Publications

detection of rickettsia and a novel haemaphysalis shimoga symbiont bacterium in ticks in thailand.	in this study, we identified two haemaphysalis species present at the khao yai national park in thailand and investigated the presence of rickettsia in these ticks. a total of 166 haemaphysalis specimens were collected randomly under leaves along visitor paths at five locations in the park. male and female adults of two different haemaphysalis species, h. shimoga and h. lagrangei, were identified. polymerase chain reaction (pcr) analysis revealed rickettsia bacteria in these two haemaphysalis sp ...	2011	21318277
identification and characterization of the cofactor-independent phosphoglycerate mutases of dirofilaria immitis and its wolbachia endosymbiont.	drug treatments for heartworm disease have not changed significantly in the last decade. due to concerns about possible drug resistance and their lower efficacy against adult worms, there is a need for the development of new antifilarial drug therapies. the recent availability of genomic sequences for the related filarial parasite brugia malayi and its wolbachia endosymbiont enables genome-wide searching for new drug targets. phosphoglycerate mutase (pgm) enzymes catalyze the critical isomerizat ...	2011	21324604
diversity of endosymbionts in the potato psyllid, bactericera cockerelli (triozidae), vector of zebra chip disease of potato.	zebra chip disease is an emerging, serious disease of solanaceous crops and the causal agent is a bacterium "candidatus liberibacter solanacearum" (cls), also known as "candidatus liberibacter psyllaurous", which is transmitted by the potato psyllid, bactericera cockerelli (šulc). we performed bacterial tag-encoded flx amplicon pyrosequencing (btefap) of the 16s rdna genes to determine the bacterial microbiota in adult insects from cls-uninfected and cls-infected strains of b. cockerelli and pot ...	2011	21327558
further insights into the strange role of bacterial endosymbionts in whitefly, bemisia tabaci: comparison of secondary symbionts from biotypes b and q in china.	the percentage infection of secondary symbionts (ss) (wolbachia, arsenophonus, rickettsia, hamiltonella, fritschea and cardinium) in the exotic bemisia tabaci (genn.) invaders, commonly known as biotypes b and q from china, were determined by pcr. in total, 373 biotype b and 1830 biotype q individuals were screened for the presence of ss. biotype b was more abundant than biotype q from 2005 to 2006, and biotype q was more abundant from 2007 to 2009. each of the ss, with the exception of fritsche ...	2011	21329550
a wolbachia symbiont in aedes aegypti disrupts mosquito egg development to a greater extent when mosquitoes feed on nonhuman versus human blood.	a vertebrate bloodmeal is required by female mosquitoes of most species to obtain nutrients for egg maturation. the yellowfever mosquito, aedes aegypti (l.), feeds predominantly on humans, despite having the capacity to use blood from other hosts for this process. here, we report that female ae. aegypti infected with a virulent strain of the intracellular bacterium wolbachia pipientis (wmelpop) from drosophila melanogaster (meigen) have a reduced ability to use blood for egg development. blood f ...	2011	21337952
differentially expressed genes in silkworm cell cultures in response to infection by wolbachia and cardinium endosymbionts.	wolbachia and cardinium are bacterial endosymbionts that are widely distributed amongst arthropods. both cause reproductive alterations, such as cytoplasmic incompatibility, parthenogenesis and feminization. here we studied differentially expressed genes in wolbachia- and cardinium-infected bm-aff3 silkworm cells using a silkworm microarray. wolbachia infection did not alter gene expression or induce or suppress immune responses. in contrast, cardinium infection induced many immune-related genes ...	2011	21349119
recombination in wolbachia endosymbionts of filarial nematodes?		2011	21350051
biological vector control of mosquito-borne diseases.		2011	21351390
the wmelpop strain of wolbachia interferes with dopamine levels in aedes aegypti.	wolbachia is an intracellular bacterium that has been stably transinfected into the mosquito vector of dengue, aedes aegypti. this inherited infection causes a range of metabolic and phenotypic alterations in the mosquito, which might be related to neuronal abnormalities. in order to determine if these alterations were caused by the manipulation of neuroamines by this bacterium, we studied the expression of genes involved in the dopamine biosynthetic pathway and also measured the amount of dopam ...	2011	21356077
mitochondrial dna effects on fitness in drosophila subobscura.	we tested different fitness components on a series of conspecific mtdna haplotypes, detected by rflps in drosophila subobscura. additionally, haplotype viii, endemic to the canary islands, was tested upon its own native nuclear dna background and upon that of the rest of mtdnas tested herein. we found that both nuclear and mitochondrial dna can have a significant effect upon their hosts' fitness, and that negative selection is one of the mechanisms that can intervene in this species' mtdna haplo ...	2011	21364694
wolbachia infections in anopheles gambiae cells: transcriptomic characterization of a novel host-symbiont interaction.	the endosymbiotic bacterium wolbachia is being investigated as a potential control agent in several important vector insect species. recent studies have shown that wolbachia can protect the insect host against a wide variety of pathogens, resulting in reduced transmission of parasites and viruses. it has been proposed that compromised vector competence of wolbachia-infected insects is due to up-regulation of the host innate immune system or metabolic competition. anopheles mosquitoes, which tran ...	2011	21379333
ccl17 controls mast cells for the defense against filarial larval entry.	filarial parasites have to trespass many barriers to successfully settle within their mammalian host, which is equipped with mechanical borders and complex weaponry of an evolved immune system. however, little is known about mechanisms of early local events in filarial infections. in this study, bone marrow-derived dendritic cells not only upregulated activation markers cd40 and cd80 upon in vitro stimulation with filarial extracts, but also secreted ccl17, a chemokine known to be produced upon ...	2011	21398605
a preliminary survey for wolbachia and bacteriophage wo infections in indian mosquitoes (diptera: culicidae).	maternally inherited wolbachia endosymbiotic bacteria are known to induce various kinds of reproductive alterations in their arthropod hosts. it has been proposed that this bacterium can be used as a tool for gene drive system in mosquitoes and also for the reduction of population size and modulating population age structure in order to reduce disease transmission. in the present study, we carried out a survey to determine the prevalence of wolbachia and its phage wo infection in indian mosquito ...	2010	21399578
distribution and molecular characterization of wolbachia endosymbionts and filarial nematodes in maryland populations of the lone star tick (amblyomma americanum).	the lone star tick amblyomma americanum is host to a wide diversity of endosymbiotic bacteria. we identified a novel wolbachia symbiont infecting a. americanum. multilocus sequence typing phylogenetically placed the endosymbiont in the increasingly diverse f supergroup. we assayed a total of 1031 ticks (119 females, 78 males and 834 nymphs in 89 pools) from 16 maryland populations for infection. infection frequencies in the natural populations were approximately 5% in females and <2% (minimum in ...	2011	21410491
the diversity of insect-bacteria interactions and its applications for disease control.	prokaryotic microorganisms are widespread in all environments on earth, establishing diverse interactions with many eukaryotic taxa, including insects. these associations may be symbiotic, pathogenic and vectoring. independently of the type of interaction, each association starts with the adhesion of the microorganism to the host, entry and "invasion" of the host, then progresses to establishment and dissemination within the host, by avoiding host immune responses, and concludes with transmissio ...	2008	21412357
a secure semi-field system for the study of aedes aegypti.	new contained semi-field cages are being developed and used to test novel vector control strategies of dengue and malaria vectors. we herein describe a new quarantine insectary level-2 (qic-2) laboratory and field cages (james cook university mosquito research facility semi-field system; mrf sfs) that are being used to measure the impact of the endosymbiont wolbachia pipientis on populations of aedes aegypti in cairns australia.	2011	21445333
gene flow between sexual and asexual strains of parasitic wasps: a possible case of sympatric speciation caused by a parthenogenesis-inducing bacterium.	sympatric speciation is strictly defined as the emergence of two species from a population in which mating has been random with respect to the place of birth of the mating partners. mathematical models have shown that sympatric speciation is possible, but very few examples have been documented in nature. in this article, we demonstrate that arrhenotokous and thelytokous strains of a parasitic wasp, neochrysocharis formosa, speciated sympatrically through infection by a symbiotic bacterium ricket ...	2011	21457171
comparisons of host mitochondrial, nuclear and endosymbiont bacterial genes reveal cryptic fig wasp species and the effects of wolbachia on host mtdna evolution and diversity.	figs and fig-pollinating wasp species usually display a highly specific one-to-one association. however, more and more studies have revealed that the "one-to-one" rule has been broken. co-pollinators have been reported, but we do not yet know how they evolve. they may evolve from insect speciation induced or facilitated by wolbachia which can manipulate host reproduction and induce reproductive isolation. in addition, wolbachia can affect host mitochondrial dna evolution, because of the linkage ...	2011	21457543
population dynamic models of the spread of wolbachia.	wolbachia are endosymbionts that are found in many insect species and can spread rapidly when introduced into a naive host population. most wolbachia spread when their infection frequency exceeds a threshold normally calculated using purely population genetic models. however, spread may also depend on the population dynamics of the insect host. we develop models to explore interactions between host population dynamics and wolbachia infection frequency for an age-structured insect population regu ...	2011	21460541
symbiont diversity and non-random hybridization among indigenous (ms) and invasive (b) biotypes of bemisia tabaci.	the whitefly bemisia tabaci (hemiptera: aleyrodidae) is a worldwide pest and a vector of numerous plant viruses. b. tabaci is composed of dozens of morphologically indistinguishable biotypes and its taxonomic status is still controversial. this phloem-feeder harbours the primary symbiont portiera aleyrodidarum and potentially six secondary symbionts: cardinium, arsenophonus, hamiltonella, rickettsia, wolbachia and fritschea. in the southwest indian ocean, la réunion hosts two biotypes of this sp ...	2011	21476990
wolbachia detection: an assessment of standard pcr protocols.	wolbachia is a large monophyletic genus of intracellular bacteria, traditionally detected using pcr assays. its considerable phylogenetic diversity and impact on arthropods and nematodes make it urgent to assess the efficiency of these screening protocols. the sensitivity and range of commonly used pcr primers and of a new set of 16s primers were evaluated on a wide range of hosts and wolbachia strains. we show that certain primer sets are significantly more efficient than others but that no sin ...	2011	21481216
outsmarting dengue fever.		2011	21495472
diversification of wolbachia endosymbiont in the culex pipiens mosquito.	the α-proteobacteria wolbachia are among the most common intracellular bacteria and have recently emerged as important drivers of arthropod biology. wolbachia commonly act as reproductive parasites in arthropods by inducing cytoplasmic incompatibility (ci), a type of conditional sterility between hosts harboring incompatible infections. in this study, we examined the evolutionary histories of wolbachia infections, known as wpip, in the common house mosquito culex pipiens, which exhibits the grea ...	2011	21515811
bacteria-induced sexual isolation in drosophila.	commensal bacteria can induce sexual isolation between populations of drosophila. this phenomenon has implications for speciation, and raises questions about its behavioral and developmental mechanisms, which are not yet known. in this extra view, we discuss related work by others, bearing directly on these issues, and we speculate about how bacteria might influence fly behavior. there are many reports of interaction between drosophila and their microbiota that significantly impacts mating prefe ...	2011	21525789
wolbachia wsinvictaa infections in natural populations of the fire ant solenopsis invicta: testing for phenotypic effects.	abstract wolbachia are intracellular bacteria that commonly infect many arthropods and some nematodes. in arthropods, these maternally transmitted bacteria often induce a variety of phenotypic effects to enhance their own spread within host populations. wolbachia phenotypic effects generally either provide benefits to infected host females (cytoplasmic incompatibility, positive fitness effects) or bias host sex ratio in favor of females (male-killing, parthenogenesis, feminization), all of which ...	2011	21526927
the immune cellular effectors of terrestrial isopod armadillidium vulgare: meeting with their invaders, wolbachia.	most of crustacean immune responses are well described for the aquatic forms whereas almost nothing is known for the isopods that evolved a terrestrial lifestyle. the latter are also infected at a high prevalence with wolbachia, an endosymbiotic bacterium which affects the host immune system, possibly to improve its transmission. in contrast with insect models, the isopod armadillidium vulgare is known to harbor wolbachia inside the haemocytes.	2011	21533137
strategies for introducing wolbachia to reduce transmission of mosquito-borne diseases.	certain strains of the endosymbiont wolbachia have the potential to lower the vectorial capacity of mosquito populations and assist in controlling a number of mosquito-borne diseases. an important consideration when introducing wolbachia-carrying mosquitoes into natural populations is the minimisation of any transient increase in disease risk or biting nuisance. this may be achieved by predominantly releasing male mosquitoes. to explore this, we use a sex-structured model of wolbachia-mosquito i ...	2011	21541357
