Publications
| Title | Abstract | Year Filter | PMID(sorted descending) Filter |
|---|
| litomosa chiropterorum ortlepp, 1932 (nematoda: filarioidea) from a south african miniopterid: redescription, wolbachia screening and phylogenetic relationships with litomosoides. | 69 miniopterus notalensis, type host of the onchocercid litomosa chiropterorum, were collected in caves in the western province and gauteng province, south africa. the prevalence of these filariae was about 50 %. the microfilaria is folded, as in other litomosa and an area rugosa composed of cuticular bosses is present in the male posterior region. l. chiropterorum is close to the species parasitic in other miniopterus spp. and some rhinolophus spp. from africa, madagascar and europe; it is uniq ... | 2009 | 19353951 |
| brugia malayi excreted/secreted proteins at the host/parasite interface: stage- and gender-specific proteomic profiling. | relatively little is known about the filarial proteins that interact with the human host. although the filarial genome has recently been completed, protein profiles have been limited to only a few recombinants or purified proteins of interest. here, we describe a large-scale proteomic analysis using microcapillary reverse-phase liquid chromatography-tandem-mass spectrometry to identify the excretory-secretory (es) products of the l3, l3 to l4 molting es, adult male, adult female, and microfilari ... | 2009 | 19352421 |
| wolbachia infection in australasian and north american populations of haematobia irritans (diptera: muscidae). | buffalo fly (haematobia irritans exigua) is a major pest of beef and dairy cattle in northern australia. global warming is expected to increase the southern range of buffalo fly. chemical control is compromised by resistance and may not be feasible in extensive production systems and there is rapidly growing market preference for beef and dairy products produced in low-chemical systems. wolbachia are vertically transmitted intracellular bacteria that can profoundly influence host reproduction an ... | 2009 | 19345018 |
| evidence for metabolic provisioning by a common invertebrate endosymbiont, wolbachia pipientis, during periods of nutritional stress. | wolbachia are ubiquitous inherited endosymbionts of invertebrates that invade host populations by modifying host reproductive systems. however, some strains lack the ability to impose reproductive modification and yet are still capable of successfully invading host populations. to explain this paradox, theory predicts that such strains should provide a fitness benefit, but to date none has been detected. recently completed genome sequences of different wolbachia strains show that these bacteria ... | 2009 | 19343208 |
| molecular phylogeny of wolbachia strains in arthropod hosts based on groe-homologous gene sequences. | wolbachia is a genus of maternally inherited, intracellular, alpha-proteobacteria which are widespread among arthropods and cause various reproductive alterations such as cytoplasmic incompatibility and feminization. wolbachia strains in arthropods have been phylogenetically divided into two supergroups, a and b. here, we determined the phylogenetic relationships among wolbachia strains harbored by insects and isopod crustaceans by using groe operon sequences, which encode highly conserved bacte ... | 2009 | 19341336 |
| the virulent wolbachia strain wmelpop efficiently establishes somatic infections in the malaria vector anopheles gambiae. | wolbachia pipientis bacteria are maternally inherited endosymbionts that are of interest to control the anopheles mosquito vectors of malaria. wolbachia does not infect anopheles mosquitoes in nature, although cultured anopheles cells can be infected. here, we show that the virulent wolbachia strain wmelpop can survive and replicate when injected into female anopheles gambiae adults, but the somatic infections established are avirulent. these in vivo data suggest that stable wolbachia infections ... | 2009 | 19329661 |
| the joint evolutionary histories of wolbachia and mitochondria in hypolimnas bolina. | the interaction between the blue moon butterfly, hypolimnas bolina, and wolbachia has attracted interest because of the high prevalence of male-killing achieved within the species, the ecological consequences of this high prevalence, the intensity of selection on the host to suppress the infection, and the presence of multiple wolbachia infections inducing different phenotypes. we examined diversity in the co-inherited marker, mtdna, and the partitioning of this between individuals of different ... | 2009 | 19317891 |
| the mosaic genome structure of the wolbachia wri strain infecting drosophila simulans. | the obligate intracellular bacterium wolbachia pipientis infects around 20% of all insect species. it is maternally inherited and induces reproductive alterations of insect populations by male killing, feminization, parthenogenesis, or cytoplasmic incompatibility. here, we present the 1,445,873-bp genome of w. pipientis strain wri that induces very strong cytoplasmic incompatibility in its natural host drosophila simulans. a comparison with the previously sequenced genome of w. pipientis strain ... | 2009 | 19307581 |
