basis of these manipulations. Furthermore, an overview of host genes and proteins that play a conserved role in behavioural traits in different invertebrate species is given. These genes and proteins are worthwhile to be studied in more detail in the context of parasitic manipulation, as they might be suitable targets for parasites to induce behavioural changes. This thesis focuses on behavioural manipulation in insect hosts by baculoviruses. Baculoviruses are DNA viruses that infect the larval stages of mainly lepidopteran insects. These viruses alter host behaviour in multiple ways. They induce hyperactivity in the larvae, which likely contributes to virus dispersal over a large area. In addition, baculoviruses alter host climbing behaviour leading to death at elevated positions, a phenomenon known as ‘tree-top disease’ or ‘Wipfelkrankheit’. This latter manipulation is thought to contribute to optimal virus dispersal on plant foliage. In the research described in this thesis baculoviruses and their lepidopteran insect hosts are used as a model system to study molecular mechanisms of behavioural manipulation. In Chapter 3 of this thesis the involvement of the protein tyrosine phosphatase (ptp) gene from the baculovirus Autographa californica multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcMNPV) in the induction of hyperactivity of the beet armyworm Spodoptera exigua was studied. A homolog of this gene in Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV) was previously shown to be important in hyperactivity in the silkworm B. mori. The results in Chapter 3 showed that the AcMNPV ptp gene induces hyperactive behaviour in S. exigua larvae and that the phosphatase activity of the encoded PTP enzyme is crucial for this behavioural change. Phylogenetic inference revealed that the baculovirus ptp is presumably transferred from a (ancestral) lepidopteran host to a baculovirus. Within the family Baculoviridae, ptp is only present in group I NPVs, which are a group of phylogenetically related baculoviruses. It is hypothesized that ptp-induced hyperactivity is an evolutionarily conserved strategy of group I NPVs to manipulate host behaviour. To obtain insights into the target proteins of the baculovirus PTP enzyme to achieve hyperactive behaviour in infected caterpillars, a PTP substrate analysis was performed. Chapter 4 describes host and viral proteins that were found to co-purify with AcMNPV PTP. Many of these host proteins are known to be important in signalling pathways and behavioural traits. For one of these proteins, 14-3-3 z, mRNA transcript levels were found to be significantly higher in wild type AcMNPV-infected S. exigua larvae as compared to larvae infected with a mutant virus from which the ptp gene has been deleted (AcMNPV Δptp). The 14-3-3 protein is a known activator of the enzymes tryptophan hydroxylase and tyrosine hydroxylase, which in turn are required for synthesis of the neurotransmitters serotonin and dopamine. These signalling molecules are both important determinants in hyperactive behaviour in various organisms, and are associated with behavioural manipulation in several parasite-host systems. In Chapter 9 a model is proposed of how the putative interaction between baculovirus PTP and host 14-3-3 zmay lead to hyperactive behaviour. Within the baculoviruses two different genes that encode protein tyrosine phosphatases, ptp and ptp2, are found. While the ptp gene induces hyperactivity (described in Chapter 3), no function has yet been assigned to the ptp2 gene. Chapter 5 describes the functional characterization of the baculovirus ptp2 gene. PTP2 protein carries a conserved consensus sequence that is characteristic for mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) phosphatases. SeMNPV ptp2 induced a mild apoptosis and caspase activation in insect cells upon transient expression, which may be related to its putative function as MAPK phosphatase. Several host proteins that co-purified with SeMNPV PTP2 have known functions in apoptosis and/or MAPK signalling, rendering them promising candidate proteins to be involved in SeMNPV PTP2-induced apoptosis and possibly MAPK signalling. Whether PTP2 also has any behavioural effect is unknown, but the data from this chapter indicate that PTP2 likely has a cellular function during virus infection. Baculoviruses are known to alter host climbing behaviour, commonly leading to death at elevated positions (tree-top disease). In Chapter 6 the hypothesis was tested that baculovirus-induced hyperactive behaviour and tree-top disease are induced by a single baculovirus gene. To this aim the effect of the hyperactivity-inducing ptp gene (Chapter 3) on tree-top disease was investigated. The results demonstrated that AcMNPV ptp, known to cause hyperactive behaviour in S. exigua, is not involved in tree-top disease in this host. This indicates that hyperactivity and tree-top disease induced by baculoviruses are governed by independent mechanisms. Furthermore, a moulting-dependent effect on tree-top disease in S. exigua was found, which may relate to physiological and/or ecological differences between moulted and unmoulted larvae. In the next chapter (Chapter 7) the effect of AcMNPV infection on tree-top disease was investigated for two different host species, Trichoplusia ni and S. exigua. Data show that in T. ni larvae AcMNPV induces tree-top disease, causing death at elevated positions. In contrast, in S. exigua a moulting-dependent effect on the height at death was observed, as was also described in Chapter 6. Furthermore, in this chapter the role of the AcMNPV egt gene, encoding ecdysteroid UDP glucosyl transferase, on tree-top disease in T. ni and S. exigua larvae was analysed. A homolog of this gene causes tree-top disease in Lymantria dispar larvae infected with L. dispar (Ld) MNPV. The results (Chapter 7) show that AcMNPV egt does not play a role in the observed death at elevated positions in the two host systems studied. This indicates that the role of egt in tree-top disease may not be conserved among members of the family Baculoviridae. In addition to the mechanisms employed by the generalist baculovirus AcMNPV to alter climbing behaviour, the effect of the specialist baculovirus S. exigua (Se) MNPV on tree-top disease in its only known host S. exigua was studied. In Chapter 8 it is shown that SeMNPV induces tree-top disease by triggering an aberrant response to light, and this positive phototaxis leads to death at elevated positions. A hypothesis is put forward that SeMNPV hijacks a host behavioural pathway that is involved in light perception to induce this positive phototactic response. Overall, the results of this thesis show that hyperactivity and tree-top disease are induced by baculoviruses through independent mechanisms and that distinct baculovirus species presumably use different genes and proximate mechanisms to induce tree-top disease. While the baculovirus ptp gene induces hyperactivity, possibly by targeting host 14-3-3 z, the baculovirus ptp2 gene may function as a pro-apoptotic gene. The baculovirus egt gene does not have a conserved function in tree-top disease, indicating that other viral genes may underlie this host manipulative strategy. This thesis also demonstrates that tree-top disease in SeMNPV-infected caterpillars is the result of a strong attraction to light. Parasitic manipulation is a fascinating biological phenomenon that can provide crucial information on how behavioural traits are controlled at the molecular level. The research described in this thesis provides several new insights in the mechanisms by which parasites manipulate the behaviour of their hosts.</p

