Ovarian Transcriptomics of D. melanogaster Reveal Candidate Genes Underlying Wolbachia-Associated Plastic Recombination

Abstract

Phenotypic plasticity is prevalent in nature, and its study facilitates understanding of how organisms acclimate to stressful environments. Recombination rate is plastic in a diversity of organisms and under a variety of stressful conditions. However, the recent finding that Wolbachia pipientis induces plastic recombination in Drosophila melanogaster deviates from previous patterns, because Wolbachia is not strictly considered a stressor to this host. We investigate the molecular mechanisms of Wolbachia-associated plastic recombination by comparing the ovarian transcriptomes of D. melanogaster infected and uninfected with Wolbachia. Our data suggest infection explains a small amount of transcriptional variation but specifically affects genes related to cell cycle, translation, and metabolism. We also find enrichment of cell division and recombination processes. Broadly, the transcriptomic changes identified in this study provide insight for the mechanisms of microbe-mediated plastic recombination, an important but poorly understood facet of host-microbe dynamics.