wolbachia and the biological control of mosquito-borne disease.	mosquito-borne diseases such as malaria, dengue fever and filariasis cause an enormous health burden to people living in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. despite years of intense effort to control them, many of these diseases are increasing in prevalence, geographical distribution and severity, and options to control them are limited. the transinfection of mosquitos with the maternally inherited, endosymbiotic bacteria wolbachia is a promising new biocontrol approach. fruit fly wol ...	2011	21546911
wolbachia-induced cytoplasmic incompatibility is associated with decreased hira expression in male drosophila.	wolbachia are obligate endosymbiotic bacteria that infect numerous species of arthropods and nematodes. wolbachia can induce several reproductive phenotypes in their insect hosts including feminization, male-killing, parthenogenesis and cytoplasmic incompatibility (ci). ci is the most common phenotype and occurs when wolbachia-infected males mate with uninfected females resulting in no or very low numbers of viable offspring. however, matings between males and females infected with the same stra ...	2011	21559343
comparing de novo genome assembly: the long and short of it.	recent advances in dna sequencing technology and their focal role in genome wide association studies (gwas) have rekindled a growing interest in the whole-genome sequence assembly (wgsa) problem, thereby, inundating the field with a plethora of new formalizations, algorithms, heuristics and implementations. and yet, scant attention has been paid to comparative assessments of these assemblers' quality and accuracy. no commonly accepted and standardized method for comparison exists yet. even worse ...	2011	21559467
assessing risks of wolbachia dna cross-specimen contamination following mass collection and ethanol storage.	wolbachia and other intracellular bacteria that manipulate reproduction are widespread and can have major consequences on the ecology and evolution of their hosts. several studies have attempted to assess the host range of these bacteria based on polymerase chain reaction assays on material preserved and collected using a variety of methods. while collecting in the field, mass storage in ethanol before sorting specimens in the laboratory is by far the easiest technique, and an integral component ...	2009	21564565
a new model and method for understanding wolbachia-induced cytoplasmic incompatibility.	wolbachia are intracellular bacteria transmitted almost exclusively vertically through eggs. in response to this mode of transmission, wolbachia strategically manipulate their insect hosts' reproduction. in the most common manipulation type, cytoplasmic incompatibility, infected males can only mate with infected females, but infected females can mate with all males. the mechanism of cytoplasmic incompatibility is unknown; theoretical and empirical findings need to converge to broaden our underst ...	2011	21572955
wolbachia prophage dna adenine methyltransferase genes in different drosophila-wolbachia associations.	wolbachia is an obligatory intracellular bacterium which often manipulates the reproduction of its insect and isopod hosts. in contrast, wolbachia is an essential symbiont in filarial nematodes. lately, wolbachia has been implicated in genomic imprinting of host dna through cytosine methylation. the importance of dna methylation in cell fate and biology calls for in depth studing of putative methylation-related genes. we present a molecular and phylogenetic analysis of a putative dna adenine met ...	2011	21573076
wolbachia uses host micrornas to manipulate host gene expression and facilitate colonization of the dengue vector aedes aegypti.	the obligate endosymbiont wolbachia pipientis is found in a wide range of invertebrates where they are best known for manipulating host reproduction. recent studies have shown that wolbachia also can modulate the lifespan of host insects and interfere with the development of human pathogens in mosquito vectors. despite considerable study, very little is known about the molecular interactions between wolbachia and its hosts that might mediate these effects. using microarrays, we show that the mic ...	2011	21576469
wolbachia screening in spiders and assessment of horizontal transmission between predator and prey.	recent studies have revealed that the prevalence of wolbachia in arthropods is attributable not only to its vertical transmission, but also to its horizontal transfer. in order to assess the horizontal transmission of wolbachia between predator and prey, arthropods belonging to 11 spider families and six insect families were collected in the same field of rice. the distribution of wolbachia in these arthropods was detected by diagnostic pcr amplification of the wsp (wolbachia outer surface prote ...	2011	21584395
isolation and characterization of 30 polymorphic microsatellite loci from the mycophagous fly drosophila innubila.	drosophila innubila is a mushroom-feeding member of the quinaria group, found in the woodlands and forests of the 'sky islands' in arizona and new mexico and extending south into central mexico. here, we describe and characterize 30 polymorphic microsatellite loci from d. innubila collected in the chiricahua mountains in arizona. the number of alleles ranged from three to 21, and observed heterozygosity ranged from 0.0513 to 0.9737. six loci were putatively x-linked, six departed from hardy-wein ...	2008	21585936
mitochondrial phylogenies in the light of pseudogenes and wolbachia: re-assessment of a bark beetle dataset.	phylogenetic studies based on mtdna become increasingly questioned because of potential pitfalls due to mitochondrial pseudogenes and mitochondrial selective sweeps. while the inclusion of nuclear markers should preferentially be considered for future studies, there is no need to abandon mtdna as long as tests for the known mtdna artefacts are performed. in this study we presentadditionaldata and test previous phylogeographical studies of pityogenes chalcographus. we did not detect nuclear copie ...	2010	21594185
wolbachia-mediated persistence of mtdna from a potentially extinct species.	drosophila quinaria is polymorphic for infection with wolbachia, a maternally transmitted endosymbiont. wolbachia-infected individuals carry mtdna that is only distantly related to the mtdna of uninfected individuals, and the clade encompassing all mtdna haplotypes within d. quinaria also includes the mtdna of several other species of drosophila. nuclear gene variation reveals no difference between the wolbachia-infected and uninfected individuals of d. quinaria, indicating that they all belong ...	2011	21595768
[symbiotic bacteria, which modify reproduction processes of drosophila melanogaster].	cytoplasmic bacteria-symbionts are actively investigated all over the world for the last ten years. the scale of their spreading in natural and laboratory populations of invertebrates, especially arthropods, is impressing scientists' imagination. ways of their intraspecific and interspecific transmission are various. the nature and mechanisms of their interaction both between themselves and with their hosts are extremely diverse. cytoplasmic incompatibility, parthenogenesis, male-killing, femini ...	2011	21598659
