The Manipulation of Arthropod Reproduction by Wolbachia Endosymbionts
Abstract
Wolbachia are intracellular bacteria that manipulate the reproduction of their arthropod hosts. The nature of the manipulation varies with Wolbachia strain, arthropod taxa, and arthropod genetic system. Nonreciprocal and reciprocal reproductive incompatibilities, sex ratio biases, and induction of thelytoky are some of the results of Wolbachia symbiosis. The Wolbachia present in the predatory mite Metaseiulus occidentalis are genetically similar to those found in insects, and are correlated with nonreciprocal incompatibility in crosses between infected males and uninfected females. The incompatibility phenotype includes reduced numbers of eggs, shriveled eggs, and a male-biased sex ratio of the few resulting progeny, which may be related to the parahaploid genetic system of this phytoseiid mite.Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright for any article published in Florida Entomologist is held by the author(s) of the article. Florida Entomologist is an open access journal. Florida Entomologist follows terms of the Creative Commons, Attribution Non-Commercial License (cc by-nc). By submitting and publishing articles in Florida Entomologist, authors grant the FOJ and Florida Entomologist's host institutions permission to make the article available through Internet posting and electronic dissemination, and to otherwise archive the information contained both electronically and in a hard printed version. When used, information and images obtained from articles must be referenced and cited appropriately. Articles may be reproduced for personal, educational, or archival purposes, or any non-commercial use. Permission should be sought from the author(s) for multiple, non-commercial reproduction. Written permission from the author(s) is required for any commercial reproduction.