Wolbachia in the Genus Bicyclus: a Forgotten Player

Anne Duplouy,Oskar Brattström

doi:10.1007/s00248-017-1024-9

Anne Duplouy, Oskar Brattström

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-017-1024-9

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Journal: Microbial Ecology	Publication Date: Jul 12, 2017
Citations: 16	License type: open-access

Affiliation: University of Helsinki, University of Cambridge

Abstract

Bicyclus butterflies are key species for studies of wing pattern development, phenotypic plasticity, speciation and the genetics of Lepidoptera. One of the key endosymbionts in butterflies, the alpha-Proteobacterium Wolbachia pipientis, is affecting many of these biological processes; however, Bicyclus butterflies have not been investigated systematically as hosts to Wolbachia. In this study, we screen for Wolbachia infection in several Bicyclus species from natural populations across Africa as well as two laboratory populations. Out of the 24 species tested, 19 were found to be infected, and no double infection was found, but both A- and B-supergroup strains colonise this butterfly group. We also show that many of the Wolbachia strains identified in Bicyclus butterflies belong to the ST19 clonal complex. We discuss the importance of our results in regard to routinely screening for Wolbachia when using Bicyclus butterflies as the study organism of research in eco-evolutionary biology.

Highlights

Current estimates suggest that up to 70% of all insect species in the world may live in intimate relation with intracellular micro-organisms [1, 2]
Wolbachia is highly prevalent in the butterfly genus Bicyclus, with penetrance of the infection in each species and population often reaching 50% or higher
We detected the presence of the endosymbiotic bacterium Wolbachia in 113 butterflies (56.5%) from 19 (79.2%) of the 24 tested species of the genus Bicyclus

Summary

Introduction

Current estimates suggest that up to 70% of all insect species in the world may live in intimate relation with intracellular micro-organisms [1, 2] The outcome of such symbiotic associations, or endosymbiosis, ranges from mutualistic and beneficial to both the host and the microbe, to parasitic and detrimental to the host [3]. The bacterial species Wolbachia pipientis Hertig, 1936 [4], is one of the most common and best-studied endosymbionts found in insects. This maternally transmitted alpha-Proteobacterium selfishly promotes its own fitness by manipulating several aspects of its host’s biology [5]. By promoting its own fitness, through increasing the fitness of the infected host lines compared to uninfected ones, Wolbachia has the potential to act as a key player in the ecology and evolution of its hosts

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