Rapid sequential spread of two Wolbachia variants in Drosophila simulans.

ABSTRACT: The maternally inherited intracellular bacteria Wolbachia can manipulate host reproduction in various ways that foster frequency increases within and among host populations. Manipulations involving cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI), where matings between infected males and uninfected females produce non-viable embryos, are common in arthropods and produce a reproductive advantage for infected females. CI was associated with the spread of Wolbachia variant wRi in Californian populations of Drosophila simulans, which was interpreted as a bistable wave, in which local infection frequencies tend to increase only once the infection becomes sufficiently common to offset imperfect maternal transmission and infection costs. However, maternally inherited Wolbachia are expected to evolve towards mutu

SUBMITTER: Kriesner P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3771877 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature