Publications
| Title | Abstract | Year Filter | PMID(sorted descending) Filter |
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| a simple protocol to obtain highly pure wolbachia endosymbiont dna for genome sequencing. | most genome sequencing projects using intracellular bacteria face difficulties in obtaining sufficient bacterial dna free of host contamination. we have developed a simple and rapid protocol to isolate endosymbiont dna virtually free from fly and mosquito host dna. we purified dna from six wolbachia strains in preparation for genome sequencing using this method, and achieved up to 97% pure wolbachia sequence, even after using frozen insects. this is a significant improvement for future wolbachia ... | 2010 | 21047535 |
| multiple endosymbionts in populations of the ant formica cinerea. | many insects, including ants, are infected by maternally inherited wolbachia endosymbiotic bacteria though other secondary endosymbionts have not been reported in ants. it has been suggested that the ability of wolbachia to invade and remain in an ant population depends on the number of coexisting queens in a colony. we study the genetic and social structure of populations in the ant formica cinerea which is known to have populations with either monogynous or polygynous colonies. we screen popul ... | 2010 | 21040533 |
| higher-dose, more frequent treatment of wuchereria bancrofti. | 2010 | 21039221 | |
| strain-specific differences in mating, oviposition, and host-seeking behavior between wolbachia-infected and uninfected aedes albopictus. | wolbachia are maternally inherited bacteria that cause various reproductive alterations in their arthropod hosts, including cytoplasmic incompatibility. in this study, we compared mating, oviposition, and host-seeking behavior of wolbachia-infected (houston [hou], gainesville [gnv]) and houston uninfected (ht1) aedes albopictus. in mating assays with virgin mosquitoes, mating success of wolbachia-infected males was significantly higher than uninfected strains. mating success was highest with hou ... | 2010 | 21033053 |
| infection incidence and relative density of the bacteriophage wo-b in aedes albopictus mosquitoes from fields in thailand. | we have used real-time quantitative pcr to measure, for the first time, the relative phage wo-b orf7 density and infection incidence in aedes albopictus mosquitoes from fields in thailand. our results showed that the infection incidence of phage wo-b in this mosquito, sampled from geographically different places in thailand, was 97.9%. average relative densities of the offspring were different when collected from diverse parts and reared under the same conditions in the laboratory. our results a ... | 2010 | 20981548 |
| wolbachia-mediated resistance to dengue virus infection and death at the cellular level. | dengue is currently the most important arthropod-borne viral disease of humans. recent work has shown dengue virus displays limited replication in its primary vector, the mosquito aedes aegypti, when the insect harbors the endosymbiotic bacterium wolbachia pipientis. wolbachia-mediated inhibition of virus replication may lead to novel methods of arboviral control, yet the functional and cellular mechanisms that underpin it are unknown. | 2010 | 20976219 |
| the emerging role of wolbachia species in heartworm disease. | heartworm disease was first recognized in dogs more than 100 years ago and is still prevalent among dogs and found in cats worldwide. the complications of heartworm disease can be devastating, and treatment carries risks. wolbachia spp are gram-negative bacteria that infect filarial nematodes, including dirofilaria immitis, and elicit an inflammatory response in cats and dogs. antimicrobial therapy directed against these bacteria has resulted in decreased microfilarial loads, inhibition of the d ... | 2010 | 20949416 |
| wolbachia stimulates immune gene expression and inhibits plasmodium development in anopheles gambiae. | the over-replicating wmelpop strain of the endosymbiont wolbachia pipientis has recently been shown to be capable of inducing immune upregulation and inhibition of pathogen transmission in aedes aegypti mosquitoes. in order to examine whether comparable effects would be seen in the malaria vector anopheles gambiae, transient somatic infections of wmelpop were created by intrathoracic inoculation. upregulation of six selected immune genes was observed compared to controls, at least two of which ( ... | 2010 | 20949079 |
| lipoprotein biosynthesis as a target for anti-wolbachia treatment of filarial nematodes. | abstract: | 2010 | 20946650 |
| decoupling of host-symbiont-phage coadaptations following transfer between insect species. | transferring endosymbiotic bacteria between different host species can perturb the coordinated regulation of the host and bacterial genomes. here we use the most common maternally transmitted bacteria, wolbachia pipientis, to test the consequences of host genetic background on infection densities and the processes underlying those changes in the parasitoid wasp genus nasonia. introgressing the genome of nasonia giraulti into the infected cytoplasm of n. vitripennis causes a two-order-of-magnitud ... | 2010 | 20944019 |
| cytoplasmic feminizing elements in a two-population model: infection dynamics, gene flow modification, and the spread of autosomal suppressors. | we investigate the dynamics of a cytoplasmic parasitic element with feminizing effect in a two-population model. we assume that the host species has a zz/zw sex determination system. our analysis reveals that the feminizer and the w chromosome can stably coexist by dominating different populations if the transmission rate differs significantly between the populations and migration is sufficiently weak. in the equilibrium of coexistence, genetic influx at any host autosomal locus is strongly enha ... | 2010 | 20939837 |
| elevated levels of plasma angiogenic factors are associated with human lymphatic filarial infections. | lymphatic dilatation, dysfunction, and lymphangiogenesis are hallmarks of patent lymphatic filariasis, observed even in those with subclinical microfilaremia, through processes associated, in part, by vascular endothelial growth factors (vegfs). a panel of pro-angiogenic factors was measured in the plasma of subjects from filaria-endemic regions using multiplexed immunological assays. compared with endemic normal control subjects, those with both subclinical microfilaremia, and those with longst ... | 2010 | 20889885 |
| wolbachia infection lowers fertile sperm transfer in a moth. | the endosymbiotic bacterium wolbachia pipientis manipulates host reproduction by rendering infected males reproductively incompatible with uninfected females (cytoplasmic incompatibility; ci). ci is believed to occur as a result of wolbachia-induced modifications to sperm during maturation, which prevent infected sperm from initiating successful zygote development when fertilizing uninfected females' eggs. however, the mechanism by which ci occurs has been little studied outside the genus drosop ... | 2010 | 20880864 |
| detection of anaplasma bovis dna in the peripheral blood of domestic dogs in japan. | the prevalence of ehrlichia and anaplasma in 1,427 dogs from 32 japanese prefectures was evaluated by pcr and dna nucleotide sequencing. pcr screening demonstrated that 18 dogs (1.3%) were positive for anaplasmataceae. sequence analysis revealed that 14 of the amplicons were most closely related to wolbachia spp., symbionts of dirofilaria immitis, whereas three were identified as anaplasma bovis. the remaining amplicon could not be sequenced. almost the entire sequence of 16s rrna (1,452 bp) fro ... | 2010 | 20859003 |