stage-specific proteomic expression patterns of the human filarial parasite brugia malayi and its endosymbiont wolbachia.	global proteomic analyses of pathogens have thus far been limited to unicellular organisms (e.g., protozoa and bacteria). proteomic analyses of most eukaryotic pathogens (e.g., helminths) have been restricted to specific organs, specific stages, or secretomes. we report here a large-scale proteomic characterization of almost all the major mammalian stages of brugia malayi, a causative agent of lymphatic filariasis, resulting in the identification of more than 62% of the products predicted from t ...	2011	21606368
comparative evaluation of a point-of-care immunochromatographic test snap 4dx with molecular detection tests for vector-borne canine pathogens in hong kong.	abstract there are no comprehensive studies on the performance of commonly used point-of-care diagnostic enzyme immunoassay for common arthropod-borne canine pathogens. a comparative evaluation of an immunochromatographic test for these infections with a comprehensive polymerase chain reaction (pcr) test panel was performed on 100 pet dogs and 100 stray dogs without obvious clinical symptoms. of the 162 positive test results from both immunochromatographic test and pcr, there was 85.2% concordan ...	2011	21612526
rickettsia, ehrlichia, anaplasma, and bartonella in ticks and fleas from dogs and cats in bangkok.	abstract flea and tick specimens (5-10 fleas or ticks) on dogs and cats from various sites in bangkok were tested by polymerase chain reaction and dna sequencing to detect dna of bacteria rickettsia (glta and 17 kda genes), anaplasmataceae (16s rrna gene), and bartonella (pap31 and its genes). we confirmed that rickettsia sp. related to rickettsia felis was detected in 66 of 98 (67.4%) flea specimens from dogs, whereas 8 bartonella henselae and 2 bartonella clarridgeiae were detected in 10 of 54 ...	2011	21612535
a fluorescent-based method for rapid wolbachia detection in the drosophila germline and somatic tissues.	wolbachia is a globally distributed bacterial endosymbiont present in arthropods and nematodes. the advent of sensitive pcr-based approaches has greatly facilitated the identification of wolbachia-infected individuals and analysis of populations infection levels. here, a complementary visual fluorescence-based wolbachia screening approach is described. through the use of the fluorescent-dye syto-11, wolbachia can be efficiently detected in various insect tissues, including ovaries. syto-11 also ...	2011	21622788
wolbachia infections are virulent and inhibit the human malaria parasite plasmodium falciparum in anopheles gambiae.	endosymbiotic wolbachia bacteria are potent modulators of pathogen infection and transmission in multiple naturally and artificially infected insect species, including important vectors of human pathogens. anopheles mosquitoes are naturally uninfected with wolbachia, and stable artificial infections have not yet succeeded in this genus. recent techniques have enabled establishment of somatic wolbachia infections in anopheles. here, we characterize somatic infections of two diverse wolbachia stra ...	2011	21625582
tissue and stage-specific distribution of wolbachia in brugia malayi.	most filarial parasite species contain wolbachia, obligatory bacterial endosymbionts that are crucial for filarial development and reproduction. they are targets for alternative chemotherapy, but their role in the biology of filarial nematodes is not well understood. light microscopy provides important information on morphology, localization and potential function of these bacteria. surprisingly, immunohistology and in situ hybridization techniques have not been widely used to monitor wolbachia ...	2011	21629728
the impact of endosymbionts on the evolution of host sex-determination mechanisms.	the past years have revealed that inherited bacterial endosymbionts are important sources of evolutionary novelty for their eukaryotic hosts. in this review we discuss a fundamental biological process of eukaryotes influenced by bacterial endosymbionts: the mechanisms of sex determination. because they are maternally inherited, several endosymbionts of arthropods, known as reproductive parasites, have developed strategies to convert non-transmitting male hosts into transmitting females through f ...	2011	21663992
clonal genetic variation in a wolbachia-infected asexual wasp: horizontal transmission or historical sex?	wolbachia are endocellular bacteria known for manipulating the reproductive systems of many of their invertebrate hosts. wolbachia are transmitted vertically from mother to offspring. in addition, new infections result from horizontal transmission between different host species. however, to what extent horizontal transmission plays a role in the spread of a new infection through the host population is unknown. here, we investigate whether horizontal transmission of wolbachia can explain clonal g ...	2011	21668807
co-existence, phylogeny and putative role of wolbachia and yeast-like symbiont (yls) in kerria lacca (kerr).	this study reports the first detection of wolbachia and yeast-like symbiont (yls) harbored in kerria lacca (kerr), a scale insect, latter of which produces an economically important natural resin, known as lac. wolbachia was detected using pcr amplification and sequencing of 16s rdna; and further confirmation and phylogenetic analysis was carried out by fast evolving wsp gene. neighbor-joining and maximum parsimonious (mp) analysis showed that this strain belongs to subgroup "ori" of wolbachia s ...	2011	21674166
characterization of an intergenic polymorphic site (pp-hc1a_5) in wolbachia pipientis (wpip).	wolbachia pipientis (wpip) is an intracellular bacterium causing cytoplasmic incompatibility in arthropods, including mosquitoes of the culex pipiens complex. here, we present a method useful for genotyping within the wpip group. primers were designed using a tandem repeat finder program to amplify an intergenic, polymorphic site (pp-hc1a_5) of wpip. the polymorphic site is located between genes that code for polynucleotide phosphorylase and a hypothetical protein (c1a_5). comparison of these wp ...	2011	21676204
macrofilaricidal activity in wuchereria bancrofti after 2 weeks treatment with a combination of rifampicin plus doxycycline.	infection with the filarial nematode wuchereria bancrofti can lead to lymphedema, hydrocele, and elephantiasis. since adult worms cause pathology in lymphatic filariasis (lf), it is imperative to discover macrofilaricidal drugs for the treatment of the infection. endosymbiotic wolbachia in filariae have emerged as a new target for antibiotics which can lead to macrofilaricidal effects. in ghana, a pilot study was carried out with 39 lf-infected men; 12 were treated with 200ôçëmg doxycycline/day ...	2011	21687646
distribution of wolbachia within drosophila reproductive tissue: implications for the expression of cytoplasmic incompatibility.	a pcr based quantitative assay was used to determine wolbachia infection levels in three different drosophila strains. in addition, confocal microscopy was used to confirm and calibrate these results. wolbachia infection levels ranged from 2,600 to 18,500 per egg. single ovaries and testes from each of the three strains were also assayed using the calibrated quantitative pcr assay. a general correlation was found between bacterial levels in eggs and those found in ovaries and testis. these infec ...	2002	21708726
