Abstract
Wolbachia is an intracellular endosymbiont infecting most arthropod and some filarial nematode species that is vertically transmitted through the maternal lineage. Due to this primary mechanism of transmission, most studies have focused on Wolbachia interactions with the host germline. However, over the last decade many studies have emerged highlighting the prominence of Wolbachia in somatic tissues, implicating somatic tissue tropism as an important aspect of the life history of this endosymbiont. Here, we review our current understanding of Wolbachia–host interactions at both the cellular and organismal level, with a focus on Wolbachia in somatic tissues.
Highlights
Wolbachia is an intracellular bacterium found primarily in arthropods and filarial nematodes
While Wolbachia are most prevalent in the host germline and primarily studied for their effects on these tissues, the studies described in this review demonstrate that Wolbachia is consistently found both intra and extracellularly in important somatic tissues such as the nervous system, fat body, and gut of their arthropod hosts, and in hypodermal chords in the nematode hosts
Wolbachia distribution to these somatic tissues is primarily regulated by segregation patterns during embryonic development
Summary
Wolbachia is an intracellular bacterium found primarily in arthropods and filarial nematodes. The studies described above indicate that in insects and nematodes the adult somatic distribution of Wolbachia is largely determined by a combination of symmetric and asymmetric segregation patterns during the mitotic divisions and cell-to-cell migration (Albertson et al, 2009; Landmann et al, 2010, 2012). These potential mechanisms are of particular importance to the finding that Wolbachia localizes to the somatic niche cells of the female germline in many Drosophila species (Fast et al, 2011; Toomey et al, 2013).
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