Wolbachia Horizontal Transmission Events in Ants: What Do We Know and What Can We Learn?

Tolley, Sarah J. A.; Nonacs, Peter; Sapountzis, Panagiotis

doi:10.3389/fmicb.2019.00296

Cited by 41 publications

(48 citation statements)

References 79 publications

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“…This phenomenon may occur very frequently in ants and has been described previously by Reuter et al (2005) [121] for three ant genera Linepithema, Acromyrmex, and Solenopsis located in Latin America. However, a recent study showed that not all Wolbachia strains associated with ants have the same genetic potential for horizontal transmission [122]. Here, we cannot unambiguously state whether endosymbiont is horizontally transmitted among F. polyctena and associated myrmecophiles.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 69%

First Insight into Microbiome Profiles of Myrmecophilous Beetles and Their Host, Red Wood Ant Formica polyctena (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)—A Case Study

Kaczmarczyk-Ziemba

Zagaja

Wagner

et al. 2020

Insects

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Formica polyctena belongs to the red wood ant species group. Its nests provide a stable, food rich, and temperature and humidity controlled environment, utilized by a wide range of species, called myrmecophiles. Here, we used the high-throughput sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene on the Illumina platform for identification of the microbiome profiles of six selected myrmecophilous beetles (Dendrophilus pygmaeus, Leptacinus formicetorum, Monotoma angusticollis, Myrmechixenus subterraneus, Ptenidium formicetorum and Thiasophila angulata) and their host F. polyctena. Analyzed bacterial communities consisted of a total of 23 phyla, among which Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, and Firmicutes were the most abundant. Two known endosymbionts—Wolbachia and Rickettsia—were found in the analyzed microbiome profiles and Wolbachia was dominant in bacterial communities associated with F. polyctena, M. subterraneus, L. formicetorum and P. formicetorum (>90% of reads). In turn, M. angusticollis was co-infected with both Wolbachia and Rickettsia, while in the microbiome of T. angulata, the dominance of Rickettsia has been observed. The relationships among the microbiome profiles were complex, and no relative abundance pattern common to all myrmecophilous beetles tested was observed. However, some subtle, species-specific patterns have been observed for bacterial communities associated with D. pygmaeus, M. angusticollis, and T. angulata.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 69%

First Insight into Microbiome Profiles of Myrmecophilous Beetles and Their Host, Red Wood Ant Formica polyctena (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)—A Case Study

Kaczmarczyk-Ziemba

Zagaja

Wagner

et al. 2020

Insects

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“…Wolbachia host shift, which is also referred as horizontal transmission, is not a rare event in beetles and other arthropods (Bailly‐Bechet et al, ; Chrostek, Pelz‐Stelinski, Hurst, & Hughes, ; Lachowska, Kajtoch, & Knutelski, ; Tolley, Nonacs, & Sapountzis, ; Yun, Peng, Liu, & Lei, ). Generally, it is common to find various types of strains ( Wolbachia diversity) resulting from recent host shifts in a cosmopolitan host species, rather than a uniform infection of a certain strain across the host's range (Ali et al, ; Avtzis, Doudoumis, & Bourtzis, ; Chen et al, ; Chen, Zhang, Du, Jin, & Hong, ; Goryacheva, Blekhman, Andrianov, Gorelova, & Zakharov, ; Huchesh & Puttaraju, ; Jiang, Wu, He, Zhu, & Yu, ; Mariño, Verle Rodrigues, & Bayman, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Global genetic diversity, lineage distribution, and Wolbachia infection of the alfalfa weevil Hypera postica (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)

Sanaei

Husemann

Seiedy

et al. 2019

Ecology and Evolution

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The alfalfa weevil (Hypera postica) is a well‐known example of a worldwide‐distributed pest with high genetic variation. Based on the mitochondrial genes, the alfalfa weevil clusters into two main mitochondrial lineages. However, there is no clear picture of the global diversity and distribution of these lineages; neither the drivers of its diversification are known. However, it appears likely that historic demographic events including founder effects played a role. In addition, Wolbachia, a widespread intracellular parasite/symbiont, likely played an important role in the evolution of the species. Wolbachia infection so far was only detected in the Western lineage of H. postica with no information on the infecting strain, its frequency, and its consequences on the genetic diversity of the host. We here used a combination of mitochondrial and nuclear sequences of the host and sequence information on Wolbachia to document the distribution of strains and the degree of infection. The Eastern lineage has a higher genetic diversity and is found in the Mediterranean, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and eastern America, whereas the less diverse Western lineage is found in Central Europe and the western America. Both lineages are infected with the same common strain of Wolbachia belonging to Supergroup B. Based on neutrality tests, selection tests, and the current distribution and diversification of Wolbachia in H. postica, we suggested the Wolbachia infection did not shape genetic diversity of the host. The introduced populations in the United States are generally genetically less diverse, which is in line with founder effects.