| effects of dietary folic acid level and symbiotic folate production on fitness and development in the fruit fly drosophila melanogaster. | folic acid is a vitamin for probably all animals. when converted to folate forms, it is used in dna synthesis and amino acid metabolism. literature suggests insects must consume folates, folates do not affect others, is a toxin for some, and that a few insects synthesize it. it has been reported that drosophila melanogaster does not consistently need dietary folate because it can synthesize it. this seems unlikely since animals generally lack this ability. more likely, folates thought to have be ... | 2010 | 20855945 |
| functional test of the influence of wolbachia genes on cytoplasmic incompatibility expression in drosophila melanogaster. | wolbachia are inherited intracellular bacteria that infect a broad range of invertebrate hosts. they commonly manipulate host reproduction in a variety of ways and thereby favour their invasion into host populations. while the biology of wolbachia has been extensively studied at the ecological and phenotypic level, little is known about the molecular mechanisms underlying the interaction between wolbachia and their hosts. recent comparative genomics studies of wolbachia strains have revealed put ... | 2011 | 20854481 |
| onchocerca armillata contains the endosymbiotic bacterium wolbachia and elicits a limited inflammatory response. | human onchocerciasis, also known as river blindness, is a debilitating disease caused by the filarial nematode onchocerca volvulus. many, but not all, filarial nematodes carry within their tissues endosymbiotic, rickettsia-like bacteria of the genus wolbachia. onchocerca spp. infections in cattle offer the most relevant, analogous host-parasite model system. west african cattle are commonly co-infected with four onchocerca spp.; two of these are wolbachia-positive (onchocerca gutturosa and oncho ... | 2010 | 20850932 |
| elimination of lymphatic filariasis: do we have the drugs to complete the job? | lymphatic filariasis is targeted for elimination globally through mass drug administration (mda) with diethylcarbamazine or ivermectin monotherapy, or either drug in combination with albendazole. however, many countries that have implemented mda annually for over 5 years are yet to interrupt transmission. this review describes the current drugs used in mda and highlights the challenges facing the who global programme to eliminate lymphatic filariasis (gpelf). | 2010 | 20847694 |
| remarkable abundance and evolution of mobile group ii introns in wolbachia bacterial endosymbionts. | the streamlined genomes of ancient obligate endosymbionts generally lack transposable elements, as a consequence of their intracellular confinement. yet, the genomes of wolbachia, one of the most abundant bacterial endosymbionts on earth, are littered with transposable elements, in particular insertion sequences (iss). this paradox raises the question of whether or not such a mobile dna proliferation reflects a special feature of iss. in this study, we focused on another class of transposable el ... | 2011 | 20819906 |
| bacteriocyte-like cells harbour wolbachia in the ovary of drosophila melanogaster (insecta, diptera) and zyginidia pullula (insecta, hemiptera). | wolbachia is the most widespread bacterial endosymbiont in insects. it is responsible for a variety of reproductive alterations of the hosts. wolbachia is transmitted through the germline from mother to offspring and, in rare cases, between individuals. this implies that acquired properties (through symbiosis with wolbachia) can become heritable. we investigated the transovarial inheritance of wolbachia in two phylogenetically distant insects, drosophila melanogaster and zyginidia pullula. we de ... | 2010 | 20817243 |
| effects of doxycycline on the endosymbiont wolbachia in dirofilaria immitis (leidy, 1856)--naturally infected dogs. | dirofilaria immitis carries intracellular endosymbiotic bacteria of the genus wolbachia, known to be vital for the worms and sensitive to tetracycline antibiotics. with the purpose of studying the interaction between d. immitis and the endosymbiont wolbachia sp., heartworm naturally infected microfilaremic or antigenemic dogs were treated with doxycycline (10mg/kg/day of the drug in three cycles of 21 days each, with 6-month intervals). blood samples were collected on days 0, 7 and 21 of each tr ... | 2010 | 20810215 |
| strong expression of tgf-beta in human host tissues around subcutaneous dirofilaria repens. | dirofilaria repens and other dirofilaria species are widely distributed parasitic nematodes of carnivores, which occasionally are transmitted to men, causing subcutaneous nodules. in humans, it usually occurs only as single male or female filariae without production of microfilariae. the non-productive living or dead dirofilaria worms in subcutaneous biopsies from 15 human patients permitted us to study the role of the pleiotropic and immunoregulatory cytokine transforming growth factor beta (tg ... | 2011 | 20809419 |
| costs and benefits of wolbachia infection in immature aedes albopictus depend upon sex and competition level. | bacterial endosymbionts induce various effects on hosts and can dramatically impact host fitness and development. an example is provided by obligate, maternally-inherited wolbachia, which infect a broad range of invertebrates. wolbachia are capable of altering host reproduction, thereby promoting infection spread. wolbachia also pose direct physiological costs and benefits to hosts, complicating their categorization as parasites or mutualists. this study examines for an effect of wolbachia infec ... | 2010 | 20807539 |
| lymphatic filariasis and onchocerciasis. | lymphatic filariasis and onchocerciasis are parasitic helminth diseases that constitute a serious public health issue in tropical regions. the filarial nematodes that cause these diseases are transmitted by blood-feeding insects and produce chronic and long-term infection through suppression of host immunity. disease pathogenesis is linked to host inflammation invoked by the death of the parasite, causing hydrocoele, lymphoedema, and elephantiasis in lymphatic filariasis, and skin disease and bl ... | 2010 | 20739055 |
| multiple gains and losses of wolbachia symbionts across a tribe of fungus-growing ants. | although the intracellular bacterium wolbachia is ubiquitous in insects, it has a unique relationship with new world ants on which particular bacterial strains have specialized. however, data are from distantly related hosts and detailed phylogenetic information which could reveal transmission dynamics are lacking. here, we investigate host-wolbachia relationships in the monophyletic fungus-growing ant tribe attini, screening 23 species and using multilocus sequence typing to reliably identify w ... | 2010 | 20738784 |
| the wolbachia endosymbiont as an anti-filarial nematode target. | human disease caused by parasitic filarial nematodes is a major cause of global morbidity. the parasites are transmitted by arthropod intermediate hosts and are responsible for lymphatic filariasis (elephantiasis) or onchocerciasis (river blindness). within these filarial parasites are intracellular alpha-proteobacteria, wolbachia, that were first observed almost 30 years ago. the obligate endosymbiont has been recognized as a target for anti-filarial nematode chemotherapy as evidenced by the lo ... | 2010 | 20730111 |
| expression of a doublesex homologue is altered in sexual mosaics of ostrinia scapulalis moths infected with wolbachia. | a homologue of the sex-determining gene doublesex, osdsx, was identified in the adzuki bean borer ostrinia scapulalis. three isoforms of the osdsx transcript (osdsx(m), osdsx(fl) and osdsx(fs)) differing in length were found. osdsx(m) was specifically found in males, and contained an 852-bp orf encoding a protein of 284 amino acids. osdsx(fl) and osdsx(fs) were found in females, and had the same 813-bp orf encoding a protein of 271 amino acids. the osdsx gene was inferred to have six exons and f ... | 2010 | 20728536 |
| [infection with wolbachia does not influence crossing over in drosophila melanogaster]. | the influence of infection with endosymbiotic bacteria wolbachia on crossingover in drosophila melanogaster between the white and cut genes in the x chromosome was studied. reciprocal crosses have been conducted between infected and non-infected fruit fly strains. the results showed no significant effect of wolbachia infection on the crossingover rates in d. melanogaster between the white and cut genes in x-chromosome. | 2010 | 20722287 |
| the native wolbachia endosymbionts of drosophila melanogaster and culex quinquefasciatus increase host resistance to west nile virus infection. | the bacterial endosymbiont wolbachia pipientis has been shown to increase host resistance to viral infection in native drosophila hosts and in the normally wolbachia-free heterologous host aedes aegypti when infected by wolbachia from drosophila melanogaster or aedes albopictus. wolbachia infection has not yet been demonstrated to increase viral resistance in a native wolbachia-mosquito host system. | 2010 | 20700535 |
| superinfection of cytoplasmic incompatibility-inducing wolbachia is not additive in orius strigicollis (hemiptera: anthocoridae). | cytoplasmic incompatibility (ci) allows the intracellular, maternally inherited bacterial symbiont wolbachia to invade arthropod host populations by inducing infertility in crosses between infected males and uninfected females. the general pattern is consistent with a model of sperm modification, rescued only by egg cytoplasm infected with the same strain of symbiont. the predacious flower bug orius strigicollis is superinfected with two strains of wolbachia, wous1 and wous2. typically, superinf ... | 2011 | 20700141 |
| sampling biases of the bg-sentinel trap with respect to physiology, age, and body size of adult aedes aegypti (diptera: culicidae). | currently, aedes aegypti (l.) control strategies are being developed that involve manipulation of the vector at the adult stage (e.g., the use of the bacterial endosymbiont wolbachia to shorten the life span of the vector population). these novel strategies demand adult sampling methods to measure changes in population size, structure (age, sex ratio), and, ultimately, the success of the program. each sampling method presents certain biases. once these biases are defined, methods used to estimat ... | 2010 | 20695281 |
| asymmetric wolbachia segregation during early brugia malayi embryogenesis determines its distribution in adult host tissues. | wolbachia are required for filarial nematode survival and fertility and contribute to the immune responses associated with human filarial diseases. here we developed whole-mount immunofluorescence techniques to characterize wolbachia somatic and germline transmission patterns and tissue distribution in brugia malayi, a nematode responsible for lymphatic filariasis. in the initial embryonic divisions, wolbachia segregate asymmetrically such that they occupy only a small subset of cells in the dev ... | 2010 | 20689574 |
| wolbachia and termite association: present status and future implications. | 2010 | 20689172 | |
| prevalence of selected vector-borne organisms and identification of bartonella species dna in north american river otters (lontra canadensis). | trapper-killed north american river otters (lontra canadensis) in north carolina, usa, were screened for multiple vector-borne bacteria known to be pathogenic to mammals. blood was collected from 30 carcasses in 2006, from 35 in 2007, and from one live otter in 2008. samples were screened using conventional polymerase chain reaction (pcr) tests for dna from bartonella spp., ehrlichia spp., and spotted fever group rickettsia spp. all samples were negative for rickettsia spp. twelve of 30 samples ... | 2010 | 20688703 |
| variations of immune parameters in terrestrial isopods: a matter of gender, aging and wolbachia. | ecological factors modulate animal immunocompetence and potentially shape the evolution of their immune systems. not only environmental parameters impact on immunocompetence: aging is one major cause of variability of immunocompetence between individuals, and sex-specific levels of immunocompetence have also been frequently described. moreover, a growing core of data put in light that vertically transmitted symbionts can dramatically modulate the immunocompetence of their hosts. in this study, w ... | 2010 | 20676599 |
| phylogenetic analysis and rapid identification of the whitefly, bemisia afer, in china. | the phylogenetic relationship between the whitefly bemisia afer (priesner & hosny) (hemiptera: aleyrodidae) from china and other populations among the world were analyzed based on the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase i (mtcoi) gene. phylogenetic analysis of mtcoi sequences and those of reference b. afer sequences showed that the populations of the species could be separated into 5 clades (i-v). there were at least two clades of the species from china (iv and v). these data suggested that b. afer ... | 2010 | 20673071 |
| intragenomic conflict in populations infected by parthenogenesis inducing wolbachia ends with irreversible loss of sexual reproduction. | the maternally inherited, bacterial symbiont, parthenogenesis inducing (pi) wolbachia, causes females in some haplodiploid insects to produce daughters from both fertilized and unfertilized eggs. the symbionts, with their maternal inheritance, benefit from inducing the production of exclusively daughters, however the optimal sex ratio for the nuclear genome is more male-biased. here we examine through models how an infection with pi-wolbachia in a previously uninfected population leads to a geno ... | 2010 | 20667099 |
| high rates of homologous recombination in the mite endosymbiont and opportunistic human pathogen orientia tsutsugamushi. | orientia tsutsugamushi is an intracellular alpha-proteobacterium which resides in trombiculid mites, and is the causative agent of scrub typhus in east asia. the genome sequence of this species has revealed an unprecedented number of repeat sequences, most notably of the genes encoding the conjugative properties of a type iv secretion system (t4ss). although this observation is consistent with frequent intragenomic recombination, the extent of homologous recombination (gene conversion) in this s ... | 2010 | 20651929 |
| wolbachia pipientis: an expanding bag of tricks to explore for disease control. | wolbachia pipientis are maternally inherited, endosymbiotic bacteria that are widespread among insects. two recent studies have demonstrated that wolbachia inhibits the ability of medically significant pathogens, including filarial nematodes, dengue virus and plasmodium to form infections in the mosquito vector, aedes aegypti. we highlight the added value of these traits for wolbachia based biocontrol strategies and evaluate the evidence for the idea that the insect immune response is responsibl ... | 2010 | 20647151 |
