The Diversity of Wolbachia across the Turtle Ants (Formicidae: Cephalotes spp.).

ABSTRACT: Wolbachia is a widespread and well-known bacterium that can induce a wide range of changes within its host. Ants specifically harbor a great deal of Wolbachia diversity and are useful systems to study endosymbiosis. The turtle ants (Cephalotes) are a widespread group of tropical ants that rely on gut microbes to support their herbivorous diet for their survival, yet little is known of the extent of this diversity. Therefore, studying their endosymbionts and categorizing the diversity of bacteria within Cephalotes hosts could help to delimit species and identify new strains and can help lead to a further understanding of how the microbiome leads to survival and speciation in the wild. In our study, 116 individual samples were initially tested for positive infecti

SUBMITTER: Reese C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10886965 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature