Convergent incidences of Wolbachia infection in fig wasp communities from two continents.
Wide surveys suggest that Wolbachia bacteria infect ca. 20% of all insect species, but particular taxonomic or ecological groups may display significantly higher or lower incidences. We studied 61 fig wasp species in Australia and found the highest known incidence (67%) of infection in a targeted study of this nature. A comparable study in Panama reported a similar figure (59%), confirming the exceptionally high incidence of Wolbachia in fig wasps. Importantly, these are two independent estimates of Wolbachia incidence in fig wasp communities, because no host species, or even genera, are shared between localities. The high level of infection may reflect enhanced opportunities for horizontal transmission inside fig fruits. Although incidence was similar in Panama and Australia, the actual strains involved were different and region-specific. Local strains were shared by several host species, although there was often no obvious (direct) ecological link between two hosts with the same infection.
Haine
Eleanor R
ER
Department of Biological Sciences, Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, Ascot SL5 7PY, UK. ellie.haine@u-bourgogne.fr
Cook
James M
JM
D000818:Animals; D001315:Australia; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D001483:Base Sequence; D001499:Bayes Theorem; D045303:Cytochromes b / Q000235:genetics; D030681:Ficus; D008957:Models, Genetic; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010176:Panama; D010802:Phylogeny; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013045:Species Specificity; D013559:Symbiosis; D014863:Wasps / Q000382:microbiology*; D020577:Wolbachia / Q000235:genetics*
D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins; C112171:Wsp protein, Wolbachia; D045303:Cytochromes b
Curr Biol. 1999 Mar 25;9(6):313-6
10209097
Insect Mol Biol. 1999 May;8(2):185-91
10380102
Mol Biol Evol. 1999 Dec;16(12):1711-23
10605113
Proc Biol Sci. 2000 Jan 7;267(1438):69-73
10670955
Nature. 2000 May 11;405(6783):178-9
10821272
Proc Biol Sci. 2000 Jul 7;267(1450):1277-85
10972121
Am J Bot. 2000 Sep;87(9):1342-57
10991904
Nature. 2001 Feb 8;409(6821):707-10
11217858
Proc Biol Sci. 2001 Apr 7;268(1468):685-94
11321056
J Invertebr Pathol. 2001 May;77(4):251-7
11437528
Bioinformatics. 2001 Aug;17(8):754-5
11524383
Mol Phylogenet Evol. 2001 Oct;21(1):55-71
11603937
Heredity (Edinb). 2001 Sep;87(Pt 3):294-304
11737276
Syst Biol. 2001 Feb;50(1):60-6
12116594
Syst Biol. 2001 Apr;50(2):243-67
12116930
Mol Ecol. 2002 Aug;11(8):1275-83
12144650
Mol Ecol. 2002 Aug;11(8):1573-8
12144676
Mol Ecol. 2002 Sep;11(9):1815-29
12207731
Proc Biol Sci. 2002 Nov 7;269(1506):2257-67
12427319
Mol Biol Evol. 2003 May;20(5):748-53
12679529
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2003 May 13;100(10):5867-72
12714682
Genetics. 2003 May;164(1):5-12
12750316
Mol Ecol. 2003 Apr;12(4):1049-60
12753223
Mol Ecol. 2003 Jul;12(7):1757-71
12803629
Annu Rev Entomol. 1997;42:587-609
15012323
Proc Biol Sci. 2004 Mar 7;271(1538):509-15
15129961
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1992 Apr 1;89(7):2699-702
1557375
Am Nat. 2002 Sep;160(3):360-73
18707445
Evolution. 1998 Apr;52(2):475-485
28568326
Nature. 1993 Jan 7;361(6407):66-8
7538198
Proc Biol Sci. 1995 Jul 22;261(1360):55-63
7644549
J Theor Biol. 1994 Mar 7;167(1):81-7
7909859
J Mol Evol. 1994 Mar;38(3):282-94
8006995
Proc Biol Sci. 1997 Mar 22;264(1380):361-6
9107051
Proc Biol Sci. 1998 Mar 22;265(1395):509-15
9569669
Proc Biol Sci. 1998 Jun 22;265(1401):1081-90
9684374
Proc Biol Sci. 1998 Aug 7;265(1404):1447-52
9721689
Mol Ecol. 1998 Nov;7(11):1457-65
9819901
Proc Biol Sci. 1998 Dec 22;265(1413):2407-13
9921679