Cytoplasmic incompatibility: A Wolbachia toxin–antidote mechanism comes into view

Cytoplasmic incompatibility: A Wolbachia toxin–antidote mechanism comes into view

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M. Hochstrasser,  Current Biology,  32:R287-R289. 2022.

The Wolbachia cidA and cidB genes promote bacterial endosymbiont inheritance through the host female germline. CidB is now shown to load into maturing sperm nuclei. Following fertilization, it disrupts paternal chromosome condensation, triggering embryonic arrest if not countered by CidA in Wolbachia-infected eggs.