effects of wolbachia on genetic divergence between populations: mainland-island model.	cytoplasmic incompatibility (ci) induced by intracellular bacteria is a possible mechanism for speciation. growing empirical evidence suggests that bacteria of the group wolbachia may indeed act as isolating factors in recent insect speciation. wolbachia are cytoplasmically transmitted and can cause uni- or bidirectional ci. we present a mainland-island model to investigate how much impact wolbachia can have on genetic divergence between populations. in the first scenario we assume that the isla ...	2002	21708727
filariasis in africa--treatment challenges and prospects.	lymphatic filariasis (lf) and onchocerciasis are parasitic nematode infections that are responsible for a major disease burden in the african continent. disease symptoms are induced by the immune reactions of the host, with lymphoedema and hydrocoele in lf, and dermatitis and ocular inflammation in onchocerciasis. wuchereria bancrofti and onchocerca volvulus, the species causing lf and onchocerciasis in africa, live in mutual symbiosis with wolbachia endobacteria, which cause a major part of the ...	2011	21722251
regulation of wolbachia ankyrin domain encoding genes in drosophila gonads.	the maternally inherited obligatory intracellular bacterium wolbachia is a reproductive parasite of many insect species. wolbachia evades the host immune system, uses the mitotic apparatus to ensure infection of daughter cells, migrates through the host to the gonads and causes reproductive phenotypes, most commonly cytoplasmic incompatibility (ci), i.e. incompatibility of sperm from infected males and eggs from uninfected females. due to the interconnected facts that wolbachia is not ex-ávivo c ...	2011	21726632
wolbachia infections in world populations of bean beetles (coleoptera: chrysomelidae: bruchinae) infesting cultivated and wild legumes.	wolbachia endosymbionts are widespread among insects and other arthropods, often causing cytoplasmic incompatibility and other reproductive phenotypes in their hosts. recently, possibilities of wolbachia-mediated pest control and management have been proposed, and the bean beetles of the subfamily bruchinae are known as serious pests of harvested and stored beans worldwide. here we investigated wolbachia infections in bean beetles from the world, representing seven genera, 20 species and 87 popu ...	2011	21728798
new insights into the evolution of wolbachia infections in filarial nematodes inferred from a large range of screened species.	wolbachia are intriguing symbiotic endobacteria with a peculiar host range that includes arthropods and a single nematode family, the onchocercidae encompassing agents of filariases. this raises the question of the origin of infection in filariae. wolbachia infect the female germline and the hypodermis. some evidences lead to the theory that wolbachia act as mutualist and coevolved with filariae from one infection event: their removal sterilizes female filariae; all the specimens of a positive s ...	2011	21731626
onchocerciasis: the role of wolbachia bacterial endosymbionts in parasite biology, disease pathogenesis, and treatment.	the discovery of wolbachia intracellular bacteria within filarial nematodes, including onchocerca volvulus, the causative agent of onchocerciasis or "river blindness," has delivered a paradigm shift in our understanding of the parasite's biology, to where we now know that the bacterial endosymbionts are essential for normal development of larvae and embryos and may support the long-term survival of adult worms. the apparent mutualistic dependency has also offered a novel approach to the treatmen ...	2011	21734243
survey of wolbachia and its phage wo in the uzifly exorista sorbillans (diptera: tachinidae).	wolbachia are cytoplasmically inherited alpha-proteobacteria well known for inducing a variety of reproductive abnormalities in the diverse arthropod hosts they infect. despite their obligate intracellular lifestyle which usually protects bacteria from phage infection, wolbachia harbor a widespread temperate phage called wo. evidences of horizontal phage transfers indicate that this phage could promote genetic exchanges between strains leading to evolutionary changes in the genomes of wolbachia, ...	2011	21739251
the value of an egg: resource reallocation in ladybirds (coleoptera: coccinellidae) infected with male-killing bacteria.	male-killing bacteria are thought to persist in host populations by vertical transmission and conferring direct and/or indirect fitness benefits to their hosts. here, we test the role of indirect fitness benefits accrued from resource reallocation in species that engage in sibling egg cannibalism. we found that a single-egg meal significantly increased larval survival in 12 ladybird species, but the value of an egg (to survival) differed substantially between species. next, we tested the impact ...	2011	21745250
population structure in relation to host-plant ecology and wolbachia infestation in the comma butterfly.	experimental work on polygonia c-album, a temperate polyphagous butterfly species, has shown that swedish, belgian, norwegian and estonian females are generalists with respect to host-plant preference, whereas females from uk and spain are specialized on urticaceae. female preference is known to have a strong genetic component. we test whether the specialist and generalist populations form respective genetic clusters using data from mitochondrial sequences and 10 microsatellite loci. results do ...	2011	21745252
a new species of litomosoides (nematoda: onchocercidae), parasite of nectomys palmipes (rodentia: cricetidae: sigmodontinae) from venezuela: description, molecular evidence, wolbachia pipientis screening.	abstract: the onchocercid filaria litomosoides taylori sp. n. is described from the sigmodontine cricetid nectomys palmipes allen et chapman in northeast venezuela. a voucher specimen of the new species was used for molecular analysis of the coxi and 12s rdna genes, and screened for the presence of the endobacterium wolbachia pipientis. litomosoides taylori belongs to the "sigmodontis group" of litomosoides and a combination of characters can be used to distinguish it from the remaining 18 speci ...	2011	21776894
interaction of a wolbachia wsp-like protein with a nuclear-encoded protein of brugia malayi.	the brugia malayi endosymbiont wolbachia has recently been shown to be essential for its host's survival and development. however, relatively little is known about wolbachia proteins that interact with the filarial host and which might be important in maintaining the obligate symbiotic relationship. the wolbachia surface proteins (wsps) are members of the outer membrane protein family and we hypothesise that they might be involved in the wolbachia-brugia symbiotic relationship. notably, immunolo ...	2011	21782817
recombinant wolbachia surface protein (wsp)-induced t cell responses in wuchereria bancrofti infections.	human lymphatic filariasis is a debilitating parasitic disease characterized by downregulation of the host's immune response in asymptomatic carriers along with profound hyperreactivity in chronic patients apart from putatively immune endemic normals. the endosymbiont wolbachia, a bacterium of filarial nematodes has received much attention as possible chemotherapeutic target and its involvement in disease pathogenesis. the role of recombinant wolbachia surface protein (rwsp), one of the most abu ...	2011	21786068
