<p class="Body">Transfection and colonization of Tetranychus truncatus Wolbachia strain wTtru in cell lines of the mosquito Aedes albopictus

Abstract

Wolbachia are endosymbiotic bacteria that commonly infect arthropods and cause reproductive manipulations in hosts. Artificial transfection is one of the best methods for the study of Wolbachia-induced reproductive manipulations and its application in production practice. However, the low success rate of artificial transfection laid burden for investigation. The success rate of artificial transfection of Wolbachia between closely related hosts is usually higher than distant hosts, but the mechanism of transfection is unknown. In our study, the wTtru strain (supergroup B) infecting the Arachnida Tetranychus truncatus was transfected into the Aedes albopictus cell line (native-infected with wAlB strain from supergroup B). The wTtru strain was quantified and localized in the cell line to observe dynamic changes after transfection. A phylogenetic analysis of the relationship between the wTtru strain and the wAlB strain showed that the wTtru (ST=278) strain belonged to supergroup B and was closely related to the mosquitoes native Wolbachia wAlbB (ST=464), so we speculate that successful transfection was related to the Wolbachia strain, and furthermore, Wolbachia strain may be more important than host relationship. Our results provide a factual basis for studying artificial transfection of Wolbachia, and show that Wolbachia transfection between distant hosts can be achieved.