Wolbachia is an obligate intracellular microbe, blocking replication of viruses in Drosophila melanogaster and in mosquito vectors of human diseases (e.g. dengue virus in Aedes aegypti). As healthy mosquitoes cannot transmit pathogenic viruses, Wolbachia is currently on field trials for blocking dengue transmission to humans. Yet, the mechanism of the antiviral Wolbachia effect remains unknown. Wolbachia is also a drug target in treatment of filarial diseases, like elephantiasis and river blindness. Filarial worms live in obligate symbiosis with the bacterium, so removal of the bacterium means either worm eradication or inhibition of its reproduction. Yet, the molecular bases of interactions between Wolbachia and worms remain elusive. Additionally, as Wolbachia cannot be cultured outside of host cells or genetically manipulated, the studies on molecular mechanisms of its phenotypes are rare and rarely conclusive. 
 

Here, we aim to identify novel protein-protein interactions between Wolbachia and the model organism Drosophila melanogaster. We will predict 3D structures of Wolbachia proteins and their potential interactions with Drosophila melanogaster proteins. Interesting candidate interactions will be followed up upon, both biochemically and genetically. This should allow us to discover previously unknown protein-protein-interactions in the context of the Wolbachia symbiosis.