Parasitic manipulation of host behaviour: Baculovirus SeMNPV EGT facilitates tree-top disease in spodoptera exigua larvae by extending the time to death

This is the final version. Available from the publisher via the DOI in this record.Many parasites enhance their dispersal and transmission by manipulating host behaviour. One intriguing example concerns baculoviruses that induce hyperactivity and tree-top disease (i.e., climbing to elevated positions prior to death) in their caterpillar hosts. Little is known about the underlying mechanisms of such parasite-induced behavioural changes. Here, we studied the role of the ecdysteroid UDP-glucosyltransferase (egt) gene of Spodoptera exigua multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (SeMNPV) in tree-top disease in S. exigua larvae. Larvae infected with a mutant virus lacking the egt gene exhibited a shorter time to death and died before the induction of tree-top disease. Moreover, deletion of either the open reading frame or the ATG start codon of the egt gene prevented tree-top disease, indicating that the EGT protein is involved in this process. We hypothesize that SeMNPV EGT facilitates tree-top disease in S. exigua larvae by prolonging the larval time to death. Additionally, we discuss the role of egt in baculovirus-induced tree-top disease.Program Strategic Alliances of the Royal Dutch Academy of SciencesNetherlands Organization for Scientific Researc

CRISPR-Cas antimicrobials: Challenges and future prospects

This is the final version. Available from PLoS via the DOI in this record.Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses a serious threat to modern medicine and may render common infections untreatable. The discovery of new antibiotics has come to a relative standstill during the last decade [1], and developing novel approaches to tackle the spread of AMR genes will require significant efforts in the coming years [2]. In 2014, several groups independently demonstrated how CRISPR-Cas (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats-CRISPR–associated), a bacterial immune system now widely used for genome editing, can selectively remove AMR genes from bacterial populations. Here, we discuss the current state of the field of CRISPR-Cas antimicrobials, the challenges ahead, and how they may be overcome.Biotechnology & Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)Medical Research CouncilNatural Environment Research CouncilWellcome TrustEuropean Research CouncilPeople Programme (Marie Curie Actions) of the European Union’s Horizon 202

Addiction systems antagonize bacterial adaptive immunity.

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Oxford University Press (OUP) via the DOI in this record. CRISPR-Cas systems provide adaptive immunity against mobile genetic elements, but employment of this resistance mechanism is often reported with a fitness cost for the host. Whether or not CRISPR-Cas systems are important barriers for the horizontal spread of conjugative plasmids, which play a crucial role in the spread of antibiotic resistance, will depend on the fitness costs of employing CRISPR-based defences and the benefits of resisting conjugative plasmids. To estimate these costs and benefits we measured bacterial fitness associated with plasmid immunity using Escherichia coli and the conjugative plasmid pOX38-Cm. We find that CRISPR-mediated immunity fails to confer a fitness benefit in the absence of antibiotics, despite the large fitness cost associated with carrying the plasmid in this context. Similar to many other conjugative plasmids, pOX38-Cm carries a CcdAB toxin-antitoxin (TA) addiction system. These addiction systems encode long-lived toxins and short-lived anti-toxins, resulting in toxic effects following the loss of the TA genes from the bacterial host. Our data suggest that the lack of a fitness benefit associated with CRISPR-mediated defence is due to expression of the TA system before plasmid detection and degradation. As most antibiotic resistance plasmids encode TA systems this could have important consequences for the role of CRISPR-Cas systems in limiting the spread of antibiotic resistance.European CommissionBiotechnology & Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)Natural Environment Research CouncilRoyal Society of Biological SciencesNetherlands Organization of Scientific Research (NWO)Wellcome Trus

