Characterization of non-cytoplasmic incompatibility inducing Wolbachia in two continental African populations of Drosophila simulans.
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Wolbachia is an endocellular bacterium infecting arthropods and nematodes. In arthropods, it invades host populations through various mechanisms, affecting host reproduction, the most common of which being cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI). CI is an embryonic mortality occurring when infected males mate with uninfected females or females infected by a different Wolbachia strain. This phenomenon is observed in Drosophila simulans, an intensively studied Wolbachia host, harbouring at least five distinct bacterial strains. In this study, we investigate various aspects of the Wolbachia infections occurring in two continental African populations of D. simulans: CI phenotype, phylogenetic position based on the wsp gene and associated mitochondrial haplotype. From the East African population (Tanzania), we show that (i) the siIII mitochondrial haplotype occurs in continental populations, which was unexpected based on the current views of D. simulans biogeography, (ii) the wKi strain (that rescues from CI while being unable to induce it) is very closely related to the CI-inducing strain wNo, (iii) wKi and wNo might not derive from a unique infection event, and (iv) wKi is likely to represent the same entity as the previously described wMa variant. In the West African population (Cameroon), the Wolbachia infection was found identical to the previously described wAu, which does not induce CI. This finding supports the view that wAu might be an ancient infection in D. simulans. (+info)
Superinfection of Laodelphax striatellus with Wolbachia from Drosophila simulans.
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Wolbachia are maternally inherited, intracellular alpha-proteobacteria that infect a wide range of arthropods. They manipulate the reproduction of hosts to facilitate their spread into host populations, through ways such as cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI), parthenogenesis, feminization and male killing. The influence of Wolbachia infection on host populations has attracted considerable interest in their possible role in speciation and as a potential agent of biological control. In this study, we used both microinjection and nested PCR to show that the Wolbachia naturally infecting Drosophila simulans can be transferred into a naturally Wolbachia-infected strain of the small brown planthopper Laodelphax striatellus, with up to 30% superinfection frequency in the F(12) generation. The superinfected males of L. striatellus showed unidirectional CI when mated with the original single-infected females, while superinfected females of L. striatellus were compatible with superinfected or single-infected males. These results are, to our knowledge, the first to establish a superinfected horizontal transfer route for Wolbachia between phylogenetically distant insects. The segregation of Wolbachia from superinfected L. striatellus was observed during the spreading process, which suggests that Wolbachia could adapt to a phylogenetically distant host with increased infection frequency in the new host population; however, it would take a long time to establish a high-frequency superinfection line. This study implies a novel way to generate insect lines capable of driving desired genes into Wolbachia-infected populations to start population replacement. (+info)
Recent studies have provided evidence for gene transfers from prokaryotes to eukaryotes and between eukaryotes. The mechanisms and frequencies of these transfers remain the subject of speculation, but the findings provide ample reason to seriously consider interspecies gene transfer as an important evolutionary process in eukaryotes. (+info)
Wolbachia distribution and cytoplasmic incompatibility during sperm development: the cyst as the basic cellular unit of CI expression.
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The growth and distribution of the intracellular microbe Wolbachia pipientis during spermatogenesis in several different host/symbiont genetic combinations in Drosophila melanogaster and Drosophila simulans is described. Considerable intra- and inter-strain variation in Wolbachia density and tissue distribution was observed. Wolbachia were found inside spermatocytes and spermatids or within the somatic cyst cells surrounding the germ cells. Some strains displayed both tissue distributions. High rates of cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI) are correlated with high levels of Wolbachia only when spermatocytes and/or spermatids harbor the microbe. Wolbachia infection of somatic cyst cells, although sometimes present at high levels, did not result in significant CI expression. CI-inducing Wolbachia strains within D. simulans showed no distinguishable differences in distribution or density within infected spermatids. To dissect the relative contribution of host and symbiont to the expression of CI, Wolbachia from various host strains known to exhibit varying levels of CI were introgressed into new uninfected host genetic backgrounds. These introgression experiments confirm that the mod(+)/mod(-) phenotype is an intrinsic Wolbachia trait and is not determined by host factors. The level of sperm modification in those lines harboring Wolbachia capable of modifying sperm, however, is influenced by host genetic background. These results form the basis of the Wolbachia Infected Spermatocyte/Spermatid Hypothesis (WISSH). According to WISSH, Wolbachia infection in spermatocytes and then spermatids during sperm development is required for CI expression. (+info)
Space and the persistence of male-killing endosymbionts in insect populations.
