Abstract
Bugs in Transition: The Dynamic World of Wolbachia in Insects
Highlights
The availability of Generation Sequencing tools has uncovered an unexpected and highly complex universe of hidden microbial passengers that are transiently or permanently associated with their hosts, hereafter called symbionts
What happens to the infection as soon as the majority of individuals within a host population are already infected and the spreading of the bacteria comes to a stop? In some cases it has been shown that, in their evolutionary past, Wolbachia have changed their phenotype from reproductive parasitism to obligate mutualism, where the symbiont takes on essential host functions for, e.g., oogenesis, nutrition, or even mate recognition [3,4,5]
Which kind of extrinsic and/or intrinsic factors trigger phenotypic transitions, and what is their genetic basis? In a recent study it was shown that within only 20 years in nature, Wolbachia can transform from a costly reproductive parasite into a mutualist by enhancing fecundity of infected Drosophila simulans females [6]
Summary
The availability of Generation Sequencing tools has uncovered an unexpected and highly complex universe of hidden microbial passengers that are transiently or permanently associated with their hosts, hereafter called symbionts. One of the main questions of current symbiosis research is, to what extent these microbial passengers affect host phenotypes such as fitness, fecundity, pathogen resistance, or even behavior. In a recent study it was shown that within only 20 years in nature, Wolbachia can transform from a costly reproductive parasite into a mutualist by enhancing fecundity of infected Drosophila simulans females [6].
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