Wolbachia-Host Interactions: Host Mating Patterns Affect Wolbachia Density Dynamics

PLoS One. 2013 Jun 18;8(6):e66373. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0066373. Print 2013.

Abstract

Wolbachia are maternally inherited intracellular bacteria that infect a wide range of arthropods and cause an array of effects on host reproduction, fitness and mating behavior. Although our understanding of the Wolbachia-associated effects on hosts is rapidly expanding, our knowledge of the host factors that mediate Wolbachia dynamics is rudimentary. Here, we explore the interactions between Wolbachia and its host, the two-spotted spider mite Tetranychus urticae Koch. Our results indicate that Wolbachia induces strong cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI), increases host fecundity, but has no effects on the longevity of females and the mating competitiveness of males in T. urticae. Most importantly, host mating pattern was found to affect Wolbachia density dynamics during host aging. Mating of an uninfected mite of either sex with an infected mite attenuates the Wolbachia density in the infected mite. According to the results of Wolbachia localization, this finding may be associated with the tropism of Wolbachia for the reproductive tissue in adult spider mites. Our findings describe a new interaction between Wolbachia and their hosts.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Colony Count, Microbial*
  • Female
  • Genes, Bacterial
  • Host-Pathogen Interactions*
  • In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence
  • Male
  • Multilocus Sequence Typing
  • Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Sexual Behavior, Animal*
  • Tetranychidae / microbiology*
  • Wolbachia / genetics
  • Wolbachia / physiology*

Grants and funding

This study was supported in part by a Grant-in-Aid from the Science and Technology Program of the National Public Welfare Professional Fund (number 201103020) from the Ministry of Agriculture of China (www.moa.gov.cn), a Grant-in-Aid from the National Basic Science Program of China (973 program, number 2009CB119202)(www.most.gov.cn), and a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (number 31172131) from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (www.nsfc.gov.cn). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.