Determination of Acr-mediated immunosuppression in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

This is the final version. Available on open access from Elsevier via the DOI in this recordData availability: Data will be made available on request.Bacteria have a broad array of defence mechanisms to fight bacteria-specific viruses (bacteriophages, phages) and other invading mobile genetic elements. Among those mechanisms, the 'CRISPR-Cas' (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats - CRISPR-associated) system keeps record of previous infections to prevent re-infection and thus provides acquired immunity. However, phages are not defenceless against CRISPR-based bacterial immunity. Indeed, they can escape CRISPR systems by encoding one or several anti-CRISPR (Acr) proteins. Acr proteins are among the earliest proteins produced upon phage infection, as they need to quickly inhibit CRISPR-Cas system before it can destroy phage genetic material. As a result, Acrs do not perfectly protect phage from the CRISPR-Cas system, and infection often fails. However, even if the infection fails, Acr can induce a lasting inactivation of the CRISPR-Cas system. The method presented here aims to assess the lasting CRISPR-Cas inhibition in Pseudomonas aeruginosa induced by Acr proteins by:•Infecting the P. aeruginosa strain with a phage carrying an acr gene.•Making the cell electrocompetent while eliminating the phage•Transforming the cells with a plasmid targeted by the CRISPR-Cas system and a non-targeted one to measure the relative transformation efficiency of the plasmids. This method can be adapted to measure which parameters influence Acr-induced immunosuppression in different culture conditions.Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)European Union Horizon 202

Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase-Induced Hyperactivity Is a Conserved Strategy of a Subset of BaculoViruses to Manipulate Lepidopteran Host Behavior

This is the final version. Available from PLoS via the DOI in this record.Many parasites manipulate host behavior to increase the probability of transmission. To date, direct evidence for parasitic genes underlying such behavioral manipulations is scarce. Here we show that the baculovirus Autographa californica nuclear polyhedrovirus (AcMNPV) induces hyperactive behavior in Spodoptera exigua larvae at three days after infection. Furthermore, we identify the viral protein tyrosine phosphatase (ptp) gene as a key player in the induction of hyperactivity in larvae, and show that mutating the catalytic site of the encoded phosphatase enzyme prevents this induced behavior. Phylogenetic inference points at a lepidopteran origin of the ptp gene and shows that this gene is well-conserved in a group of related baculoviruses. Our study suggests that ptp-induced behavioral manipulation is an evolutionarily conserved strategy of this group of baculoviruses to enhance virus transmission, and represents an example of the extended phenotype concept. Overall, these data provide a firm base for a deeper understanding of the mechanisms behind baculovirus-induced insect behavior. © 2012 van Houte et al.Program Strategic Alliances of the Royal Dutch Academy of SciencesMEERVOUD grant from the Netherlands Organization for Scientific ResearchC.T. de Wit Graduate School for Production Ecology and Resource Conservatio

Evolutionary emergence of infectious diseases in heterogeneous host populations

This is the final version. Available from Public Library of Science via the DOI in this record.The emergence and re-emergence of pathogens remains a major public health concern. Unfortunately, when and where pathogens will (re-)emerge is notoriously difficult to predict, as the erratic nature of those events is reinforced by the stochastic nature of pathogen evolution during the early phase of an epidemic. For instance, mutations allowing pathogens to escape host resistance may boost pathogen spread and promote emergence. Yet, the ecological factors that govern such evolutionary emergence remain elusive because of the lack of ecological realism of current theoretical frameworks and the difficulty of experimentally testing their predictions. Here, we develop a theoretical model to explore the effects of the heterogeneity of the host population on the probability of pathogen emergence, with or without pathogen evolution. We show that evolutionary emergence and the spread of escape mutations in the pathogen population is more likely to occur when the host population contains an intermediate proportion of resistant hosts. We also show that the probability of pathogen emergence rapidly declines with the diversity of resistance in the host population. Experimental tests using lytic bacteriophages infecting their bacterial hosts containing Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeat and CRISPR-associated (CRISPR-Cas) immune defenses confirm these theoretical predictions. These results suggest effective strategies for cross-species spillover and for the management of emerging infectious diseases.Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)Wellcome TrustBiotechnology & Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)European CommissionMarie Curie ActionsNatural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of CanadaLeverhulme Trus

The ecology and evolution of microbial CRISPR-Cas adaptive immune systems

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the Royal Society via the DOI in this record Data accessibility: This article has no additional data.Cystic Fibrosis Foundatio