| a virulent wolbachia infection decreases the viability of the dengue vector aedes aegypti during periods of embryonic quiescence. | a new approach for dengue control has been proposed that relies on life-shortening strains of the obligate intracellular bacterium wolbachia pipientis to modify mosquito population age structure and reduce pathogen transmission. previously we reported the stable transinfection of the major dengue vector aedes aegypti with a life-shortening wolbachia strain (wmelpop-cla) from the vinegar fly drosophila melanogaster. here, we report a further characterization of the phenotypic effects of this viru ... | 2010 | 20644622 |
| the transmission efficiency of tomato yellow leaf curl virus by the whitefly bemisia tabaci is correlated with the presence of a specific symbiotic bacterium species. | tomato yellow leaf curl virus (tylcv) (geminiviridae: begomovirus) is exclusively vectored by the whitefly bemisia tabaci (gennadius) (hemiptera: aleyrodidae). tylcv transmission depends upon a 63-kda groel protein produced by the vector's endosymbiotic bacteria. b. tabaci is a species complex comprising several genetically distinct biotypes that show different secondary-symbiont fauna. in israel, the b biotype harbors hamiltonella, and the q biotype harbors wolbachia and arsenophonus. both biot ... | 2010 | 20631135 |
| intergenomic arms races: detection of a nuclear rescue gene of male-killing in a ladybird. | many species of arthropod are infected by deleterious inherited micro-organisms. typically these micro-organisms are inherited maternally. consequently, some, particularly bacteria of the genus wolbachia, employ a variety of strategies that favour female over male hosts. these strategies include feminisation, induction of parthenogenesis and male-killing. these strategies result in female biased sex ratios in host populations, which lead to selection for host factors that promote male production ... | 2010 | 20628578 |
| adaptation via symbiosis: recent spread of a drosophila defensive symbiont. | recent studies have shown that some plants and animals harbor microbial symbionts that protect them against natural enemies. here we demonstrate that a maternally transmitted bacterium, spiroplasma, protects drosophila neotestacea against the sterilizing effects of a parasitic nematode, both in the laboratory and the field. this nematode parasitizes d. neotestacea at high frequencies in natural populations, and, until recently, almost all infections resulted in complete sterility. several lines ... | 2010 | 20616278 |
| endosymbiont costs and benefits in a parasitoid infected with both wolbachia and cardinium. | theory suggests that maternally inherited endosymbionts can promote their spread and persistence in host populations by enhancing the production of daughters by infected hosts, either by improving overall host fitness, or through reproductive manipulation. in the doubly infected parasitoid wasp encarsia inaron, wolbachia manipulates host reproduction through cytoplasmic incompatibility (ci), but cardinium does not. we investigated the fitness costs and/or benefits of infection by each bacterium ... | 2011 | 20606691 |
| construction and characterisation of a bac library made from field specimens of the onchocerciasis vector simulium squamosum (diptera: simuliidae). | a bacterial artificial chromosome (bac) library was made from wild-caught simulium squamosum, which is an important vector of human onchocerciasis. the library is composed of 12,288 bacs, with an average insert size of 128 kb, and is expected to contain ~1.54 gb of cloned dna. random bac-end sequencing generated over 95 kb of dna sequence data from which putative s. squamosum gene sequences and novel repetitive dna families were identified, including dna transposons, retrotransposons and simple ... | 2010 | 20603211 |
| artificial triple wolbachia infection in aedes albopictus yields a new pattern of unidirectional cytoplasmic incompatibility. | obligately intracellular wolbachia bacteria infect numerous invertebrates and often manipulate host reproduction to facilitate the spread of infection. an example of reproductive manipulation is wolbachia-induced cytoplasmic incompatibility (ci), which occurs commonly in insects. this ci has been the focus both of basic scientific studies of naturally occurring invasion events and of applied investigations on the use of wolbachia as a vehicle to drive desired genotypes into insect populations (" ... | 2010 | 20601501 |
| wolbachia infection in the tribe naupactini (coleoptera, curculionidae): association between thelytokous parthenogenesis and infection status. | several parthenogenetic species of broad-nosed weevils exist, some of them of economic importance because of their pest status. screening of the maternally inherited wolbachia bacterium in 29 weevils of the tribe naupactini, using multilocus sequence typing allowed us to assess a significant correlation between asexuality and infection, and suggests an involvement of wolbachia in the origin of this reproductive mode. the nine wolbachia strains retrieved from the naupactini belong to the b superg ... | 2010 | 20597993 |
| the bacteria wolbachia in filariae, a biological russian dolls' system: new trends in antifilarial treatments. | filarial nematode species can host wolbachia bacterial endosymbionts. to understand the symbiosis, a higher level of complexity should be considered, taking in account the tripartite association between wolbachia, filariae and mammals. this overview article discusses the biology of wolbachia in filariae, including their distribution and phylogeny, mechanisms of action, inflammatory consequences on mammal host and biological control implications for filariases. potential directions for future res ... | 2010 | 20597434 |
| microbial symbionts in insects influence down-regulation of defense genes in maize. | diabrotica virgifera virgifera larvae are root-feeding insects and significant pests to maize in north america and europe. little is known regarding how plants respond to insect attack of roots, thus complicating the selection for plant defense targets. diabrotica virgifera virgifera is the most successful species in its genus and is the only diabrotica beetle harboring an almost species-wide wolbachia infection. diabrotica virgifera virgifera are infected with wolbachia and the typical gut flor ... | 2010 | 20596533 |
| sex and stripping: the key to the intimate relationship between wolbachia and host? | wolbachia pipientis is known to infect only arthropods and nematodes (mainly filarial worms). a unique feature shared by the two phyla is the ability to replace the exoskeleton, a process known as ecdysis. this shared characteristic is thought to reflect a common ancestry. arthropod moulting is induced by the steroid hormone 20-hydroxyecdysone (20e) and a role for ecdysteroids in nematode ecdysis has also been suggested. removing wolbachia from filarial worms impairs the host's development. from ... | 2010 | 20585501 |