| wolbachia-mediated cytoplasmic incompatibility is associated with impaired histone deposition in the male pronucleus. | wolbachia is a bacteria endosymbiont that rapidly infects insect populations through a mechanism known as cytoplasmic incompatibility (ci). in ci, crosses between wolbachia-infected males and uninfected females produce severe cell cycle defects in the male pronucleus resulting in early embryonic lethality. in contrast, viable progeny are produced when both parents are infected (the rescue cross). an important consequence of ci-rescue is that infected females have a selective advantage over uninf ... | 2009 | 19300496 |
| proteasome activity in a naïve mosquito cell line infected with wolbachia pipientis walbb. | we used wolbachia pipientis strain walbb from aedes albopictus aa23 cells to infect clonal ae. albopictus tk-6 cells, which are resistant to 5-bromodeoxyuridine. infected tk-6 cells were cultured in medium containing 5-bromodeoxyuridine to select against aa23 cells that might have persisted in the inoculum. infected tk-6 lines retained the wolbachia infection for 5 mo, indicating that their metabolic processes support wolbachia growth and multiplication. to investigate early events after wolbach ... | 2009 | 19296184 |
| effects on male fitness of removing wolbachia infections from the mosquito aedes albopictus. | cytoplasmic incompatibility (ci) induced by maternally inherited wolbachia bacteria is a potential tool for the suppression of insect pest species with appropriate patterns of infection. the asian tiger mosquito aedes albopictus (skuse) (diptera: culicidae) is known to be infected by two strains of wolbachia pipientis hertig (rickettsiales: rickettsiaceae), walb a and walb b, throughout its geographical distribution. this infection pattern theoretically restricts the application of ci-based cont ... | 2009 | 19292821 |
| aphids acquired symbiotic genes via lateral gene transfer. | aphids possess bacteriocytes, which are cells specifically differentiated to harbour the obligate mutualist buchnera aphidicola (gamma-proteobacteria). buchnera has lost many of the genes that appear to be essential for bacterial life. from the bacteriocyte of the pea aphid acyrthosiphon pisum, we previously identified two clusters of expressed sequence tags that display similarity only to bacterial genes. southern blot analysis demonstrated that they are encoded in the aphid genome. in this stu ... | 2009 | 19284544 |
| infection by wolbachia: from passengers to residents. | wolbachia are endosymbiotic alpha-proteobacteria harboured by terrestrial arthropods and filarial nematodes, where they are maternally transmitted through egg cytoplasm. according to the host group, wolbachia have developed two contrasting symbiotic strategies. in arthropods, symbiosis is secondary (i.e. facultative), and wolbachia insure their transmission as reproduction parasites. however, despite of the efficiency of the manipulation mechanisms used, wolbachia are limited to the state of pas ... | 2009 | 19281959 |
| role of horizontal gene transfer in the evolution of plant parasitism among nematodes. | horizontal gene transfer (hgt) implies the non-sexual exchange of genetic material between species - in some cases even across kingdoms. although common among bacteria and archaea, hgts from pro- to eukaryotes and between eukaryotes were thought to be extremely rare. recent studies on intracellular bacteria and their hosts seriously question this view. recipient organisms could benefit from hgt as new gene packages could allow them to broaden or change their diet, colonize new habitats, or survi ... | 2009 | 19271205 |
| structural and functional characterization of the oxidoreductase alpha-dsba1 from wolbachia pipientis. | the alpha-proteobacterium wolbachia pipientis is a highly successful intracellular endosymbiont of invertebrates that manipulates its host's reproductive biology to facilitate its own maternal transmission. the fastidious nature of wolbachia and the lack of genetic transformation have hampered analysis of the molecular basis of these manipulations. structure determination of key wolbachia proteins will enable the development of inhibitors for chemical genetics studies. wolbachia encodes a homolo ... | 2009 | 19265485 |
| absence of wolbachia in nonfilariid nematodes. | intracellular bacteria of the genus wolbachia are among the most abundant endosymbionts on the planet, occurring in at least two major phyla-the arthropoda and nematoda. current surveys of wolbachia distribution have found contrasting patterns within these groups. whereas wolbachia are widespread and occur in all three major subphyla of arthropods, with estimates placing them in at least several million arthropod species, the presence of nematodes carrying wolbachia is currently confined to the ... | 2003 | 19262760 |
| effects of a sex-ratio distorting endosymbiont on mtdna variation in a global insect pest. | patterns of mtdna variation within a species reflect long-term population structure, but may also be influenced by maternally inherited endosymbionts, such as wolbachia. these bacteria often alter host reproductive biology and can drive particular mtdna haplotypes through populations. we investigated the impacts of wolbachia infection and geography on mtdna variation in the diamondback moth, a major global pest whose geographic distribution reflects both natural processes and transport via human ... | 2009 | 19257899 |
| bug for a bug for a bug. | 2009 | 19253762 | |