allele intersection analysis: a novel tool for multi locus sequence assignment in multiply infected hosts.	wolbachia are wide-spread, endogenous a-proteobacteria of arthropods and filarial nematodes. 15-75% of all insect species are infected with these endosymbionts that alter their host's reproduction to facilitate their spread. in recent years, many insect species infected with multiple wolbachia strains have been identified. as the endosymbionts are not cultivable outside living cells, strain typing relies on molecular methods. a multi locus sequence typing (mlst) system was established for standa ...	2011	21789233
host genotype changes bidirectional to unidirectional cytoplasmic incompatibility in nasonia longicornis.	wolbachia are the most abundant maternally inherited endosymbionts of insects and cause various reproductive alterations in their hosts. one such manipulation is cytoplasmic incompatibility (ci), which is a sperm-egg incompatibility typically resulting in zygotic death. nasonia longicornis (hymenoptera: pteromalidae) has an a supergroup and two closely related b supergroup wolbachia infections. the b supergroup bacteria co-diverged in this host genus. both triple (wnlonawnlonb1wnlonb2) and doubl ...	2011	21792226
a re-examination of wolbachia-induced cytoplasmic incompatibility in california drosophila simulans.	in california drosophila simulans, the maternally inherited riverside strain wolbachia infection (wri) provides a paradigm for rapid spread of wolbachia in nature and rapid evolutionary change. wri induces cytoplasmic incompatibility (ci), where crosses between infected males and uninfected females produce reduced egg-hatch. the three parameters governing wri infection-frequency dynamics quantify: the fidelity of maternal transmission, the level of cytoplasmic incompatibility, and the relative f ...	2011	21799900
invertebrate post-segregation distorters: a new embryo-killing gene.	cytoplasmic incompatibility induced by inherited intracellular bacteria of arthropods, and medea elements found in flour beetles, are both forms of postsegregation distortion involving the killing of embryos in order to increase the ratio of progeny that inherit them. the recently described peel-zeel element of caenorhabditis elegans also uses this mechanism; like medea the genes responsible are in the nuclear genome but it shares a paternal mode of action with the bacteria. the peel-1 gene has ...	2011	21814492
recombinant wolbachia heat shock protein 60 (hsp60) mediated immune responses in patients with lymphatic filariasis.	wolbachia, an endosymbiont present in filarial nematodes, have been implicated in a variety of roles, including the worm development and survival. elucidation of the role of wolbachia in filarial nematode biology and pathogenesis has become the focus of many studies and its contribution to parasite survival or immune response is still unclear. recombinant wolbachia hsp60 decreases t cell activation and lymphoproliferation in filarial infected people compared to endemic controls as observed by th ...	2011	21827871
spatial waves of advance with bistable dynamics: cytoplasmic and genetic analogues of allee effects.	abstract unlike unconditionally advantageous "fisherian" variants that tend to spread throughout a species range once introduced anywhere, "bistable" variants, such as chromosome translocations, have two alternative stable frequencies, absence and (near) fixation. analogous to populations with allee effects, bistable variants tend to increase locally only once they become sufficiently common, and their spread depends on their rate of increase averaged over all frequencies. several proposed manip ...	2011	21828986
solving the wolbachia paradox: modeling the tripartite interaction between host, wolbachia, and a natural enemy.	abstract wolbachia is one of the most common symbionts of arthropods. its establishment requires lateral transfer to and successful transmission within novel host species. however, wolbachia performs poorly when introduced into new host species, and models predict that wolbachia should seldom be able to establish from low initial frequencies. recently, various symbionts, including wolbachia, have been shown to protect their hosts from natural enemies. hence, wolbachia invasion may be facilitated ...	2011	21828990
wolbachia bacteria reside in host golgi-related vesicles whose position is regulated by polarity proteins.	wolbachia pipientis are intracellular symbiotic bacteria extremely common in various organisms including drosophila melanogaster, and are known for their ability to induce changes in host reproduction. these bacteria are present in astral microtubule-associated vesicular structures in host cytoplasm, but little is known about the identity of these vesicles. we report here that wolbachia are restricted only to a group of golgi-related vesicles concentrated near the site of membrane biogenesis and ...	2011	21829485
male mating competitiveness of a wolbachia-introgressed aedes polynesiensis strain under semi-field conditions.	lymphatic filariasis (lf), a global public health problem affecting approximately 120 million people worldwide, is a leading cause of disability in the developing world including the south pacific. despite decades of ongoing mass drug administration (mda) in the region, some island nations have not yet achieved the threshold levels of microfilaremia established by the world health organization for eliminating transmission. previously, the generation of a novel aedes polynesiensis strain (cp) inf ...	2011	21829750
Hybrid selection for sequencing pathogen genomes from clinical samples.	ABSTRACT: We have adapted a solution hybrid selection protocol to enrich pathogen DNA in clinical samples dominated by human genetic material. Using mock mixtures of human and Plasmodium falciparum malaria parasite DNA as well as clinical samples from infected patients, we demonstrate an average of approximately 40-fold enrichment of parasite DNA after hybrid selection. This approach will enable efficient genome sequencing of pathogens from clinical samples, as well as sequencing of endosymbioti ...	2011	21835008
dengue fever: mosquitoes attacked from within.		2011	21866151
The wMel Wolbachia strain blocks dengue and invades caged Aedes aegypti populations.	Dengue fever is the most important mosquito-borne viral disease of humans with more than 50 million cases estimated annually in more than 100 countries. Disturbingly, the geographic range of dengue is currently expanding and the severity of outbreaks is increasing. Control options for dengue are very limited and currently focus on reducing population abundance of the major mosquito vector, Aedes aegypti. These strategies are failing to reduce dengue incidence in tropical communities and there is ...	2011	21866159
Successful establishment of Wolbachia in Aedes populations to suppress dengue transmission.	Genetic manipulations of insect populations for pest control have been advocated for some time, but there are few cases where manipulated individuals have been released in the field and no cases where they have successfully invaded target populations. Population transformation using the intracellular bacterium Wolbachia is particularly attractive because this maternally-inherited agent provides a powerful mechanism to invade natural populations through cytoplasmic incompatibility. When Wolbachia ...	2011	21866160
