Transinfection: a method to investigate W olbachia –host interactions and control arthropod‐borne disease

The bacterial endosymbiont W olbachia manipulates arthropod host biology in numerous ways, including sex ratio distortion and differential offspring survival. These bacteria infect a vast array of arthropods, some of which pose serious agricultural and human health threats. W olbachia‐ mediated phenotypes such as cytoplasmic incompatibility and/or pathogen interference can be used for vector and disease control; however, many medically important vectors and important agricultural species are uninfected or are infected with strains of W olbachia that do not elicit phenotypes desirable for disease or pest control. The ability to transfer strains of W olbachia into new hosts (transinfection) can create novel W olbachia –host associations. Transinfection has two primary benefits. First, W olbachia– host interactions can be examined to tease apart the influence of the host and bacteria on phenotypes. Second, desirable phenotypes induced by W olbachia in a particular insect can be transferred to another recipient host. This can allow the manipulation of insect populations that transmit pathogens or detrimentally affect agriculture. As such, transinfection is a valuable tool to explore W olbachia biology and control arthropod‐borne disease. The present review summarizes what is currently known about W olbachia transinfection methods and applications. We also provide a comprehensive list of published successful and unsuccessful W olbachia transinfection attempts.