Department of Entomology, University of Kentucky, S-225 Ag. Science Center North, Lexington, KY 40546-0091, USA.
Appl Environ Microbiol. 2009 Dec;75(24):7783-8. doi: 10.1128/AEM.01331-09. Epub 2009 Oct 9.
Maternally inherited Wolbachia bacteria have evolved mechanisms to manipulate the reproduction of their invertebrate hosts, promoting infection spread. A high fitness cost to the host is maladaptive for obligate endosymbionts, and prior studies show rapid selection of new Wolbachia associations toward commensal or mutualistic symbioses. Here, wMelPop Wolbachia is transferred from Drosophila melanogaster into the mosquito Aedes albopictus. Characterization of the resulting strain provides an extreme example of Wolbachia as a pathogen. In addition to reduced longevity and fecundity, abnormally high Wolbachia density is associated with embryonic mortality that masks the typical pattern of cytoplasmic incompatibility. The results are consistent with earlier reports that show unpredictable shifts in the Wolbachia phenotype after interspecific transfer, which can complicate proposed strategies to modify the age structure of medically important vector populations.
母系遗传的沃尔巴克氏体细菌已经进化出操纵其无脊椎动物宿主繁殖的机制，从而促进了感染的传播。对于专性内共生菌来说，宿主的高适应成本是不利的，先前的研究表明，沃尔巴克氏体与共生或互利共生的新关联会迅速选择。在这里，wMelPop 沃尔巴克氏体从黑腹果蝇转移到白纹伊蚊中。对产生的菌株的特征描述提供了沃尔巴克氏体作为病原体的一个极端例子。除了寿命和繁殖力降低外，异常高的沃尔巴克氏体密度与胚胎死亡率有关，这掩盖了细胞质不亲和的典型模式。这些结果与早期的报告一致，表明种间转移后沃尔巴克氏体表型会发生不可预测的转变，这可能会使修改医学上重要的病媒种群年龄结构的拟议策略复杂化。
