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Transinfection reveals the crucial importance of Wolbachia genotypes in determining the type of reproductive alteration in the host

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 August 2005

HIRONORI SAKAMOTO ,
YUKIO ISHIKAWA ,
TETSUHIKO SASAKI ,
SAKAE KIKUYAMA ,
SADAHIRO TATSUKI  and
SUGIHIKO HOSHIZAKI
HIRONORI SAKAMOTO
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, School of Education, Waseda University, Nishiwaseda, Tokyo 169-0051, Japan Department of Agricultural and Environmental Biology, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Yayoi, Tokyo 113-8657, Japan Current address: Laboratory of Applied Entomology, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Yayoi, Tokyo 113-8657, Japan. Tel: +81 3 58415093. Fax: +81 3 58415060. e-mail: hirowol@yahoo.co.jp
YUKIO ISHIKAWA
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural and Environmental Biology, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Yayoi, Tokyo 113-8657, Japan
TETSUHIKO SASAKI
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Hongo, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
SAKAE KIKUYAMA
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, School of Education, Waseda University, Nishiwaseda, Tokyo 169-0051, Japan
SADAHIRO TATSUKI
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural and Environmental Biology, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Yayoi, Tokyo 113-8657, Japan
SUGIHIKO HOSHIZAKI
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural and Environmental Biology, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Yayoi, Tokyo 113-8657, Japan
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Abstract

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Wolbachia, a group of endosymbiotic bacteria in arthropods, alter the reproduction of their hosts in various ways. A Wolbachia strain (wSca) naturally infecting the adzuki bean borer moth Ostrinia scapulalis induces male killing, while another strain (wKue) infecting the Mediterranean flour moth Ephestia kuehniella induces cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI) in the resident host. Transinfection of Wolbachia can be a powerful tool to elucidate the relative importance of Wolbachia and the host in determining the type of reproductive alterations. Recently, male killing was shown to occur in E. kuehniella transinfected with wSca. In the present study, we transferred wKue to O. scapulalis by embryonic microinjection. In the O. scapulalis transinfected with wKue, CI, but not male killing occurred. Thus, in addition to wSca, wKue was shown to induce the same type of alteration in a foreign host as in its natural host. These results demonstrate the crucial role of the Wolbachia genotype in determining the type of reproductive alteration. However, the present study also revealed the involvement of host factors. First, the degree of incompatibility induced by wKue in O. scapulalis was stronger than that in E. kuehniella, indicating that host factors can affect the level of CI. Second, the vertical transmission rate of wKue in O. scapulalis was generally low, suggesting that the host affects the dynamics of Wolbachia transmission.

Type
Research Article
Information
Genetics Research , Volume 85 , Issue 3 , June 2005 , pp. 205 - 210
Copyright
© 2005 Cambridge University Press