| incidence of wolbachia and cardinium endosymbionts in the osmia community in korea. | sex ratio distorting endosymbionts induce reproductive anomalies in their arthropod hosts. they have recently been paid much attention as firstly texts of evolution of host-symbiont relationships and secondly potential biological control agents to control arthropod pests. among such organisms, wolbachia and cardinium bacteria are well characterized. this study aims at probing such bacteria in the osmia community to evaluate their potential utilization to control arthropod pests. among 17 pcr tes ... | 2009 | 19229488 |
| multiple introductions of the spiroplasma bacterial endosymbiont into drosophila. | bacterial endosymbionts are common in insects and can have dramatic effects on their host's evolution. so far, the only heritable symbionts found in drosophila have been wolbachia and spiroplasma. while the incidence and effects of wolbachia have been studied extensively, the prevalence and significance of spiroplasma infections in drosophila are less clear. these small, gram-positive, helical bacteria infect a diverse array of plant and arthropod hosts, conferring a variety of fitness effects. ... | 2009 | 19226322 |
| the effects of, and interactions between, cardinium and wolbachia in the doubly infected spider mite bryobia sarothamni. | many arthropods are infected with vertically transmitted, intracellular bacteria manipulating their host's reproduction. cytoplasmic incompatibility (ci) is commonly observed and is expressed as a reduction in the number of offspring in crosses between infected males and uninfected females (or females infected with a different bacterial strain). ci is often related to the presence of wolbachia, but recent findings indicate that a second reproductive parasite, cardinium, is also capable of induci ... | 2009 | 19223923 |
| cytoplasmic incompatibility in the parasitic wasp encarsia inaron: disentangling the roles of cardinium and wolbachia symbionts. | many bacterial endosymbionts of insects are capable of manipulating their host's reproduction for their own benefit. the most common strategy of manipulation is cytoplasmic incompatibility (ci), in which embryonic mortality results from matings between uninfected females and infected males. in contrast, embryos develop normally in infected females, whether or not their mate is infected, and infected progeny are produced. in this way, the proportion of infected females increases in the insect pop ... | 2009 | 19223921 |
| the bacterial symbiont wolbachia induces resistance to rna viral infections in drosophila melanogaster. | wolbachia are vertically transmitted, obligatory intracellular bacteria that infect a great number of species of arthropods and nematodes. in insects, they are mainly known for disrupting the reproductive biology of their hosts in order to increase their transmission through the female germline. in drosophila melanogaster, however, a strong and consistent effect of wolbachia infection has not been found. here we report that a bacterial infection renders d. melanogaster more resistant to drosophi ... | 2008 | 19222304 |
| life and death of an influential passenger: wolbachia and the evolution of ci-modifiers by their hosts. | wolbachia are intracellular bacteria widely distributed among arthropods and nematodes. in many insect species these bacteria induce a cytoplasmic incompatibility (ci) between sperm of infected males and eggs of uninfected females. from an evolutionary point of view, ci is puzzling: in order to induce this modification-rescue system, wolbachia affect sperm of infected males even though wolbachia are only transmitted maternally. phylogenetic studies of wolbachia and hosts show that the bacteria r ... | 2009 | 19209229 |
| [high temperature initiates changes of wolbachia ultrastructure in the ovaries and early embryos of drosophila melanogaster]. | electron microscopic analysis of drosophila melanogaster (w1118) ovarian cells has demonstrated that stressful heat treatment of flies results in the appearance of electron dense granules and large lysosomes in the cytoplasm of ovarian cells, which is not related with the presence of wolbachia, as these changes are observed in both the infected and uninfected flies. high temperature initiates essential envelope defects and other structural changes of symbiotic bacteria in the cytoplasm of ovaria ... | 2008 | 19198544 |
| interactions between coexisting intracellular genomes: mitochondrial density and wolbachia infection. | many arthropods are infected with maternally transmitted microorganisms, leading to the coexistence of several intracellular genomes within the host cells, including their own mitochondria. as these genomes are cotransmitted, their patterns of evolution have been intimately linked, with possible consequences for the diversity and evolution of the host mitochondrial dna. the evolutionary aspects of the situation have been thoroughly investigated, especially the selective sweep on the mitochondria ... | 2009 | 19181828 |
