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Wolbachia and reproductive conflict in Exorista sorbillans
Author(s) -
Puttaraju H.P.,
Prakash B.M.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
archives of insect biochemistry and physiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.576
H-Index - 66
eISSN - 1520-6327
pISSN - 0739-4462
DOI - 10.1002/arch.20069
Subject(s) - wolbachia , biology , cytoplasmic incompatibility , symbiotic bacteria , fecundity , lepidoptera genitalia , zoology , host (biology) , insect , parthenogenesis , bombycidae , population , symbiosis , ecology , bombyx mori , genetics , bacteria , embryo , demography , sociology , gene
Many arthropods harbour endosymbiotic bacteria of the genus Wolbachia . These endosymbionts are transmitted vertically from one generation to the next and are obligatory in several Dipterans that have been studied to date. These bacteria induce an array of reproductive isolation mechanisms that are implicated in pest management to evolutionary biology of respective hosts. The uzifly, Exorista sorbillans , a tachinid endoparasitoid of the silkworm, Bombyx mori L. (Lepidoptera: Bombycidae), causes enormous losses to the silk industry; now it is known that it harbours Wolbachia endobacteria. The elimination of Wolbachia by antibiotics interrupts embryogenesis and causes various reproductive conflicts such as (1) a reduction of fecundity of uninfected female, (2) cytoplasmic incompatibility in the uninfected females crossed with infected males, (3) genomic incompatibility in crosses between males and females from uninfected population, and (4) sex‐ratio distortion in uninfected females irrespective of the presence of Wolbachia in males. These results suggest that the relationship of Wolbachia with its uzifly host is one of mutual symbiosis as it controls the reproductive physiology of its host. Arch. Insect Biochem. Physiol. 60:230–235, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.