| interspecific transmission of endosymbiotic spiroplasma by mites. | the occurrence of closely related strains of maternally transmitted endosymbionts in distantly related insect species indicates that these infections can colonize new host species by lateral transfer, although the mechanisms by which this occurs are unknown. we investigated whether ectoparasitic mites, which feed on insect haemolymph, can serve as interspecific vectors of spiroplasma poulsonii, a male-killing endosymbiont of drosophila. using spiroplasma-specific primers for pcr, we found that m ... | 2007 | 17443956 |