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Male-killing bacteria are bacteria that are transmitted vertically through the females of their insect hosts. They can distort the sex ratio of their hosts by killing infected male offspring. In nature, male-killing endosymbionts (male killers) often have a 100% efficient vertical transmission, and multiple male-killing bacteria infecting a single population are observed. We use different model formalisms to study these observations. In mean-field models a male killer with perfect transmission drives the host population to extinction, and coexistence between multiple male killers within one population is impossible; however, in spatially explicit models, both phenomena are readily observed. We show how the spatial pattern formation underlies these results. In the case of high transmission efficiencies, waves with a high density of male killers alternate with waves of mainly wild-type hosts. The male killers cause local extinction, but this creates an opportunity for uninfected hosts to re-invade these areas. Spatial pattern formation also creates an opportunity for two male killers to coexist within one population: different strains create spatial regions that are qualitatively different; these areas then serve as different niches, making coexistence possible. (+info)
Wolbachia segregation dynamics and levels of cytoplasmic incompatibility in Drosophila sechellia.
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In Drosophila sechellia, the endocellular bacterium Wolbachia induces cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI): in crosses involving infected males, a partial or complete embryonic mortality occurs unless the female bears the same Wolbachia. D. sechellia is known to harbour two Wolbachia variants, namely wSh and wSn, closely related to wHa and wNo, respectively, two strains infecting the populations of D. simulans from the Seychelles archipelago and New Caledonia. Strikingly, the two species show similar infection patterns: in D. sechellia, wSh can be present on its own or in double infection with wSn, but individuals carrying wSn only do not occur; in D. simulans, wHa can be present on its own or in double infection with wNo, but individuals carrying wNo only do not occur, or occur at very low frequency. Previous experiments on D. simulans showed that lines singly infected by wNo can be obtained by segregation, and stably maintained. Here we investigate this issue in D. sechellia through an 18 generation experiment, and show that wSn and wSh singly infected lines can arise by segregation. Using singly infected lines obtained in this experiment, we estimate the CI intensities of wSh and wSn in D. sechellia, and compare these to the CI intensities of the same Wolbachia injected into D. simulans. Our results do not suggest any consistent effect of the host species on the CI induced by wSh. On the contrary, it seems that wSn expression is repressed by host factors in D. sechellia. (+info)
Molecular detection of Bartonella quintana, B. koehlerae, B. henselae, B. clarridgeiae, Rickettsia felis, and Wolbachia pipientis in cat fleas, France.
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The prevalences of Bartonella, Rickettsia, and Wolbachia were investigated in 309 cat fleas from France by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay and sequencing with primers derived from the gltA gene for Rickettsia, the its and pap31 genes for Bartonella, and the 16S rRNA gene for Anaplasmataceae. Positive PCR results were confirmed by using the Lightcycler and specific primers for the rOmpB of Rickettsia and gltA of Bartonella. R. felis was detected in 25 fleas (8.1%), W. pipientis, an insect symbiont, in 55 (17.8%), and Bartonella in 81 (26.2%), including B. henselae (9/81; 11.1%), B. clarridgeiae (55/81; 67.9%), B. quintana (14/81; 17.3%), and B. koehlerae (3/81; 3.7%). This is the first report of the amplification of B. quintana from fleas and the first description of B. koehlerae in fleas from an area outside the United States. Cat fleas may be more important vectors of human diseases than previously reported. (+info)
High levels of multiple Wolbachia infection and recombination in the ant Formica exsecta.
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Wolbachia bacteria are intracellular symbionts of many arthropod species. Their spread through host populations is promoted by drastic alterations imposed on their hosts' reproductive physiology. In the present study, we analyzed the association between Wolbachia strains and host mitochondrial haplotypes in a Swiss population of the ant Formica exsecta. In this species, female dispersal is extremely limited and the mitochondrial haplotypes are strongly differentiated between and within subpopulations. Our study revealed exceptionally high levels of multiple infection, with all ants harboring four or five distinct Wolbachia strains. Four of these strains were present in all ants analyzed. A fifth strain was associated with only three of the five mitochondrial haplotypes. An analysis of the Wolbachia gene wsp further revealed an unexpected high rate of recombination, with three of the five Wolbachia strains appearing to have arisen by homologous recombination. (+info)