Incomplete removal of Wolbachia with tetracycline has two-edged reproductive effects in the thelytokous wasp Encarsia formosa (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae)

Abstract

Wolbachia pipientis are intracellular endosymbionts that induce parthenogenesis in the parasitoid Encarsia formosa. Previous studies that focused on effects of Wolbachia on the wasp usually used tetracycline to remove Wolbachia without concern for the joint influences of tetracycline and Wolbachia. Here we treated the wasps (F0 lines) with tetracycline to produce offspring (F1 lines) which were not fed tetracycline to avoid antibiotic influence. The quantitative data and fluorescence in situ hybridization showed that Wolbachia titers were reduced but not totally removed. The Wolbachia that infected the male offspring were unpredictably detected. Low dose tetracycline enhanced the fertility of 2-day-old F0 wasps after 24 h of treatment; however, compared with controls, the oocyte load of 3- to 6-day-old tetracycline-treated wasps decreased day by day, and tetracycline reduced the longevity of the wasps. The fecundity of controls was significantly higher than that of the treated F1-10 and F1-20 generations. Gene expression of vitellogenin reflected the same trend as that of wasp fecundities in both F0 and F1 lines. Moreover, female offspring proportions of F0 and F1 lines were related to the titer of infected Wolbachia, demonstrating that Wolbachia titer affected the sex determination of E. formosa.

Wolbachia induce cytoplasmic incompatibility and affect mate preference in Habrobracon hebetor to increase the chance of its transmission to the next generation

“…(Trichogrammatidae) (Stouthamer and Werren, 1993) and Encarsia sp. (Aphelinidae) (Stouthamer and Mak, 2002;Wang et al, 2017;Zchori-Fein et al, 1992). In the parasitoid wasp Asobara tabida (Braconidae), two strains of Wolbachia (i.e.…”

Multiple Data Demonstrate That Bacteria Regulating Reproduction Could Be Not the Cause for the Thelytoky of Diglyphus wani (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae)

“…In the thelytokous D. wani, although we also found Rickettsia, its abundance was extremely low (0.09%). Furthermore, a low bacterial titer could not maintain a stable thelytoky to produce males for parasitoids induced by endosymbionts [8,46,47]. In addition, other reproductive manipulators that have been reported, such as Wolbachia and Cardinium, were not discovered in the thelytokous D. wani.…”

Co-occurrence of thelytokous and bisexual Trichogramma dendrolimi Matsumura (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) in a natural population

“…Previous studies have reported a positive correlation between thelytokous phenotype and Wolbachia titer: Wang et al . 92 showed a decreased female offspring proportion of thelytokous Encarsia Formosa with lower Wolbachia titer; Ma et al . 93 pointed out that the males of thelytokous Asobara japonica increased with the decrease of Wolbachia titer caused by Rifampicin.…”