Multiple Infection and Reproductive Manipulations of Wolbachia in Homona magnanima (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae)

Abstract

Endosymbiotic bacterium Wolbachia interacts with host in either a mutualistic or parasitic manner. Wolbachia is frequently identified in various arthropod species, and to date, Wolbachia infections have been detected in different insects. Here, we found a triple Wolbachia infection in Homona magnanima, a serious tea pest, and investigated the effects of three infecting Wolbachia strains (wHm-a, -b, and -c) on the host. Starting with the triple-infected host line (W), which was collected in western Tokyo in 1999 and maintained in laboratory, we established an uninfected line (W) and three singly infected lines (W, W, and W) using antibiotics. Mating experiments with the host lines revealed that only wHm-b induced cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI) in H. magnanima, with the intensities of CI different between the W and W lines. Regarding mutualistic effects, wHm-c shortened larval development time and increased pupal weight in both the W and W lines to the same extent, whereas no distinct phenotype was observed in lines singly infected with wHm-a. Based on quantitative PCR analysis, Wolbachia density in the W line was higher than in the other host lines (p < 0.01, n = 10). Wolbachia density in the W line was also higher than in the W and W lines, while no difference was observed between the W and W lines. These results indicate that the difference in the CI intensity between a single or multiple infection may be attributed to the difference in wHm-b density. However, no correlation was observed between mutualistic effects and Wolbachia density.

Sex-Specific Wolbachia Infection Patterns in Populations of Polygraphus proximus Blandford (Coleoptera; Curculionidae: Scolytinae)

“…We have not found other reports of sex-specific Wolbachia distribution in other populations, as is the case with single infected P. proximus . However, Arai et al [ 44 ] reported, in an experiment on subdividing triple infection, a 79% transmission rate for the w Hm-b strain in males of Homona magnanima (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) versus a rate of 100% in daughters. Dutton and Sinkins [ 45 ], in double infected Aedes albopictus , found w AlbA loss in males.…”

Symbiont-mediated cytoplasmic incompatibility: What have we learned in 50 years?

“…This initial characterization of Wolbachia and CI in Cu. pipiens opened the floodgates, with many ensuing studies reporting cases of CI-inducing Wolbachia in Diptera ( Baton et al, 2013 ; Bian et al, 2013 ; Hoffmann et al, 1986 ; Riegler and Stauffer, 2002 ), Hymenoptera ( Betelman et al, 2017 ; Dittmer et al, 2016 ), Coleoptera ( Kajtoch and Kotásková, 2018 ), Hemiptera ( Ju et al, 2017 ; Ramírez-Puebla et al, 2016 ), Orthoptera ( Martínez-Rodríguez and Bella, 2018 ), Lepidoptera ( Arai et al, 2019 ; Hornett et al, 2008 ), Thysanoptera ( Nguyen et al, 2017 ), Acari ( Gotoh et al, 2007 ; Gotoh et al, 2003 ; Vala et al, 2002 ), Isopoda ( Cordaux et al, 2012 ; Sicard et al, 2014 ), and Arachnids ( Curry et al, 2015 ).…”

Endosymbiotic bacteria are prevalent and diverse in agricultural spiders

“…It is inevitable that this process of infection and spread sometimes occurs in the context of other vertically-transmitted endosymbionts, either through co-infection of the same host individual, or through interactions of differentially-infected individuals in the host population. As molecular techniques for characterizing bacterial communities continue to improve, evidence is accumulating that symbiont diversity within and among hosts likely greater than previously appreciated [12–14]. While the dynamics of interacting symbionts have been considered theoretically in various contexts [e.g., 15,16], empirical work has been quite limited, perhaps because the dynamic phase of symbiont spread in host populations can be temporally transient [10,17].…”