Determination of Wolbachia Diversity in 23 Cricket Species (Gryllidae) From China

Abstract

Abstract Wolbachia (Hertig) (Rickettsiales: Anaplasmataceae) are maternally inherited endosymbiotic bacteria that are widely present in nematodes and arthropods. These endosymbiont bacteria receive significant research attention because they can have important effects on the biology of their hosts. Here, we present the first detailed analyses of Wolbachia in crickets from China, with screening of 23 species from eight genera. In total, 21 species from the eight genera were positive for Wolbachia. Significant diversity was observed among Wolbachia strains from the crickets based on five multilocus sequence typing (MLST) genes, with 15 different sequence types (STs), of which 12 STs were new to the MLST database. Five species were infected with Wolbachia of supergroup A, 11 species were infected with Wolbachia of supergroup B, and seven species were infected with Wolbachia of supergroup F. Some of the same host species harbored distinctly different Wolbachia strains, suggesting multiple infections of crickets by Wolbachia. Different cricket hosts also harbored closely related Wolbachia strains, and there were three gene recombinations. Horizontal transmission and gene recombination may allow crickets to acquire new Wolbachia strains and have increased the genetic diversity of Wolbachia.