Wolbachia Infection in a Natural Parasitoid Wasp Population.
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 26244782.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0134843 and PMC identifier 4526672.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
The maternally transmitted bacterium Wolbachia pipientis is well known for spreading and persisting in insect populations through manipulation of the fitness of its host. Here, we identify three new Wolbachia pipientis strains, wHho, wHho2 and wHho3, infecting Hyposoter horticola, a specialist wasp parasitoid of the Glanville fritillary butterfly. The wHho strain (ST435) infects about 50% of the individuals in the Åland islands in Finland, with a different infection rate in the two mitochondrial (COI) haplotypes of the wasp. The vertical transmission rate of Wolbachia is imperfect, and lower in the haplotype with lower infection rate, suggesting a fitness trade-off. We found no association of the wHho infection with fecundity, longevity or dispersal ability of the parasitoid host. However, preliminary results convey spatial associations between Wolbachia infection, host mitochondrial haplotype and parasitism of H. horticola by its hyperparasitoid, Mesochorus cf. stigmaticus. We discuss the possibility that Wolbachia infection protects H. horticola against hyperparasitism.
Medical subject headings
- Electron Transport Complex IV
- Insect Proteins
- RNA, Ribosomal, 16S
- Wasps
- Wolbachia