title: The first finding of a Rickettsia bacterium associated with parthenogenesis induction among insects.
abstract: The larval endoparasitoid, Neochrysocharis formosa (Westwood), is an important natural enemy of the leafminer Liriomyza trifolii (Burgess) in Japan. The thelytokous strain of N. formosa mostly produces female progeny. Male progeny were produced by females treated with tetracycline, suggesting that microorganisms induce thelytoky in N. formosa. The result of nucleotide sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene indicated that the parasitoid is infected with a Rickettsia bacterium, which appears to be causative of the thelytoky. Although Rickettsia-bellii-like bacteria have been found to be associated with various reproductive disorders, this is the first finding of a parthenogenesis-inducing Rickettsia among insects.
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Biosphere Sciences, Hiroshima University, Higashi-hiroshima , 739-8511, Japan. tetsuya3@affrc.go.jp
authors.forename: Tetsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hagimori
authors.forename: Yoshihisa
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Abe
authors.forename: Shuichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Date
authors.forename: Kazuki
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Miura
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004175:Diptera / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000382:microbiology*; D005260:Female; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D008297:Male; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D010312:Parthenogenesis; D027805:Phaseolus / Q000469:parasitology; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000469:parasitology; D012329:RNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D012281:Rickettsia / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D012329:RNA, Bacterial; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S