title: A short, high-temperature treatment of host larvae to analyze Wolbachia-host interactions in the moth Ostrinia scapulalis.
abstract: Maternally inherited endosymbiotic bacteria of the genus Wolbachia cause various reproductive alterations in their hosts. Wolbachia induces male-specific death during embryonic and larval stages in the moth Ostrinia scapulalis. To investigate how the density of Wolbachia affects their performance in the host, we attempted to reduce its density using a short, high-temperature treatment of the host at the larval stage. Individuals cured of infection as well as sexual mosaics, which harbor Wolbachia, were obtained by this method in the next generation. The sex of uninfected offspring was exclusively male, similar to that of the offspring of larvae treated with antibiotics. A strong correlation was found between Wolbachia density in female moths and the sex ratio of their progeny. These results suggest that a short, high-temperature treatment at the larval stage reduced the density of Wolbachia in the adult stage, and, hence, inhibited interference with the host's development in the next generation. Since the direct effects of the heat treatment on Wolbachia were transient, this method may be useful for specifying the critical time for interference by Wolbachia in host development.
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8657, Japan; Graduate School of Science and Engineering, University of Toyama, Toyama, Toyama 930-8555, Japan. Electronic address: sugimoto.tn@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Takafumi N
authors.initials: TN
authors.lastname: Sugimoto
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Agrobiological Sciences, Ohwashi 1-2, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8634, Japan.
authors.forename: Takumi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kayukawa
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8657, Japan.
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Matsuo
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Science and Engineering, University of Toyama, Toyama, Toyama 930-8555, Japan.
authors.forename: Tsutomu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tsuchida
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8657, Japan.
authors.forename: Yukio
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ishikawa
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D005260:Female; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions; D006358:Hot Temperature; D007814:Larva / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development / Q000382:microbiology; D008297:Male; D009030:Mosaicism; D009036:Moths / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development / Q000382:microbiology*; D012744:Sex Ratio; D013752:Tetracycline / Q000494:pharmacology; D020577:Wolbachia / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D013752:Tetracycline
keywords: Endosymbiont; Heat treatment; Male killing; Sex-ratio distortion; Wolbachia