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“…The putative origin of C. obscurior in Southeast Asia, together with sequence identity between Wolbachia strains found in Japan and Taiwan, suggest that these strains represent the more ancestral association. Geographic patterning separating New from Old World Wolbachia strains has been observed previously in ants 45 , and frequent horizontal transmissions 46,47 can lead to a surprising diversity within species 48 . C. obscurior and its sister species C. wroughtonii are the only known representatives of the 100+ described species in the genus Cardiocondyla (the so-called heart-node ants) that have adopted an arboreal lifestyle, as opposed to nesting in soil and rock crevices.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 54%

Cytoplasmic incompatibility between Old and New World populations of a tramp ant

Ün

Schultner

Manzano-Marı́n

et al. 2020

Preprint

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34 35 Contributions 36 CÜ performed the crosses and qPCR 37 ES analyzed and visualized the data 38 AMM assembled Wolbachia genomes, performed comparative genomic analyses, 39 calculated the phylogeny and annotated CI genes 40 LVF conducted FISH analyses 41 BS revised the taxonomic status of the populations 42 JH acquired funding and reviewed and edited the manuscript 43 JO conceived and supervised the study 44 JO, ES and CÜ wrote the original draft of the manuscript 48As we enter the Anthropocene, the evolutionary dynamics of species will change 49 drastically, and as yet unpredictably, due to human activity. Already today, increases in 50 global human traffic have resulted in the rapid spread of species to new areas, leading to 51 the formation of geographically isolated populations. These go on to evolve in allopatry, 52 which can lead to reproductive isolation, and potentially, the formation of new species.53 Surprisingly, little is known about such eco-evolutionary processes in ants, even though 54 numerous invasive ant species are globally distributed in geographically isolated 55 populations. Here, we describe the first case of cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI) between 56 populations of a cosmotropic distributed tramp ant with Asian roots, Cardiocondyla 57 obscurior, which has acquired a novel Wolbachia strain in the New World. Our study 58 uncovers the first symbiont-induced mechanism of reproductive isolation in ants, 59 providing a novel perspective on the biology of globally distributed ants. 61Introduction 62 Ants are the most abundant group of insects on earth, and numerous ant species are 63 classified as highly invasive on a global scale. Their distribution is, on the one hand, 64 strongly facilitated by humans. This is evidenced, for instance, by the rapid worldwide 65 spread of the Argentine ant and the fire ant from their origin in South America 1,2 . On the 66 other hand, the particular biology of ants, characterized by reproductive division of labor 67 between highly fecund queens and sterile workers, allows the establishment of large 68 populations from just one founding propagule. Introduced populations thus go through a 69 genetic bottleneck, reducing diversity within the population while at the same time 70 increasing diversity between populations 3 . Such populations then evolve in allopatry, and 71 differences caused by genetic drift may be further amplified over time by selection, 72 eventually leading to reproductive isolation. Reproductive isolation, in turn, together with 73 the evolution of mating systems, underlies the formation of new species and, hence, the 74 vast diversity of life. By allowing ants (and other organisms) to establish allopatric 75 populations around the world, humans have inadvertently created a valuable scenario for 76 studying species evolution in real time. 78Reproductive isolation between populations that live in allopatry can evolve in the form of 79 post-mating mechanisms of reproductive isolation (PoMRI). Importantly, PoMRI can result 80 from Bateson-Dobzha...

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Wolbachia Horizontal Transmission Events in Ants: What Do We Know and What Can We Learn?

Cited by 41 publications

References 79 publications

First Insight into Microbiome Profiles of Myrmecophilous Beetles and Their Host, Red Wood Ant Formica polyctena (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)—A Case Study

First Insight into Microbiome Profiles of Myrmecophilous Beetles and Their Host, Red Wood Ant Formica polyctena (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)—A Case Study

Global genetic diversity, lineage distribution, and Wolbachia infection of the alfalfa weevil Hypera postica (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)

Cytoplasmic incompatibility between Old and New World populations of a tramp ant

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