| association between toll-like receptor 2 (tlr2) polymorphisms and asymptomatic bancroftian filariasis. | lymphatic filariasis is mainly caused by the filarial nematodes wuchereria bancrofti and brugia malayi. wolbachia, intracellular symbiotic bacteria in filarial parasite, is known to induce immune response predominantly through toll-like receptor 2 (tlr2). this study was performed to investigate the association between polymorphisms of the tlr2 gene and susceptibility to asymptomatic bancroftian filariasis. a total of 142 unrelated asymptomatic bancroftian filariasis patients and 151 endemic norm ... | 2010 | 20549240 |
| endosymbiont dna in endobacteria-free filarial nematodes indicates ancient horizontal genetic transfer. | wolbachia are among the most abundant symbiotic microbes on earth; they are present in about 66% of all insect species, some spiders, mites and crustaceans, and most filarial nematode species. infected filarial nematodes, including many pathogens of medical and veterinary importance, depend on wolbachia for proper development and survival. the mechanisms behind this interdependence are not understood. interestingly, a minority of filarial species examined to date are naturally wolbachia-free. | 2010 | 20543958 |
| wolbachia strains typing in different geographic population spider, hylyphantes graminicola (linyphiidae). | the wolbachia endosymbiont of spiders has not been extensively examined. in order to investigate the distribution, evolutionary history, and reproductive phenotype of wolbachia in spiders in china, we tested 11 geographic populations of hylyphantes graminicola. wolbachia infection has been detected in each population. 10 wolbachia strains have been characterized by multilocus sequence typing (mlst). phylogenetic analyses indicated that eight wolbachia strains in h. graminicola belonged to superg ... | 2011 | 20533041 |
| the mushroom habitat as an ecological arena for global exchange of wolbachia. | wolbachia infect a variety of arthropod and nematode hosts, but in arthropods, host phylogenetic relationships are usually poor predictors of strain similarity. this suggests that new infections are often established by horizontal transmission. to gain insight into the factors affecting the probability of horizontal transmission among host species, we ask how host phylogeny, geographical distribution and ecology affect patterns of wolbachia strain similarity. we used multilocus sequence typing ( ... | 2010 | 20529071 |
| a divergent cardinium found in daddy long-legs (arachnida: opiliones). | recent studies indicate that a newly described bacterial endosymbiont, cardinium, is widespread in arthropods and induces different reproductive manipulations in hosts. in this study, we used a portion of the 16s rrna gene of the cardinium to screen 16 opilionid species from the suborder palptores. we found the incidence of cardinium in these opiliones was significantly higher than in other pooled arthropods (31.2% versus 7.2%, p=0.007). phylogenetic analyses using maximum parsimony (mp) and bay ... | 2010 | 20515696 |
| molecular characterization and localization of the obligate endosymbiotic bacterium in the birch catkin bug kleidocerys resedae (heteroptera: lygaeidae, ischnorhynchinae). | in contrast to specific bacterial symbionts of many stinkbugs, which are harboured extracellularly in the lumina of midgut sacs or tubular outgrowths, the obligate endosymbiont of birch catkin bug kleidocerys resedae (heteroptera: lygaeidae) resides in a red-coloured, raspberry-shaped mycetome, localized abdominally, close to the midgut section. phylogenetic analysis, based on the 16s rrna gene and the groel (chaperonin) gene, showed that the bacteria belong to the gamma-subdivision of the prote ... | 2010 | 20500529 |
| do variable compensatory mechanisms explain the polymorphism of the dependence phenotype in the asobara tabida-wolbachia association? | wolbachia are symbiotic intracellular bacteria, which are classified as reproductive parasites. although generally facultative, wolbachia is necessary for asobara tabida (hymenoptera), because aposymbiotic females do not produce any offspring. interestingly, the ovarian phenotype of aposymbiotic females is variable: some females do not produce any eggs, whereas others do produce some eggs, but these are aborted. here, we show that the ovarian phenotype of aposymbiotic females is highly polymorph ... | 2010 | 20482609 |
| massively parallel pyrosequencing-based transcriptome analyses of small brown planthopper (laodelphax striatellus), a vector insect transmitting rice stripe virus (rsv). | the small brown planthopper (laodelphax striatellus) is an important agricultural pest that not only damages rice plants by sap-sucking, but also acts as a vector that transmits rice stripe virus (rsv), which can cause even more serious yield loss. despite being a model organism for studying entomology, population biology, plant protection, molecular interactions among plants, viruses and insects, only a few genomic sequences are available for this species. to investigate its transcriptome and d ... | 2010 | 20462456 |
| co-infection and localization of secondary symbionts in two whitefly species. | whiteflies are cosmopolitan phloem-feeding pests that cause serious damage to many crops worldwide due to direct feeding and vectoring of many plant viruses. the sweetpotato whitefly bemisia tabaci (gennadius) and the greenhouse whitefly trialeurodes vaporariorum (westwood) are two of the most widespread and damaging whitefly species. to complete their unbalanced diet, whiteflies harbor the obligatory bacterium portiera aleyrodidarum. b. tabaci further harbors a diverse array of secondary symbio ... | 2010 | 20462452 |
| detection of wolbachia dna in blood from dogs infected with dirofilaria immitis. | dirofilaria immitis is the causative agent of heartworm disease in canines and felines, and pulmonary dirofilariasis in man. it harbors a symbiotic intracellular bacterium from the genus wolbachia that plays an important role in its biology and contributes to the inflammatory pathology of the heartworm. this endosymbiont is sensitive to the tetracycline family of antibiotics prompting its use in the treatment of filariasis. to track wolbachia during treatment, primers were designed based on the ... | 2010 | 20457156 |
| the genetics and evolution of obligate reproductive parasitism in trichogramma pretiosum infected with parthenogenesis-inducing wolbachia. | parthenogenesis-inducing (pi) wolbachia belong to a class of intracellular symbionts that distort the offspring sex ratio of their hosts toward a female bias. in many pi wolbachia-infected species sex ratio distortion has reached its ultimate expression-fixation of infection and all-female populations. this is only possible with thelytokous pi symbionts as they provide an alternative form of reproduction and remove the requirement for males and sexual reproduction. many populations fixed for pi ... | 2011 | 20442735 |
| wolbachia affects the reproduction of the mirid predator macrolophus pygmaeus. | 2009 | 20420217 | |
| evidence for wolbachia symbiosis in microfilariae of wuchereria bancrofti from west bengal, india. | wolbachia are symbiotic endobacteria that infect the majority of filarial nematodes, including wuchereria bancrofti, brugia malayi and onchocerca volvulus. recent studies have suggested that wolbachia are necessary for the reproduction and survival of filarial nematodes and have highlighted the use of antibiotic therapy such as tetracycline/doxycycline as a novel method of treatment for infections caused by these organisms. before such therapy is conceived and implemented on a large scale, it is ... | 2010 | 20413911 |
| macrofilaricidal activity after doxycycline only treatment of onchocerca volvulus in an area of loa loa co-endemicity: a randomized controlled trial. | the risk of severe adverse events following treatment of onchocerciasis with ivermectin in areas co-endemic with loiasis currently compromises the development of control programmes and the treatment of co-infected individuals. we therefore assessed whether doxycycline treatment could be used without subsequent ivermectin administration to effectively deliver sustained effects on onchocerca volvulus microfilaridermia and adult viability. furthermore we assessed the safety of doxycycline treatment ... | 2010 | 20405054 |
| diversity of wolbachia in odontotermes spp. (termitidae) and coptotermes heimi (rhinotermitidae) using the multigene approach. | the intracellular bacteria, wolbachia, are well known for inducing reproductive alterations in arthropod hosts, especially insects. the ancient origin and huge diversity, combined with the ecological, biological and behavioral plasticity of termites, make the latter exciting candidates for studying the interactions of wolbachia. in the present study, we investigated the distribution of wolbachia in populations of odontotermes spp. and coptotermes heimi termites occurring in 14 colonies (12 odont ... | 2010 | 20402779 |
| the maintenance of genetic variation for oviposition rate in two-spotted spider mites: inferences from artificial selection. | despite the directional selection acting on life-history traits, substantial amounts of standing variation for these traits have frequently been found. this variation may result from balancing selection (e.g., through genetic trade-offs) or from mutation-selection balance. these mechanisms affect allele frequencies in different ways: under balancing selection alleles are maintained at intermediate frequencies, whereas under mutation-selection balance variation is generated by deleterious mutatio ... | 2010 | 20394655 |
| analysis of wolbachia strains associated with conotrachelus nenuphar (coleoptera: curculionidae) in the eastern united states. | we studied the distribution patterns of wolbachia infection associated with plum curculio strains in eight states of the eastern united states. the presence of the wolbachia-specific gene wsp identified infections of this endosymbiont in 97.8% of the 93 samples tested. three distinct wolbachia strains were identified. the strains wcne1 (593 bp) and wcne2 (593 bp) were 97% identical, and their sequences were both 84% identical with wcne3 (590 bp). blastn searches through genbank showed strong sim ... | 2010 | 20388268 |
| a small sequence in domain v of the mitochondrial large ribosomal rna restores drosophila melanogaster pole cell determination in uv-irradiated embryos. | the mechanism by which the mitochondrial large rrna is involved in the restoration of the pole cell-forming ability in drosophila embryos is still unknown. we identified a 15-ribonucleotide sequence which is conserved from the protobacterium wolbachia to the higher eukaryotes in domain v of the mitochondrial large rrna. this short sequence is sufficient to restore pole cell determination in uv-irradiated drosophila embryos. here, we provide evidence that the conserved 15-base sequence is suffici ... | 2010 | 20386994 |
| characterization of a new aedes albopictus (diptera: culicidae)-wolbachia pipientis (rickettsiales: rickettsiaceae) symbiotic association generated by artificial transfer of the wpip strain from culex pipiens (diptera: culicidae). | wolbachia is a maternally inherited endosymbiont inducing various effects in insects and other invertebrate hosts that facilitate the invasion of naive host populations. one of the effects is a form of sterility known as cytoplasmic incompatibility (ci) through which females are effectively sterilized when they mate with males harboring a different wolbachia strain. the repeated mass release of cytoplasmically incompatible males can be a tool to suppress insect populations. here, we attempt to i ... | 2010 | 20380298 |
| does wolbachia infection affect trichogramma atopovirilia behaviour? | unisexual trichogramma forms have attracted much attention due to their potential advantages as biocontrol agents. fitness studies have been performed and understanding the cost that wolbachia may inflict on their hosts will help in deciding if wolbachia infected (unisexual) forms are indeed better than sexual forms when used in biological control programmes. the influence of wolbachia on the foraging behaviour (including walking activity and speed) of t. atopovirilia is reported in this paper. ... | 2010 | 20379652 |
| the endosymbiotic bacterium wolbachia induces resistance to dengue virus in aedes aegypti. | genetic strategies that reduce or block pathogen transmission by mosquitoes have been proposed as a means of augmenting current control measures to reduce the growing burden of vector-borne diseases. the endosymbiotic bacterium wolbachia has long been promoted as a potential vehicle for introducing disease-resistance genes into mosquitoes, thereby making them refractory to the human pathogens they transmit. given the large overlap in tissue distribution and intracellular localization between wol ... | 2010 | 20368968 |
| mitochondrial genes for heme-dependent respiratory chain complexes are up-regulated after depletion of wolbachia from filarial nematodes. | the filarial nematodes brugia malayi, wuchereria bancrofti and onchocerca volvulus cause elephantiasis or dermatitis and blindness resulting in severe morbidity. annually, 1.3 billion people are at risk of infection. targeting the essential wolbachia endobacteria of filarial nematodes with doxycycline has proven to be an effective therapy resulting in a block in embryogenesis, worm development and macrofilaricidal effects. however, doxycycline is contraindicated for a large portion of the at ris ... | 2010 | 20362581 |
| transforming growth factor-beta expression by host cells is elicited locally by the filarial nematode onchocerca volvulus in hyporeactive patients independently from wolbachia. | transforming growth factor-beta (tgf-beta) is a key cytokine in immune regulation, cell differentiation, development, wound healing, and tissue remodelling. it mediates immunosuppression in filarial infections facilitating parasite persistence, while attenuating immunopathology, which is induced by migrating microfilariae. immunosuppression rises with parasite burden, but it remains unknown whether filariae elicit local release of immunosuppressive cytokines. therefore, using immunohistology, we ... | 2010 | 20359544 |
| plant green-island phenotype induced by leaf-miners is mediated by bacterial symbionts. | the life cycles of many organisms are constrained by the seasonality of resources. this is particularly true for leaf-mining herbivorous insects that use deciduous leaves to fuel growth and reproduction even beyond leaf fall. our results suggest that an intimate association with bacterial endosymbionts might be their way of coping with nutritional constraints to ensure successful development in an otherwise senescent environment. we show that the phytophagous leaf-mining moth phyllonorycter blan ... | 2010 | 20356892 |
| wolbachia modulates chikungunya replication in aedes albopictus. | the aedes albopictus mosquito has been involved as the principal vector of recent major outbreaks due to the chikungunya virus (chikv). the species is naturally infected by two strains of wolbachia (walba and walbb). wolbachia infections are thought to have spread by manipulating the reproduction of their hosts; cytoplasmic incompatibility is the mechanism used by wolbachia to invade natural populations of many insects including ae. albopictus. here, we report a study on the effects of removing ... | 2010 | 20345686 |
| ecology, wolbachia infection frequency and mode of reproduction in the parasitoid wasp tetrastichus coeruleus (hymenoptera: eulophidae). | whereas sexual reproduction may facilitate adaptation to complex environments with many biotic interactions, simplified environments are expected to favour asexual reproduction. in agreement with this, recent studies on invertebrates have shown a prevalence of asexual species in agricultural (simplified) but not in natural (complex) environments. we investigated whether the same correlation between reproductive mode and habitat can be found in different populations within one species. the parasi ... | 2010 | 20345674 |
| heat treatment of the adzuki bean borer, ostrinia scapulalis infected with wolbachia gives rise to sexually mosaic offspring. | a maternally inherited intracellular bacterium, wolbachia, causes reproductive alterations in its arthropod hosts. in the adzuki bean borer, ostrinia scapulalis (walker) (lepidoptera: crambidae), naturally-occurring wolbachia selectively kills male progeny. this wolbachia strain appears to have a feminizing effect, since antibiotic treatment of infected female moths gives rise to male progeny with sexually mosaic phenotypes. it is proposed that male-specific death occurs through the feminizing e ... | 2008 | 20302522 |
| wolbachia age-sex-specific density in aedes albopictus: a host evolutionary response to cytoplasmic incompatibility? | wolbachia bacteria have invaded many arthropod species by inducing cytoplasmic incompatibility (ci). these symbionts represent fascinating objects of study for evolutionary biologists, but also powerful potential biocontrol agents. here, we assess the density dynamics of wolbachia infections in males and females of the mosquito aedes albopitcus, an important vector of human pathogens, and interpret the results within an evolutionary framework. | 2010 | 20300514 |
| structured and unstructured continuous models for wolbachia infections. | we introduce and investigate a series of models for an infection of a diplodiploid host species by the bacterial endosymbiont wolbachia. the continuous models are characterized by partial vertical transmission, cytoplasmic incompatibility and fitness costs associated with the infection. a particular aspect of interest is competitions between mutually incompatible strains. we further introduce an age-structured model that takes into account different fertility and mortality rates at different sta ... | 2010 | 20232169 |
| lutzomyia sand fly diversity and rates of infection by wolbachia and an exotic leishmania species on barro colorado island, panama. | sand flies (diptera, psychodidae, phlebotominae) in the genus lutzomyia are the predominant vectors of the protozoan disease leishmaniasis in the new world. within the watershed of the panama canal, the cutaneous form of leishmaniasis is a continuous health threat for residents, tourists and members of an international research community. here we report the results of screening a tropical forest assemblage of sand fly species for infection by both leishmania and a microbe that can potentially se ... | 2010 | 20231892 |
| monitoring long-term evolutionary changes following wolbachia introduction into a novel host: the wolbachia popcorn infection in drosophila simulans. | wolbachia may act as a biological control agent for pest management; in particular, the wolbachia variant wmelpop (popcorn) shortens host longevity and may be useful for dengue suppression. however, long-term changes in the host and wolbachia genomes can alter wolbachia spread and/or host effects that suppress disease. here, we investigate the phenotypic effects of wmelpop in a non-native host, drosophila simulans, following artificial transinfection approximately 200 generations ago. long-term ... | 2010 | 20219740 |
| prevalence of endosymbionts in bemisia tabaci populations and their in vivo sensitivity to antibiotics. | bemisia tabaci can harbor both primary and secondary endosymbionts, and the specific endosymbionts can differ among different b. tabaci biotypes. this study determined (1) the prevalence of the primary endosymbiont portiera aleyrodidarum and secondary endosymbionts arsenophonus and wolbachia in two invasive biotypes (b and q) and one indigenous biotype (cv) in china and (2) the in vivo effect of three antibiotics (tetracycline, ampicillin trihydrate, and rifampicin) against the endosymbionts; if ... | 2010 | 20217091 |
| immunohistological studies on neoplasms of female and male onchocerca volvulus: filarial origin and absence of wolbachia from tumor cells. | up to 5% of untreated female onchocerca volvulus filariae develop potentially fatal pleomorphic neoplasms, whose incidence is increased following ivermectin treatment. we studied the occurrence of 8 filarial proteins and of wolbachia endobacteria in the tumor cells. onchocercomas from patients, untreated and treated with antibiotics and anthelminthics, were examined by immunohistology. neoplasms were diagnosed in 112 of 3587 female and in 2 of 1570 male o. volvulus. the following proteins and ot ... | 2010 | 20199697 |
| [establishment of a new continuous cell line of drosophila melanogaster strain infected by the intracellular endosymbiotic bacterium wolbachia pipientis under natural conditions]. | wolbachia pipientis is an obligately intracellular bacterium infecting a number of arthropod and nematode species. at the body level, wolbachia infection may cause parthenogenesis, feminization of genetic males, male killing, or cytoplasmic incompatibility; it may also be asymptomatic. of special interest is dna transfer from wolbachia to the host insect genome, which was discovered recently. at the cellular level, the effects caused by wolbachia have been studied more poorly. only one of the kn ... | 2010 | 20198874 |
| molecular evolution and functional characterization of drosophila insulin-like peptides. | multicellular animals match costly activities, such as growth and reproduction, to the environment through nutrient-sensing pathways. the insulin/igf signaling (iis) pathway plays key roles in growth, metabolism, stress resistance, reproduction, and longevity in diverse organisms including mammals. invertebrate genomes often contain multiple genes encoding insulin-like ligands, including seven drosophila insulin-like peptides (dilps). we investigated the evolution, diversification, redundancy, a ... | 2010 | 20195512 |
| bacterial genes in the aphid genome: absence of functional gene transfer from buchnera to its host. | genome reduction is typical of obligate symbionts. in cellular organelles, this reduction partly reflects transfer of ancestral bacterial genes to the host genome, but little is known about gene transfer in other obligate symbioses. aphids harbor anciently acquired obligate mutualists, buchnera aphidicola (gammaproteobacteria), which have highly reduced genomes (420-650 kb), raising the possibility of gene transfer from ancestral buchnera to the aphid genome. in addition, aphids often harbor oth ... | 2010 | 20195500 |