fifty-year trend towards suppression of wolbachia-induced male-killing by its butterfly host, hypolimnas bolina.	some intracellular symbionts of arthropods induce a variety of reproductive alterations in their hosts, and the alterations tend to spread easily within the host populations. a few cases involving the spread of alteration-inducing wolbachia bacteria in natural populations with time have been reported, but the investigations on the increasing trend in counteracting the bacterial effect on hosts in natural populations (i.e., increased resistance in hosts against the alterations) have been limited. ...	2011	21870980
Bacterium blocks transmission of dengue by mosquitoes.		2011	21880685
can wolbachia be used to control malaria?	malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease caused by plasmodium parasites transmitted by the infectious bite of anopheles mosquitoes. vector control of malaria has predominantly focused on targeting the adult mosquito through insecticides and bed nets. however, current vector control methods are often not sustainable for long periods so alternative methods are needed. a novel biocontrol approach for mosquito-borne diseases has recently been proposed, it uses maternally inherited endosymbioti ...	2011	21881776
vertical and horizontal transmission drive bacterial invasion.	a huge variety of arthropod species is infected with endosymbiotic wolbachia bacteria that manipulate their host's reproduction to invade populations. in addition to vertical transmission from mother to offspring through the egg cytoplasm, it has been demonstrated through phylogenetic analyses and natural transfer experiments that horizontal transmission of wolbachia (i.e. contagion) can occur between arthropod hosts. more recently, factors influencing horizontal transfer have also been explored ...	2011	21884292
effects of wolbachia on fitness of culex quinquefasciatus (diptera; culicidae).	wolbachia are α-proteobacteria that were first reported in culex pipiens mosquitoes early in the twentieth century. since then, the effect of wolbachia on their host's reproduction has drawn attention and has been increasingly investigated. given the extreme complexity of this interaction, new study cases are welcomed to enhance its understanding. the present work addressed the influence of wolbachia on cx. quinquefasciatus, the cosmopolitan member of the cx. pipiens complex. samples of a cx. qu ...	2011	21907309
Anti-Wolbachia Surface Protein Antibodies Are Present in the Urine of Dogs Naturally Infected with Dirofilaria immitis with Circulating Microfilariae But Not in Dogs with Occult Infections.	Abstract Heartworm infection (Dirofilaria immitis) can cause kidney damage due to the presence of circulating microfilariae (mf) that contribute to the production and deposit of immune complexes. It has been shown that mf are a major source of Wolbachia antigen during active infection. Here the authors compared urine samples from 19 naturally infected dogs with (mf+) and 12 without (mf-) microfilariae for the presence of proteinuria and anti-Wolbachia Surface Protein (-WSP) IgG in ELISA. Kidne ...	2011	21919732
dirofilaria immitis and wolbachia pipientis: a thorough investigation of the symbiosis responsible for canine heartworm disease.	canine heartworm disease wreaks havoc inside canines all throughout the modern world, including the usa. any region where mosquitoes thrive will provide efficient dog-to-dog transportation for the microfilaria of the infectious nematode dirofilaria immitis. veterinary scientists have recently discovered both phylogenetic and biochemical evidence for the obligate symbiosis of d. immitis and the bacteria wolbachia pipientis. as a result, veterinarians have initiated testing of antibiotic therapies ...	2011	21922235
High-Resolution Melting technology: a new tool for studying the Wolbachia endosymbiont diversity in the field.	Stable infections by maternally transmitted symbionts are frequently found in field populations, especially in arthropods. Many questions remain regarding their contribution to host biology and ecology, and especially on environmental adaptation of their host. Wolbachia is one of the most common endosymbiont of invertebrates. This cytoplasmically inherited endocellular bacterium induces number of reproductive alterations in its arthropod hosts and various fitness effects that allow it to spread ...	2012	21923674
Occasional males in parthenogenetic populations of Asobara japonica (Hymenoptera: Braconidae): low Wolbachia titer or incomplete coadaptation?	Wolbachia are endosymbiotic bacteria known to manipulate the reproduction of their hosts. Some populations of the parasitoid wasp Asobara japonica are infected with Wolbachia and reproduce parthenogenetically, while other populations are not infected and reproduce sexually. Wolbachia-infected A. japonica females regularly produce small numbers of male offspring. Because all females in the field are infected and infected females are not capable of sexual reproduction, male production seems to be ...	2011	21934703
Changes in the genetic structure of Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae) populations in Queensland, Australia, across two seasons: implications for potential mosquito releases.	Diseases transmitted by mosquitoes could be controlled if vector populations were replaced with strains that have reduced vector competency. Such a strategy is being developed for control of dengue virus which is transmitted by Aedes aegypti (L.) (Diptera: Culicidae). Mosquitoes artificially infected with the bacterium, Wolbachia pipientis Hertig, are being assessed as candidates for release at the adult stage with the aim of replacement of the wild population. Wolbachia can reduce the capacity ...	2011	21936318
wolbachia effects on host fitness and the influence of male aging on cytoplasmic incompatibility in aedes polynesiensis (diptera: culicidae).	the endosymbiotic bacteria wolbachia manipulate host reproduction by inducing a form of sterility known as cytoplasmic incompatibility (ci), promoting the invasion of infection into natural host populations. ci has received attention for use in applied strategies to control insect vectors of disease. thus, to understand both naturally occurring wolbachia invasions and evaluate potential applied strategies, it is important to understand wolbachia interactions with its host, including impacts on f ...	2011	21936319
Short- and long-term evolutionary dynamics of bacterial insertion sequences: insights from Wolbachia endosymbionts.	Transposable elements (TE) are one of the major driving forces of genome evolution, raising the question of the long-term dynamics underlying their evolutionary success. Long-term TE evolution can readily be reconstructed in eukaryotes, thanks to many degraded copies constituting genomic fossil records of past TE proliferations. By contrast, bacterial genomes usually experience high sequence turnover and short TE retention times, thereby obscuring ancient TE evolutionary patterns. We found that ...	2011	21940637
