Experimental evolution reveals habitat-specific fitness dynamics among Wolbachia clades in Drosophila melanogaster.

ABSTRACT: The diversity and infection dynamics of the endosymbiont Wolbachia can be influenced by many factors, such as transmission rate, cytoplasmic incompatibility, environment, selection and genetic drift. The interplay of these factors in natural populations can result in heterogeneous infection patterns with substantial differences between populations and strains. The causes of these heterogeneities are not yet understood, partly due to the complexity of natural environments. We present experimental evolution as a new approach to study Wolbachia infection dynamics in replicate populations exposed to a controlled environment. A natural Drosophila melanogaster population infected with strains of Wolbachia belonging to different clades evolved in two laboratory environments (hot and cold) for 1.5

SUBMITTER: Versace E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4260678 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature