scholarly journals Wolbachia infection lowers fertile sperm transfer in a moth

2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 187-189 ◽  
Author(s):  
Z. Lewis ◽  
F. E. Champion de Crespigny ◽  
S. M. Sait ◽  
T. Tregenza ◽  
N. Wedell
Keyword(s):  
Cytoplasmic Incompatibility ◽  
Wolbachia Infection ◽  
Ephestia Kuehniella ◽  
Sperm Transfer ◽  
Endosymbiotic Bacterium ◽  
Sperm Production ◽  
Wolbachia Pipientis ◽  
Zygote Development ◽  
Apyrene Sperm ◽  
Mediterranean Flour Moth

The endosymbiotic bacterium Wolbachia pipientis manipulates host reproduction by rendering infected males reproductively incompatible with uninfected females (cytoplasmic incompatibility; CI). CI is believed to occur as a result of Wolbachia -induced modifications to sperm during maturation, which prevent infected sperm from initiating successful zygote development when fertilizing uninfected females' eggs. However, the mechanism by which CI occurs has been little studied outside the genus Drosophila . Here, we show that in the sperm heteromorphic Mediterranean flour moth, Ephestia kuehniella , infected males transfer fewer fertile sperm at mating than uninfected males. In contrast, non-fertile apyrene sperm are not affected. This indicates that Wolbachia may only affect fertile sperm production and highlights the potential of the Lepidoptera as a model for examining the mechanism by which Wolbachia induces CI in insects.

scholarly journals Wolbachia infection reduces sperm competitive ability in an insect

2006 ◽  
Vol 273 (1593) ◽  
pp. 1455-1458 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fleur E Champion de Crespigny ◽  
Nina Wedell
Keyword(s):  
Population Dynamics ◽  
Sperm Competition ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Reproductive Strategies ◽  
Competitive Ability ◽  
Cytoplasmic Incompatibility ◽  
Wolbachia Infection ◽  
Sperm Production ◽  
Fitness Costs ◽  
Wolbachia Pipientis

The maternally inherited bacterium Wolbachia pipientis imposes significant fitness costs on its hosts. One such cost is decreased sperm production resulting in reduced fertility of male Drosophila simulans infected with cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI) inducing Wolbachia . We tested the hypothesis that Wolbachia infection affects sperm competitive ability and found that Wolbachia infection is indeed associated with reduced success in sperm competition in non-virgin males. In the second male role, infected males sired 71% of the offspring whereas uninfected males sired 82% of offspring. This is the first empirical evidence indicating that Wolbachia infection deleteriously affects sperm competition and raises the possibility that polyandrous females can utilize differential sperm competitive ability to bias the paternity of broods and avoid the selfish manipulations of Wolbachia . This suggests a relationship between Wolbachia infection and host reproductive strategies. These findings also have important consequences for Wolbachia population dynamics because the transmission advantage of Wolbachia is likely to be undermined by sperm competition.

scholarly journals High Incidence of Related Wolbachia across Unrelated Leaf-Mining Diptera

Insects ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 788
Author(s):  
Xuefen Xu ◽  
Peter M. Ridland ◽  
Paul A. Umina ◽  
Alex Gill ◽  
Perran A. Ross ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Horizontal Transfer ◽  
Cytoplasmic Incompatibility ◽  
Wolbachia Infection ◽  
Wolbachia Pipientis ◽  
Reciprocal Crosses ◽  
Gene Set ◽  
Incompatible Insect Technique ◽  
Leaf Mining ◽  
High Incidence ◽  
Wolbachia Density

The maternally inherited endosymbiont, Wolbachia pipientis, plays an important role in the ecology and evolution of many of its hosts by affecting host reproduction and fitness. Here, we investigated 13 dipteran leaf-mining species to characterize Wolbachia infections and the potential for this endosymbiont in biocontrol. Wolbachia infections were present in 12 species, including 10 species where the Wolbachia infection was at or near fixation. A comparison of Wolbachia relatedness based on the wsp/MLST gene set showed that unrelated leaf-mining species often shared similar Wolbachia, suggesting common horizontal transfer. We established a colony of Liriomyza brassicae and found adult Wolbachia density was stable; although Wolbachia density differed between the sexes, with females having a 20-fold higher density than males. Wolbachia density increased during L. brassicae development, with higher densities in pupae than larvae. We removed Wolbachia using tetracycline and performed reciprocal crosses between Wolbachia-infected and uninfected individuals. Cured females crossed with infected males failed to produce offspring, indicating that Wolbachia induced complete cytoplasmic incompatibility in L. brassicae. The results highlight the potential of Wolbachia to suppress Liriomyza pests based on approaches such as the incompatible insect technique, where infected males are released into populations lacking Wolbachia or with a different incompatible infection.

scholarly journals Wolbachia infection prevalence as common insects’ endosymbiont in the rural area of Yogyakarta, Indonesia

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (12) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dian Aruni Kumalawati ◽  
Endah Supriyati ◽  
Mifta Pratiwi Rachman ◽  
Rizky Oktriani ◽  
Irianti Kurniasari ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rural Area ◽  
Collaborative Research ◽  
Daily Life ◽  
Wolbachia Infection ◽  
Infection Prevalence ◽  
Endosymbiotic Bacterium ◽  
Wolbachia Pipientis ◽  
The World ◽  
Living Area ◽  
Existing Data

Abstract. Kumalawati DA, Supriyati E, Rachman MP. Oktriani R, Kurniasari I, Candrasari DS, Hidayati L, Handayaningsih AE, Probowati VC, Arianto B, Wardana DS, Pramuko NB, Utari A, Tantowijoyo W, Arguni E. 2020. Wolbachia infection prevalence as common insects’ endosymbiont in the rural area of Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 21: 5608-5614. Control for mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue and chikungunya using vectors is urgently required. The World Mosquito Program, a multinational collaborative research program, is currently studying for the ability of Wolbachia-infected Aedes aegypti to control dengue. Community concerns on Wolbachia's natural existence in their surrounding living area. This study presents the field study of Wolbachia pipientis in insects commonly found in rural daily life. W. pipientis is an endosymbiotic bacterium commonly found in arthropods. Insects were collected from five villages in Sleman and Bantul District, Yogyakarta Province, Indonesia, from July to December 2012 and screened for Wolbachia infection using PCR. One hundred insects, including butterflies, moths, mosquitoes, flies, were collected. The results indicated that 44.9% of identified insect species were positive for Wolbachia pipientis, which support the existing data from other regions on the spread of Wolbachia infection in insects.

scholarly journals Distribution, Expression, and Motif Variability of Ankyrin Domain Genes in Wolbachia pipientis

2005 ◽  
Vol 187 (15) ◽  
pp. 5136-5145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iñaki Iturbe-Ormaetxe ◽  
Gaelen R. Burke ◽  
Markus Riegler ◽  
Scott L. O'Neill
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acid ◽  
Cytoplasmic Incompatibility ◽  
Endosymbiotic Bacterium ◽  
Sequence Variability ◽  
Wolbachia Pipientis ◽  
Host Interaction ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Number Of Genes ◽  
Genes Encoding ◽  
Recent Sequencing

ABSTRACT The endosymbiotic bacterium Wolbachia pipientis infects a wide range of arthropods, in which it induces a variety of reproductive phenotypes, including cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI), parthenogenesis, male killing, and reversal of genetic sex determination. The recent sequencing and annotation of the first Wolbachia genome revealed an unusually high number of genes encoding ankyrin domain (ANK) repeats. These ANK genes are likely to be important in mediating the Wolbachia-host interaction. In this work we determined the distribution and expression of the different ANK genes found in the sequenced Wolbachia wMel genome in nine Wolbachia strains that induce different phenotypic effects in their hosts. A comparison of the ANK genes of wMel and the non-CI-inducing wAu Wolbachia strain revealed significant differences between the strains. This was reflected in sequence variability in shared genes that could result in alterations in the encoded proteins, such as motif deletions, amino acid insertions, and in some cases disruptions due to insertion of transposable elements and premature stops. In addition, one wMel ANK gene, which is part of an operon, was absent in the wAu genome. These variations are likely to affect the affinity, function, and cellular location of the predicted proteins encoded by these genes.

Offsetting Effects of Wolbachia Infection and Heat Shock on Sperm Production inDrosophila simulans: Analyses of Fecundity, Fertility and Accessory Gland Proteins

Genetics ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 155 (1) ◽  
pp. 167-178 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rhonda R Snook ◽  
Sophia Y Cleland ◽  
Mariana F Wolfner ◽  
Timothy L Karr
Keyword(s):  
Heat Shock ◽  
Natural Populations ◽  
Adult Life ◽  
Reproductive Factors ◽  
Male Gamete ◽  
Wolbachia Infection ◽  
Accessory Gland ◽  
Sperm Production ◽  
Accessory Gland Proteins ◽  
Mating Conditions

AbstractInfection in Drosophila simulans with the endocellular symbiont Wolbachia pipientis results in egg lethality caused by failure to properly initiate diploid development (cytoplasmic incompatibility, CI). The relationship between Wolbachia infection and reproductive factors influencing male fitness has not been well examined. Here we compare infected and uninfected strains of D. simulans for (1) sperm production, (2) male fertility, and (3) the transfer and processing of two accessory gland proteins, Acp26Aa or Acp36De. Infected males produced significantly fewer sperm cysts than uninfected males over the first 10 days of adult life, and infected males, under varied mating conditions, had lower fertility compared to uninfected males. This fertility effect was due to neither differences between infected and uninfected males in the transfer and subsequent processing of accessory gland proteins by females nor to the presence of Wolbachia in mature sperm. We found that heat shock, which is known to decrease CI expression, increases sperm production to a greater extent in infected compared to uninfected males, suggesting a possible link between sperm production and heat shock. Given these results, the roles Wolbachia and heat shock play in mediating male gamete production may be important parameters for understanding the dynamics of infection in natural populations.

scholarly journals On the mod resc Model and the Evolution of Wolbachia Compatibility Types

Genetics ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 159 (4) ◽  
pp. 1415-1422 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sylvain Charlat ◽  
Claire Calmet ◽  
Hervé Merçot
Keyword(s):  
Cytoplasmic Incompatibility ◽  
Natural Populations ◽  
Evolutionary Process ◽  
Embryonic Mortality ◽  
Step Process ◽  
Zygote Development ◽  
Specific Manner

Abstract Cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI) is induced by the endocellular bacterium Wolbachia. It results in an embryonic mortality occurring when infected males mate with uninfected females. The mechanism involved is currently unknown, but the mod resc model allows interpretation of all observations made so far. It postulates the existence of two bacterial functions: modification (mod) and rescue (resc). The mod function acts in the males' germline, before Wolbachia are shed from maturing sperm. If sperm is affected by mod, zygote development will fail unless resc is expressed in the egg. Interestingly, CI is also observed in crosses between infected males and infected females when the two partners bear different Wolbachia strains, demonstrating that mod and resc interact in a specific manner: Two Wolbachia strains are compatible with each other only if they harbor the same compatibility type. Here we focus on the evolutionary process involved in the emergence of new compatibility types from ancestral ones. We argue that new compatibility types are likely to evolve under a wider range of conditions than previously thought, through a two-step process. First, new mod variants can arise by mutation and spread by drift. This is possible because mod is expressed in males and Wolbachia is transmitted by females. Second, once such a mod variant achieves a certain frequency, it can create the conditions for the deterministic invasion of a new resc variant, allowing the invasion of a new mod resc pair. Furthermore, we show that a stable polymorphism might be maintained in natural populations, allowing the long-term existence of “suicidal” Wolbachia strains.

Wolbachia and Cytoplasmic Incompatibility in the CaliforniaCulex pipiensMosquito Species Complex: Parameter Estimates and Infection Dynamics in Natural Populations

Genetics ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 165 (4) ◽  
pp. 2029-2038 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason L Rasgon ◽  
Thomas W Scott
Keyword(s):  
Species Complex ◽  
Cytoplasmic Incompatibility ◽  
Natural Populations ◽  
Wolbachia Infection ◽  
Field Conditions ◽  
Parameter Estimates ◽  
Infection Prevalence ◽  
Infection Frequency ◽  
Specific Pcr ◽  
Vector Borne

AbstractBefore maternally inherited bacterial symbionts like Wolbachia, which cause cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI; reduced hatch rate) when infected males mate with uninfected females, can be used in a program to control vector-borne diseases it is essential to understand their dynamics of infection in natural arthropod vector populations. Our study had four goals: (1) quantify the number of Wolbachia strains circulating in the California Culex pipiens species complex, (2) investigate Wolbachia infection frequencies and distribution in natural California populations, (3) estimate the parameters that govern Wolbachia spread among Cx. pipiens under laboratory and field conditions, and (4) use these values to estimate equilibrium levels and compare predicted infection prevalence levels to those observed in nature. Strain-specific PCR, wsp gene sequencing, and crossing experiments indicated that a single Wolbachia strain infects Californian Cx. pipiens. Infection frequency was near or at fixation in all populations sampled for 2 years along a >1000-km north-south transect. The combined statewide infection frequency was 99.4%. Incompatible crosses were 100% sterile under laboratory and field conditions. Sterility decreased negligibly with male age in the laboratory. Infection had no significant effect on female fecundity under laboratory or field conditions. Vertical transmission was >99% in the laboratory and ∼98.6% in the field. Using field data, models predicted that Wolbachia will spread to fixation if infection exceeds an unstable equilibrium point above 1.4%. Our estimates accurately predicted infection frequencies in natural populations. If certain technical hurdles can be overcome, our data indicate that Wolbachia can invade vector populations as part of an applied transgenic strategy for vector-borne disease reduction.

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