analysis of transcriptional regulation of tetracycline responsive genes in brugia malayi.	the wolbachia endosymbiont of the human filarial parasites is necessary for parasite reproduction, making it an attractive chemotherapeutic target. previous studies have demonstrated that mrna levels of several nuclearly encoded genes are altered as a result of exposure to antibiotics that eliminate the endosymbiont, suggesting that they may be involved in maintaining the parasite-endosymbiont relationship. here, we tested the hypothesis that the increase in mrna levels of certain nuclearly enco ...	2011	21944995
Wolbachia pipientis is associated with different mitochondrial haplotypes in natural populations of Drosophila willistoni.	The prevalence of the endosymbiont Wolbachia pipientis and its effects on mitochondrial genetic diversity were analyzed in natural populations of Drosophila willistoni, a neotropical species recently infected. Total infection rate was 55% and no evidence was found that the Wolbachia infection decreased the diversity of mtDNA. Wolbachia was seen to be associated with different mitochondria, suggesting multiple horizontal transmission events and/or transmission paternal leakage of mitochondrial an ...	2012	21945051
Extended starvation reduced and eliminated Wolbachia, but not Cardinium, from Metaseiulus occidentalis females (Acari: Phytoseiidae): A need to reassess Wolbachia's status in this predatory mite?	The presence of Wolbachia and Cardinium bacteria has been documented in many arthropod species, including the predatory mite Metaseiulus (=Typhlodromus or Galendomus) occidentalis (Nesbitt) (Acari: Phytoseiidae). We show that Tetranychus urticae, the prey of Metaseiulus occidentalis, contains Wolbachia and no detectable Cardinium using quantitative PCR (qPCR). Starvation for 72h at 22°C eliminated most, if not all, Wolbachia in M. occidentalis adult females from 7 laboratory colonies. Refeeding ...	2012	21946455
Evolutionary genomics of a temperate bacteriophage in an obligate intracellular bacteria (Wolbachia).	Genome evolution of bacteria is usually influenced by ecology, such that bacteria with a free-living stage have large genomes and high rates of horizontal gene transfer, while obligate intracellular bacteria have small genomes with typically low amounts of gene exchange. However, recent studies indicate that obligate intracellular species that host-switch frequently harbor agents of horizontal transfer such as mobile elements. For example, the temperate double-stranded DNA bacteriophage WO in Wo ...	2011	21949820
effect of certain antibiotics against filarial parasite brugia malayi in vitro: possible role of oxidative stress.	who-tropical disease research scheme highlighted the need for development of new anti-filarial drugs. certain antibiotics have recently been found effective against wolbachia, co-existing symbiotically with filarial parasites. inflammatory response entails oxidative mechanism to educe direct anti-microbial effect. in the present study microfilariae were maintained in vitro in medium supplemented with varying concentrations of tetracycline, doxycycline (20-100 µg/ml) or ciprofloxacin (50-250 µg/m ...	2010	21966105
wolbachia infections that reduce immature insect survival: predicted impacts on population replacement.	the evolutionary success of wolbachia bacteria, infections of which are widespread in invertebrates, is largely attributed to an ability to manipulate host reproduction without imposing substantial fitness costs. here, we describe a stage-structured model with deterministic immature lifestages and a stochastic adult female lifestage. simulations were conducted to better understand wolbachia invasions into uninfected host populations. the model includes conventional wolbachia parameters (the leve ...	2011	21975225
wolbachia-mediated antibacterial protection and immune gene regulation in drosophila.	the outcome of microbial infection of insects is dependent not only on interactions between the host and pathogen, but also on the interactions between microbes that co-infect the host. recently the maternally inherited endosymbiotic bacteria wolbachia has been shown to protect insects from a range of microbial and eukaryotic pathogens. mosquitoes experimentally infected with wolbachia have upregulated immune responses and are protected from a number of pathogens including viruses, bacteria, pla ...	2011	21980455
high prevalence and lack of diversity of wolbachia pipientis in aedes albopictus populations from northeast brazil.	the use of wolbachia as a tool to control insect vectors has recently been suggested. in this context, studies on the prevalence and diversity of this bacterium in wild populations are relevant. here, we evaluated the diversity of two wolbachiagenes (ftsz and wsp) and the prevalence of this endosymbiont in wild aedes albopictus. using semi-nested polymerase chain reaction, our results showed that 99.3% of the individuals were superinfected with wolbachia. in regards to genetic diversity, the two ...	2011	22012236
wolbachia enhance drosophila stem cell proliferation and target the germline stem cell niche.	wolbachia are widespread maternally transmitted intracellular bacteria that infect most insect species and are able to alter the reproduction of innumerous hosts. the cellular bases of these alterations remain largely unknown. here, we report that drosophila mauritiana infected with a native wolbachia wmau strain produces about four times more eggs than the noninfected counterpart. wolbachia infection leads to an increase in the mitotic activity of germline stem cells (gscs), as well as a decrea ...	2011	22021671
Metagenomic profile of the bacterial communities associated with Ixodes ricinus ticks.	Assessment of the microbial diversity residing in arthropod vectors of medical importance is crucial for monitoring endemic infections, for surveillance of newly emerging zoonotic pathogens, and for unraveling the associated bacteria within its host. The tick Ixodes ricinus is recognized as the primary European vector of disease-causing bacteria in humans. Despite I. ricinus being of great public health relevance, its microbial communities remain largely unexplored to date. Here we evaluate the ...	2011	22022422
genetic diversity, population structure and wolbachia infection status in a worldwide sample of drosophila melanogaster and d. simulans populations.	drosophila melanogaster and its close relatives have been extremely important model species in the development of population genetic models that serve to explain patterns of diversity in natural populations, a major goal of evolutionary biology. a detailed picture of the evolutionary history of these species is beginning to emerge, as the relative importance of forces including demographic changes and natural selection is established. a continuing aim is to characterise levels of genetic diversi ...	2011	22022599
absence of wolbachia endobacteria in chandlerella quiscali: an avian filarial parasite.	abstract chandlerella quiscali is a filarial nematode parasite of the common grackle (quiscalus quiscula), a widespread bird species found throughout most of north america. worms collected from wild-caught birds were morphologically identified as c. quiscali and tested for the presence of wolbachia, an alphaproteobacterial endosymbiont required for reproduction and maturation by many filarial species. although various methods, including pcr, in situ hybridization and immunohistology, were empl ...	2011	22032328