Association of a new Wolbachia strain with, and its effects on, Leptopilina victoriae, a virulent wasp parasitic to Drosophila spp.
Wolbachia bacteria are ubiquitous intracellular bacteria of arthropods. Often considered reproductive parasites, they can benefit certain host species. We describe a new Wolbachia strain from Leptopilina victoriae, a Drosophila wasp. The strain is closely related to Wolbachia from Culex sp. Located to the posterior poles of oocytes, it manipulates its host's reproduction by inducing a male development type of cytoplasmic incompatibility. We also report its diverse effects on the wasp's life history traits.
Department of Biology, the City College of New York, New York, New York, USA.
Gwenaelle
G
Gueguen
Bodunde
B
Onemola
Shubha
S
Govind
D000818:Animals; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D004330:Drosophila / Q000469:parasitology; D058507:Host Specificity; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009865:Oocytes / Q000382:microbiology; D010802:Phylogeny; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D014863:Wasps / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000502:physiology; D020577:Wolbachia / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000502:physiology
D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D004269:DNA, Bacterial