title: Wolbachia endosymbiont infection in two Indian butterflies and female-biased sex ratio in  the Red Pierrot, Talicada nyseus.
abstract: The maternally inherited obligate bacteria Wolbachia is known to infect various lepidopteran insects. However, so far only a few butterfly species harbouring this bacterium have been thoroughly studied. The current study aims to identify the infection status of these bacteria in some of the commonly found butterfly species in India. A total of nine butterfly species belonging to four different families were screened using PCR with Wolbachia-specific wsp and ftsZ primers. The presence of the Wolbachia super group 'B' in the butterflies Red Pierrot, Talicada nyseus (Guerin) (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae) and Blue Mormon, Papilio polymnestor Cramer (Papilionidae), is documented for the first time in India. The study also gives an account on the lifetime fecundity and female-biased sex ratio in T. nyseus, suggesting a putative role for Wolbachia in the observed female-biased sex ratio distortion.
authors: Division of Biological Sciences, School of Natural Sciences, Bangalore University, Bangalore, India.
authors: Kunal
authors: K
authors: Ankola
authors: Dorothea
authors: D
authors: Brueckner
authors: H P
authors: HP
authors: Puttaraju
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002080:Butterflies / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D005298:Fertility; D008297:Male; D058889:Molecular Typing; D012737:Sex Factors; D012744:Sex Ratio; D013559:Symbiosis; D020577:Wolbachia