Wolbachia mediate variation of host immunocompetence.

ABSTRACT:

Background

After decades during which endosymbionts were considered as silent in their hosts, in particular concerning the immune system, recent studies have revealed the contrary. In the present paper, we addressed the effect of Wolbachia, the most prevalent endosymbiont in arthropods, on host immunocompetence. To this end, we chose the A. vulgare-Wolbachia symbiosis as a model system because it leads to compare consequences of two Wolbachia strains (wVulC and wVulM) on hosts from the same population. Moreover, A. vulgare is the only host-species in which Wolbachia have been directly observed within haemocytes which are responsible for both humoral and cellular immune responses.

Methodology/principal findings

We sampled gravid females from the same population that were eith

SUBMITTER: Braquart-Varnier C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2546445 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature