Rapid evolution of Wolbachia incompatibility types.

ABSTRACT: In most insects, the endosymbiont Wolbachia induces cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI), an embryonic mortality observed when infected males mate either with uninfected females or with females infected by an incompatible Wolbachia strain. Although the molecular mechanism of CI remains elusive, it is classically viewed as a modification-rescue model, in which a Wolbachia mod function disables the reproductive success of the sperm of infected males, unless eggs are infected and express a compatible resc function. The extent to which the modification-rescue model can predict highly complex CI pattern remains a challenging issue. Here, we show the rapid evolution of the mod-resc system in the Culex pipiens mosquito. We have surveyed four incompatible laboratory isofemale lines over 50 generations

SUBMITTER: Duron O 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3479797 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature