Detection and characterization of Wolbachia infections in laboratory and natural populations of different species of tsetse flies (genus Glossina).

ABSTRACT:

Background

Wolbachia is a genus of endosymbiotic α-Proteobacteria infecting a wide range of arthropods and filarial nematodes. Wolbachia is able to induce reproductive abnormalities such as cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI), thelytokous parthenogenesis, feminization and male killing, thus affecting biology, ecology and evolution of its hosts. The bacterial group has prompted research regarding its potential for the control of agricultural and medical disease vectors, including Glossina spp., which transmits African trypanosomes, the causative agents of sleeping sickness in humans and nagana in animals.

Results

In the present study, we employed a Wolbachia specific 16S rRNA PCR assay to investigate the presence of Wolbachia in six different laboratory stocks as well as in natu

SUBMITTER: Doudoumis V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3287514 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature