Werren J H, Windsor D M
Department of Biology, University of Rochester, NY 14627, USA.
Proc Biol Sci. 2000 Jul 7;267(1450):1277-85. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2000.1139.
Wolbachia are a group of cytoplasmically inherited bacteria that cause reproduction alterations in arthropods, including parthenogenesis, reproductive incompatibility, feminization of genetic males and male killing. Previous general surveys of insects in Panama and Britain found Wolbachia to be common, occurring in 16-22% of species. Here, using similar polymerase chain reaction methods, we report that 19.3% of a sample of temperate North American insects are infected with Wolbachia, a frequency strikingly similar to frequencies found in two other studies in widely separated locales. The results may indicate a widespread equilibrium of Wolbachia infection frequencies in insects whose maintenance remains to be explained. Alternatively, Wolbachia may be increasing in global insect communities. Within each of the three geographic regions surveyed, Hymenoptera are more frequently infected with A group Wolbachia and Lepidoptera more frequently infected with B group Wolbachia.
沃尔巴克氏体是一类细胞质遗传细菌，可导致节肢动物的生殖改变，包括孤雌生殖、生殖不相容、遗传雄性的雌性化和雄性致死。之前对巴拿马和英国昆虫的一般调查发现，沃尔巴克氏体很常见，在16%-22%的物种中出现。在这里，我们使用类似的聚合酶链反应方法报告称，北美温带昆虫样本中有19.3%感染了沃尔巴克氏体，这一频率与在其他两个相距甚远地区的另外两项研究中发现的频率惊人地相似。这些结果可能表明，昆虫中沃尔巴克氏体感染频率存在广泛的平衡状态，其维持机制仍有待解释。或者，沃尔巴克氏体可能在全球昆虫群落中呈增加趋势。在所调查的三个地理区域中，膜翅目昆虫更频繁地感染A组沃尔巴克氏体，而鳞翅目昆虫更频繁地感染B组沃尔巴克氏体。