| effects of wolbachia infection and ovarian tumor mutations on sex-lethal germline functioning in drosophila. | wolbachia is a ubiquitous intracellular endosymbiont of invertebrates. surprisingly, infection of drosophila melanogaster by this maternally inherited bacterium restores fertility to females carrying ovarian tumor (cystocyte overproliferation) mutant alleles of the drosophila master sex-determination gene, sex-lethal (sxl). we scanned the drosophila genome for effects of infection on transcript levels in wild-type previtellogenic ovaries that might be relevant to this suppression of female-steri ... | 2009 | 19171941 |
| wolbachia in two populations of melittobia digitata dahms (hymenoptera: eulophidae). | we investigated two populations of melittobia digitata dahms, a gregarious parasitoid (primarily upon a wide range of solitary bees, wasps, and flies), in search of wolbachia infection. the first population, from xalapa, mexico, was originally collected from and reared on mexican fruit fly pupae, anastrepha ludens loew (diptera: tephritidae); the other, from athens, georgia, was collected from and reared on prepupae of mud dauber wasps, trypoxylon politum say (hymenoptera: crabronidae). pcr stud ... | 2008 | 19169549 |
| gamma interferon and interleukin-1 receptor 1 regulate neutrophil recruitment to the corneal stroma in a murine model of onchocerca volvulus keratitis. | toll-like receptor 2 (tlr2) is an essential mediator of corneal inflammation induced by the filarial nematode onchocerca volvulus, which harbors endosymbiotic wolbachia bacteria. tlr2 is also required for dendritic cell activation, gamma interferon (ifn-gamma) production, and neutrophil recruitment to the cornea. to examine the role of ifn-gamma in o. volvulus keratitis, c57bl/6 and ifn-gamma(-/-) mice were immunized subcutaneously, and a soluble antigen extract from o. volvulus adult worms (ova ... | 2009 | 19168746 |
| bacterial infection may limit spread of dengue fever. | 2009 | 19165180 | |
| first detection of wolbachia in arrhenotokous populations of thrips species (thysanoptera: thripidae and phlaeothripidae) and its role in reproduction. | insects in the order thysanoptera are known for their haplodiploid reproduction, with most species reproducing by arrhenotoky. a few species, however, have only female populations and reproduce by thelytoky. seven thrips species reproducing either by arrhenotoky [frankliniella occidentalis (pergande), echinothrips americanus morgan, suocerathrips linguis mound and marullo, gynaikothrips ficorum (marchal)] or thelytoky [hercinothrips femoralis (o.m. reuter) and parthenothrips dracaenae (heeger)] ... | 2008 | 19161685 |
| horizontal gene transfer between wolbachia and the mosquito aedes aegypti. | the evolutionary importance of horizontal gene transfer (hgt) from wolbachia endosymbiotic bacteria to their eukaryotic hosts is a topic of considerable interest and debate. recent transfers of genome fragments from wolbachia into insect chromosomes have been reported, but it has been argued that these fragments may be on an evolutionary trajectory to degradation and loss. | 2009 | 19154594 |
| endosymbiotic bacteria living inside the poultry red mite (dermanyssus gallinae). | this study investigated the endosymbiotic bacteria living inside the poultry red mite collected from five samples of one commercial farm from the uk and 16 farms from france using genus-specific pcr, pcr-ttge and dna sequencing. endosymbiotic bacteria are intracellular obligate organisms that can cause several phenotypic and reproductive anomalies to their host and they are found widespread living inside arthropods. the farm sampled from the uk was positive for bacteria of the genera cardinium s ... | 2009 | 19145467 |
| mobile male-killer: similar wolbachia strains kill males of divergent drosophila hosts. | wolbachia are capable of eliciting a variety of reproductive phenotypes from their hosts, including the production of an all-female progeny through embryonic male-killing. to date, phylogenetic analyses indicate six independent acquisitions of the ability to kill male embryos among wolbachia strains which infect insects. of these six strains, only one appears to have experienced horizontal transmission between host species while maintaining a male-killing phenotype. the rarity of male-killing wo ... | 2009 | 19142204 |
| chikungunya-wolbachia interplay in aedes albopictus. | a severe chikungunya (chik) outbreak recently hit several countries of the indian ocean. on la réunion island, aedes albopictus was incriminated as the major vector. this mosquito species is naturally co-infected with two distinct strains of the endosymbiont wolbachia, namely walba and walbb, which are increasingly attracting interest as potential tools for vector control. a pcr quantitative assay was developed to investigate wolbachia/mosquito host interactions. we show that wolbachia densities ... | 2008 | 19133077 |
| wolbachia in dirofilaria repens, an agent causing human subcutaneous dirofilariasis. | human subcutaneous dirofilariasis is an increasingly reported zoonosis caused by several filarial species, in particular by dirofilaria (nochtiella) repens. like many filarial worms, d. repens harbors the bacterial endosymbiont wolbachia that has been implicated in the inflammatory features of filarial infection. immunohistochemical staining against the wolbachia surface protein (wsp) was carried out on 14 skin nodules and showed numerous bacteria within the intact worms and occasional positive ... | 2008 | 19127968 |
| widespread mito-nuclear discordance with evidence for introgressive hybridization and selective sweeps in lycaeides. | we investigated the extent and potential cause(s) of mitochondrial introgression within the polytypic north american lycaeides species complex (lepidoptera). by comparing population genetic structure based on mitochondrial dna (coi and coii) and nuclear dna (251 polymorphic amplified fragment length polymorphism markers), we detected substantial mito-nuclear discordance, primarily involving a single mitochondrial haplotype (h01), which is likely due to mitochondrial introgression between differe ... | 2008 | 19120997 |
| stable introduction of a life-shortening wolbachia infection into the mosquito aedes aegypti. | most pathogens require a relatively long period of development in their mosquito vector before they can be transmitted to a new human host; hence, only older insects are of epidemiological importance. the successful transfer of a life-shortening strain of the inherited bacterial symbiont, wolbachia, into the major mosquito vector of dengue, aedes aegypti, halved adult life span under laboratory conditions. the association is stable, and the wolbachia strain is maternally inherited at high freque ... | 2009 | 19119237 |
| microbiology. mosquitoes cut short. | 2009 | 19119208 | |
| genome sequence of the wolbachia endosymbiont of culex quinquefasciatus jhb. | wolbachia species are endosymbionts of a wide range of invertebrates, including mosquitoes, fruit flies, and nematodes. the wpip strains can cause cytoplasmic incompatibility in some strains of the culex mosquito. here we describe the genome sequence of a wolbachia strain that was discovered in the whole-genome sequencing data for the mosquito culex quinquefasciatus strain jhb. | 2009 | 19114486 |
| how diverse is the genus wolbachia? multiple-gene sequencing reveals a putatively new wolbachia supergroup recovered from spider mites (acari: tetranychidae). | at least 20% of all arthropods and some nematode species are infected with intracellular bacteria of the genus wolbachia. this highly diverse genus has been subdivided into eight "supergroups" (a to h) on the basis of nucleotide sequence data. here, we report the discovery of a new wolbachia supergroup recovered from the spider mite species bryobia species v (acari: tetranychidae), based on the sequences of three protein-coding genes (ftsz, glta, and groel) and the 16s rrna gene. other tetranych ... | 2009 | 19098217 |
| 'til death do us part': coming to terms with symbiotic relationships. forward. | symbiotic interactions of microorganisms are widespread in nature, and support fundamentally important processes in diverse areas of biology that range from health and disease to ecology and the environment. here, david relman discusses the selection of articles in this focus issue, which reflects the exciting advances in our understanding of intimate partnerships between organisms and their environments. | 2008 | 19086265 |
| galectin and aldolase-like molecules are responsible for the specific ige response in humans exposed to dirofilaria immitis. | dirofilaria immitis is the agent of the heartworm disease in canids and felids, and of pulmonary dirofilariosis in man. like other filariae, d. immitis harbours endosymbion wolbachia bacteriae. in this work we analyse the response of specific ige antibodies against both d. immitis antigens and the wolbachia surface protein (wsp) in two groups of persons living in an area of canine endemia, one presenting high levels of total ige (group 1) and other with normal levels (group 2). infections with d ... | 2008 | 19067840 |
| strong cytoplasmic incompatibility and high vertical transmission rate can explain the high frequencies of wolbachia infection in japanese populations of colias erate poliographus (lepidoptera: pieridae). | wolbachia, belonging to alphaproteobacteria, is ubiquitously found in arthropods and filarial nematodes, and is known to manipulate the reproduction of its hosts in various ways, such as feminization, male killing, induction of parthenogenesis or induction of cytoplasmic incompatibility. we found that the wolbachia infection frequencies of the butterfly colias erate poliographus were high (85.7-100%) in seven japanese populations. crossing experiments and rearing revealed that the wolbachia stra ... | 2009 | 19063762 |
| high mitochondrial diversity in geographically widespread butterflies of madagascar: a test of the dna barcoding approach. | the standardized use of mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit i (coi) gene sequences as dna barcodes has been widely promoted as a high-throughput method for species identification and discovery. species delimitation has been based on the following criteria: (1) monophyletic association and less frequently (2) a minimum 10x greater divergence between than within species. divergence estimates, however, can be inflated if sister species pairs are not included and the geographic extent of vari ... | 2009 | 19056502 |
| specialization and geographic isolation among wolbachia symbionts from ants and lycaenid butterflies. | wolbachia are the most prevalent and influential bacteria described among the insects to date. but despite their significance, we lack an understanding of their evolutionary histories. to describe the evolution of symbioses between wolbachia and their hosts, we surveyed global collections of two diverse families of insects, the ants and lycaenid butterflies. in total, 54 wolbachia isolates were typed using a multi locus sequence typing (mlst) approach, in which five unlinked loci were sequenced ... | 2009 | 19054050 |
