Microbial Ecology (2013) 65, 731-739

Yan-Kai Zhang, Kai-Jun Zhang, Jing-Tao Sun, Xian-Ming Yang, Cheng Ge and Xiao-Yue Hong (2013)
Diversity of Wolbachia in natural populations of spider mites (genus Tetranychus): Evidence for complex infection history and disequilibrium distribution
Microbial Ecology 65 (3), 731-739
Abstract: Wolbachia are endosymbiotic bacteria that commonly infect arthropods and cause reproductive disorders in host. Within several Tetranychus species, Wolbachia have been detected and shown to affect their reproduction. However, little is known about their transmission and distribution patterns in natural populations of Tetranychus species. Here, we used multilocus sequence typing to confirm Wolbachia infection status and examined the relationship between Wolbachia infection status and host phylogeny, mitochondrial diversity, and geographical range in five Tetranychus species (Tetranychus truncatus, Tetranychus urticae, Tetranychus pueraricola, Tetranychus phaselus, and Tetranychus kanzawai) from 21 populations in China. The prevalence of Wolbachia within the five Tetranychus species ranged from 31.4 to 100 %, and the strains were remarkably diverse. Together, these observations indicate that Wolbachia was introduced to these populations on multiple separate occasions. As in other arthropods, the same Tetranychus species can accommodate very different strains, and identical Wolbachia occasionally infect different species. These observations suggest that Wolbachia are transmitted both vertically and horizontally. Horizontally, transmission is probably mediated by the host plants. The distribution patterns of Wolbachia were quite different among populations of the same species, suggesting that the dynamics of Wolbachia in nature may be affected by ecological and other factors.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Xiao-Yue Hong

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
general biology - morphology - evolution

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Tetranychus urticae
	Tetranychus kanzawai
	Tetranychus truncatus
	Tetranychus pueraricola
	Tetranychus phaselus