| association of wolbachia with heartworm disease in cats and dogs. | although the presence of adult dirofilaria immitis in the pulmonary arteries and its associated arteritis and thromboembolic disease can explain some of the manifestations of canine and feline heartworm disease, the cause of other findings remains unclear. cats with d. immitis antibodies but lacking adult parasites in the pulmonary arteries frequently develop histological lesions of the airways, resulting in a condition termed heartworm-associated respiratory disease. all d. immitis parasites ha ... | 2010 | 20193981 |
| characteristics of the genome of arsenophonus nasoniae, son-killer bacterium of the wasp nasonia. | we report the properties of a draft genome sequence of the bacterium arsenophonus nasoniae, son-killer bacterium of nasonia vitripennis. the genome sequence data from this study are the first for a male-killing bacterium, and represent a microorganism that is unusual compared with other sequenced symbionts, in having routine vertical and horizontal transmission, two alternating hosts, and being culturable on cell-free media. the resulting sequence totals c. 3.5 mbp and is annotated to contain 33 ... | 2010 | 20167019 |
| accelerated microevolution in an outer membrane protein (omp) of the intracellular bacteria wolbachia. | outer membrane proteins (omps) of gram-negative bacteria are key players in the biology of bacterial-host interactions. however, while considerable attention has been given to omps of vertebrate pathogens, relatively little is known about the role of these proteins in bacteria that primarily infect invertebrates. one such omp is found in the intracellular bacteria wolbachia, which are widespread symbionts of arthropods and filarial nematodes. recent experimental studies have shown that the wolba ... | 2010 | 20163713 |
| curing wolbachia infections in nasonia (parasitoid wasp). | nasonia is a complex of four closely related species of wasps with several features that make it an excellent system for a variety of genetic studies. these include a short generation time, ease of rearing, interfertile species, visible and molecular markers, and a sequenced genome. however, the nasonia species normally are completely or partially reproductively isolated owing to wolbachia, widespread intracellular bacteria found in arthropods and nematodes. wolbachia cause cytoplasmic incompati ... | 2009 | 20147057 |
| the parasitoid wasp nasonia: an emerging model system with haploid male genetics. | nasonia is a complex of four closely related species of wasps that is rapidly emerging as a model for evolutionary and developmental genetics. it has several features that make it an excellent genetic system, including a short generation time, ease of rearing, interfertile species, visible and molecular markers, and a sequenced genome. the form of sex determination, called "haplodiploidy," makes nasonia particularly suitable as a genetic tool. females are diploid and develop from fertilized eggs ... | 2009 | 20147035 |
| bacterial symbionts of the brown planthopper, nilaparvata lugens (homoptera: delphacidae). | the brown planthopper (nilaparvata lugens stål), the most destructive pest of rice, has been identified, including biotypes with high virulence towards previously resistant rice varieties. there have also been many reports of a yeast-like symbiont of n. lugens, but little is known about the bacterial microbes. in this study, we examined the bacterial microbes in n. lugens and identified a total of 18 operational taxonomic units (otus) representing four phyla (proteobacteria, firmicutes, actinoba ... | 2010 | 20097822 |
| doxycycline for mansonella perstans infection. | 2010 | 20089982 | |
| phylogeography of nasonia vitripennis (hymenoptera) indicates a mitochondrial-wolbachia sweep in north america. | here we report evidence of a mitochondrial-wolbachia sweep in north american populations of the parasitoid wasp nasonia vitripennis, a cosmopolitan species and emerging model organism for evolutionary and genetic studies. analysis of the genetic variation of 89 n. vitripennis specimens from europe and north america was performed using four types of genetic markers: a portion of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase i gene, nine polymorphic nuclear microsatellites, sequences from 11 single-copy nu ... | 2010 | 20087396 |
| behavioral and spermatogenic hybrid male breakdown in nasonia. | several reproductive barriers exist within the nasonia species complex, including allopatry, premating behavioral isolation, postzygotic inviability and wolbachia-induced cytoplasmic incompatibility. here we show that hybrid males suffer two additional reproductive disadvantages, an inability to properly court females and decreased sperm production. hybrid behavioral sterility, characterized by a reduced ability of hybrids to perform necessary courtship behaviors, occurs in hybrids between two s ... | 2010 | 20087395 |
| phage wo of wolbachia: lambda of the endosymbiont world. | the discovery of an extraordinarily high level of mobile elements in the genome of wolbachia, a widespread arthropod and nematode endosymbiont, suggests that this bacterium could be an excellent model for assessing the evolution and function of mobile dna in specialized bacteria. in this paper, we discuss how studies on the temperate bacteriophage wo of wolbachia have revealed unexpected levels of genomic flux and are challenging previously held views about the clonality of obligate intracellula ... | 2010 | 20083406 |
| the spiroplasma heritable bacterial endosymbiont of drosophila. | since the discovery of the small, gram-positive bacteria, spiroplasma, as a sex-ratio distorting agent in drosophila over 50 years ago, substantial progress has been made in understanding the relationship of this bacteria with its insect host. thus far, spiroplasma have been found as heritable endosymbionts in sixteen different species of drosophila. in some species these bacteria cause a male-killing phenotype, where the males die during embryogenesis. in other species, however, spiroplasma doe ... | 2010 | 20081357 |
| wolbachia as a bacteriocyte-associated nutritional mutualist. | many insects are dependent on bacterial symbionts that provide essential nutrients (ex. aphid-buchnera and tsetse-wiglesworthia associations), wherein the symbionts are harbored in specific cells called bacteriocytes that constitute a symbiotic organ bacteriome. facultative and parasitic bacterial symbionts like wolbachia have been regarded as evolutionarily distinct from such obligate nutritional mutualists. however, we discovered that, in the bedbug cimex lectularius, wolbachia resides in a ba ... | 2010 | 20080750 |
| functional and evolutionary insights from the genomes of three parasitoid nasonia species. | we report here genome sequences and comparative analyses of three closely related parasitoid wasps: nasonia vitripennis, n. giraulti, and n. longicornis. parasitoids are important regulators of arthropod populations, including major agricultural pests and disease vectors, and nasonia is an emerging genetic model, particularly for evolutionary and developmental genetics. key findings include the identification of a functional dna methylation tool kit; hymenopteran-specific genes including diverse ... | 2010 | 20075255 |
| onchodermatitis. | this review is timely because awareness of the burden of disease from onchodermatitis has increased significantly over recent years. recent progress in the field is reviewed with emphasis on publications within the past 2 years. | 2010 | 20071985 |