| the evolution of invasiveness in garden ants. | it is unclear why some species become successful invaders whilst others fail, and whether invasive success depends on pre-adaptations already present in the native range or on characters evolving de-novo after introduction. ants are among the worst invasive pests, with lasius neglectus and its rapid spread through europe and asia as the most recent example of a pest ant that may become a global problem. here, we present the first integrated study on behavior, morphology, population genetics, che ... | 2008 | 19050762 |
| the wolbachia endosymbiont of brugia malayi has an active phosphoglycerate mutase: a candidate target for anti-filarial therapies. | phosphoglycerate mutases (pgm) interconvert 2- and 3-phosphoglycerate in the glycolytic and gluconeogenic pathways. a putative cofactor-independent phosphoglycerate mutase gene (ipgm) was identified in the genome sequence of the wolbachia endosymbiont from the filarial nematode, brugia malayi (wbm). since ipgm has no sequence or structural similarity to the cofactor-dependent phosphoglycerate mutase (dpgm) found in mammals, it may represent an attractive wolbachia drug target. in the present stu ... | 2009 | 19043737 |
| evaluation of reproductive compatibility of interstrain matings among plum curculio populations in the eastern united states. | reproductive compatibility of interstrain matings in plum curculio, conotrachelus nenuphar (herbst), was studied during the summers of 2004 and 2006. there was a unidirectional incompatibility in the cross-matings along a rough north to south transect of the range of plum curculio (4 x 4 two-factorial design). there was significantly lower fertility in west virginia males mated with new york and virginia females (40 and 29%, respectively), and florida males had a significantly lower fertility wi ... | 2008 | 19036199 |
| detection of wolbachia bacteria in multiple organs and feces of the triatomine insect rhodnius pallescens (hemiptera, reduviidae). | at least two types of wolbachia bacteria were detected in wild and insectarium-raised rhodnius pallescens, a natural vector of trypanosoma cruzi and trypanosoma rangeli. wolbachia was detected in all the organs and tissues studied and in the feces, and this provided a methodological advantage for determining the presence of this endosymbiont in this host, obviating the need to kill the specimens. the occurrence of trypanosomatids in wild individuals was also studied. | 2009 | 19028913 |
| microbiology. rogue insect immunity. | 2008 | 19023073 | |
| molecular cloning and characterization of a novel immunoreactive atpase/rna helicase in human filarial parasite brugia malayi. | dead box proteins are putative rna unwinding proteins found in organisms ranging from mammals to bacteria. we have identified a novel immunodominant cdna clone, bml3-helicase, encoding dead box rna helicase by immunoscreening of a larval stage cdna library of brugia malayi. the cdna sequence exhibited strong sequence homology to caenorhabditis elegans and c. briggsae rna helicase, a prototypic member of the dead (asp-glu-ala-asp) box protein family. the clone also showed similarity with rna heli ... | 2009 | 19002498 |
| an ancient horizontal gene transfer between mosquito and the endosymbiotic bacterium wolbachia pipientis. | the extent and biological relevance of horizontal gene transfer (hgt) in eukaryotic evolution remain highly controversial. recent studies have demonstrated frequent and large-scale hgt from endosymbiotic bacteria to their hosts, but the great majority of these transferred genes rapidly become nonfunctional in the recipient genome. here, we investigate an ancient hgt between a host metazoan and an endosymbiotic bacterium, wolbachia pipientis. the transferred gene has so far been found only in mos ... | 2009 | 18988686 |
| genomics and evolution of heritable bacterial symbionts. | insect heritable symbionts have proven to be ubiquitous, based on molecular screening of various insect lineages. recently, molecular and experimental approaches have yielded an immensely richer understanding of their diverse biological roles, resulting in a burgeoning research literature. increasingly, commonalities and intermediates are being discovered between categories of symbionts once considered distinct: obligate mutualists that provision nutrients, facultative mutualists that provide pr ... | 2008 | 18983256 |
| identification and characterization of wolbachia in solenopsis saevissima fire ants (hymenoptera: formicidae) in southeastern brazil. | the genus solenopsis appears to have evolved and radiated very rapidly in south america and then spread throughout the rest of the continent. as part of the expansion process, distribution patterns and different degrees of geographic isolation among populations of s. saevissima can be observed. we have investigated the presence of wolbachia in 52 colonies and 1623 individuals in southeastern brazil. detection of wolbachia infection was based on amplification of the 16s rrna and wsp genes by poly ... | 2009 | 18979132 |
