Wolbachia in two insect host-parasitoid communities.
Wolbachia form a group of intracellular bacteria that alter reproduction in their arthropod hosts. Two major phylogenetic subdivisions (A and B) of Wolbachia occur. Using a polymerase chain reaction assay we surveyed for the A and B group Wolbachia in 82 insect species from two temperate host-parasitoid communities (food webs) and a general collection of Lepidoptera caught at a light trap. One host-parasitoid community was based around leaf-mining Lepidoptera, and the other around Aphids. We found that: (i) 22.0% of insects sampled were infected with Wolbachia; and (ii) the prevalence and type (A or B) of Wolbachia infection differed significantly between communities and taxonomic groups. We obtained DNA sequences from the ftsZ gene for the group B Wolbachia found in six leaf-mining species and one of their parasitoids, as well as four of the Lepidoptera caught by a light trap. Taken together, the results of our survey and phylogenetic analyses of the sequence data suggest that host-parasitoid transfer of Wolbanchia is not the major route through which the species we have examined become infected. In addition, the Wolbachia strains observed in five leaf-mining species from the same genus were not closely related, indicating that transfer between species has not occurred due to a shared feeding niche or cospeciation.
West
S A
SA
Department of Biology, Imperial College at Silwood Park, Ascot, Berkshire, UK. Stu.West@ed.ac.uk
Cook
J M
JM
Werren
J H
JH
Godfray
H C
HC
D000818:Animals; D001042:Aphids / Q000145:classification / Q000382:microbiology*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D017753:Ecosystem; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D007915:Lepidoptera / Q000145:classification / Q000382:microbiology*; D010802:Phylogeny; D012287:Rickettsiaceae / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D013045:Species Specificity
D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; C071525:FtsZ protein, Bacteria