| population replacement strategies for controlling vector populations and the use of wolbachia pipientis for genetic drive. | in this video, jason rasgon discusses population replacement strategies to control vector-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue. "population replacement" is the replacement of wild vector populations (that are competent to transmit pathogens) with those that are not competent to transmit pathogens. there are several theoretical strategies to accomplish this. one is to exploit the maternally-inherited symbiotic bacteria wolbachia pipientis. wolbachia is a widespread reproductive parasite that ... | 2007 | 18979023 |
| maintaining wolbachia in cell-free medium. | in this video protocol, procedures are demonstrated to (1) purify wolbachia symbionts out of cultured mosquito cells, (2) use a fluorescent assay to ascertain the viability of the purified wolbachia and (3) maintain the now extracellular wolbachia in cell-free medium. purified wolbachia remain alive in the extracellular phase but do not replicate until re-inoculated into eukaryotic cells. extracellular wolbachia purified in this manner will remain viable for at least a week at room temperature, ... | 2007 | 18979021 |
| filariasis: new drugs and new opportunities for lymphatic filariasis and onchocerciasis. | chemotherapy against onchocerciasis and lymphatic filariasis has been discussed mainly within the framework of mass drug administration with diethylcarbamazine, ivermectin and albendazole. although strong reductions in infection prevalence were achieved, the regimes for these drugs do not fully cover needs of individual patients who seek treatment because of symptoms. chemotherapy against filarial wolbachia endosymbionts with doxycycline showed higher antiparasitic efficacy in onchocerciasis and ... | 2008 | 18978537 |
| brugia malayi: effects of nitazoxanide and tizoxanide on adult worms and microfilariae of filarial nematodes. | there is an urgent need for safe and effective antifilarials. prior studies have shown that the nitazoxanide (ntz) exhibits broad activity against anaerobic bacteria, protozoa, and certain intestinal helminths. we examined the effects of ntz and tizoxanide (tz) on brugia malayi nematodes in vitro and in vivo. in vitro, ntz and tz reduced worm motility and viability in a dose-dependent manner. worm viability was reduced by 50% with both compounds at 2.5 and 20 microg/ml killed adult worms. ntz or ... | 2009 | 18977224 |
| wolbachia and virus protection in insects. | wolbachia pipientis bacteria are common endosymbionts of insects that are best known for their ability to increase their prevalence in populations by manipulating host reproductive systems. however, there are examples of wolbachia that exist in nature that seem to induce no reproductive parasitism trait and yet are able to invade populations. we demonstrate a fitness benefit for wolbachia-infected insects that may explain this paradox. drosophila melanogaster flies infected with wolbachia are le ... | 2008 | 18974344 |
| parasitism and mutualism in wolbachia: what the phylogenomic trees can and cannot say. | ecological and evolutionary theories predict that parasitism and mutualism are not fixed endpoints of the symbiotic spectrum. rather, parasitism and mutualism may be host or environment dependent, induced by the same genetic machinery, and shifted due to selection. these models presume the existence of genetic or environmental variation that can spur incipient changes in symbiotic lifestyle. however, for obligate intracellular bacteria whose genomes are highly reduced, studies specify that discr ... | 2009 | 18974066 |
| phylogeography and genetic diversity of a widespread old world butterfly, lampides boeticus (lepidoptera: lycaenidae). | evolutionary genetics provides a rich theoretical framework for empirical studies of phylogeography. investigations of intraspecific genetic variation can uncover new putative species while allowing inference into the evolutionary origin and history of extant populations. with a distribution on four continents ranging throughout most of the old world, lampides boeticus (lepidoptera: lycaenidae) is one of the most widely distributed species of butterfly. it is placed in a monotypic genus with no ... | 2008 | 18973689 |
| the genome of brugia malayi - all worms are not created equal. | filarial nematode parasites, the causative agents of elephantiasis and river blindness, undermine the livelihoods of over one hundred million people in the developing world. recently, the filarial genome project reported the draft sequence of the ~95 mb genome of the human filarial parasite brugia malayi - the first parasitic nematode genome to be sequenced. comparative genome analysis with the prevailing model nematode caenorhabditis elegans revealed similarities and differences in genome struc ... | 2009 | 18952001 |
| wolbachia and its influence on the pathology and immunology of dirofilaria immitis infection. | since the definitive identification in 1995 of the bacterial endosymbiont wolbachia that resides in different tissues of the filarial worm dirofilaria immitis, there has been increasing interest to understand whether and what role it plays in the pathogenesis of and immune response to heartworm infection. the present study evaluated the effects of treatments on lung pathology in 20 beagle dogs experimentally infected with d. immitis. dogs in group 1 were treated with doxycycline (10 mg/kg/day) o ... | 2008 | 18947926 |
| insights beyond wolbachia-drosophila interactions: never completely trust a model: insights from cytoplasmic incompatibility beyond wolbachia-drosophila interactions. | 2008 | 18941470 | |
| prevalence of the endosymbiont wolbachia in heartworms (dirofilaria immitis). | 2008 | 18931357 | |
| heartworm and wolbachia: therapeutic implications. | a safer, more effective adulticidal treatment and a safe method for reducing microfilaremia and breaking transmission of heartworm disease early in the treatment are needed. the present study evaluated efficacy of ivermectin (ivm) and doxycycline (doxy) alone or together (with or without melarsomine [mel]) in dogs with induced adult heartworm infection and assessed the ability of microfilariae from doxy-treated dogs to develop to l3 in aedes aegypti mosquitoes and subsequently to become reproduc ... | 2008 | 18930598 |
| dirofilaria immitis and wolbachia-derived antigens: its effect on endothelial mammal cells. | antigens of both dirofilaria immitis and wolbachia symbiont bacteria are implicated in the inflammatory pathology of heartworm infection. the aim of the present study was to compare the stimulatory capacity of in vitro cultures of vascular endothelial cells by the adult somatic antigens of d. immitis (disa) and the recombinant form of the wolbachia surface protein (rwsp), during the first 24h of stimulation. our results indicate a different stimulatory activity of the two antigens. both the disa ... | 2008 | 18922634 |
| efficacy of 5-week doxycycline treatment on adult onchocerca volvulus. | the effects of 5-week doxycycline treatment on the depletion of wolbachia endobacteria from onchocerca volvulus, on the interruption of embryogenesis and on microfilariae production, and with regard to macrofilaricidal activity were studied. in 2003, in an endemic area in ghana, 22 onchocerciasis patients received 100 mg/day doxycycline for 5 weeks. two years after the start of the study, 20 treated and ten untreated patients were nodulectomized and skin microfilariae were counted. the onchocerc ... | 2009 | 18850111 |
| wolbachia in the culex pipiens group mosquitoes: introgression and superinfection. | wolbachia bacteria in mosquitoes induce cytoplasmic incompatibility (ci), where sperm from wolbachia-infected males can produce inviable progeny. the wpip strain in the culex pipiens group of mosquitoes produces a complexity of ci crossing types. several factors are thought to be capable of influencing the expression of ci including wolbachia strain type and host genotype. in this study, the unidirectional ci that occurs between 2 c. pipiens complex laboratory strains, col and mol, was further i ... | 2009 | 18836146 |
| host adaptation of a wolbachia strain after long-term serial passage in mosquito cell lines. | the horizontal transfer of the bacterium wolbachia pipientis between invertebrate hosts hinges on the ability of wolbachia to adapt to new intracellular environments. the experimental transfer of wolbachia between distantly related host species often results in the loss of infection, presumably due to an inability of wolbachia to adapt quickly to the new host. to examine the process of adaptation to a novel host, we transferred a life-shortening wolbachia strain, wmelpop, from the fruit fly dros ... | 2008 | 18836024 |
| wolbachia bacterial infection in drosophila. | 2007 | 18830425 | |
| modes of acquisition of wolbachia: horizontal transfer, hybrid introgression, and codivergence in the nasonia species complex. | wolbachia are maternally inherited bacteria that infect a large number of insects and are responsible for different reproductive alterations of their hosts. one of the key features of wolbachia biology is its ability to move within and between host species, which contributes to the impressive diversity and range of infected hosts. using multiple wolbachia genes, including five developed for multi-locus sequence typing (mlst), the diversity and modes of movement of wolbachia within the wasp genus ... | 2009 | 18826448 |
| curable genetic instability of a gal4 transgene in drosophila. | transgenes, especially those driving production of the gal4 transcription factor in a specific spatial pattern, are a critical and widely used tool in the drosophila research community. we recently noticed loss of gal4-driven reporter gene expression in a series of crosses, and traced that loss of reporter gene expression to stochastic physical loss of the gal4 gene in the driver line. we have demonstrated that the instability of the gal4 transgene can be "cured" by treatment of the line with te ... | 2008 | 18820434 |
| wolbachia mediate variation of host immunocompetence. | after decades during which endosymbionts were considered as silent in their hosts, in particular concerning the immune system, recent studies have revealed the contrary. in the present paper, we addressed the effect of wolbachia, the most prevalent endosymbiont in arthropods, on host immunocompetence. to this end, we chose the a. vulgare-wolbachia symbiosis as a model system because it leads to compare consequences of two wolbachia strains (wvulc and wvulm) on hosts from the same population. mor ... | 2008 | 18818770 |
| the nematoda filarioidea: critical analysis linking molecular and traditional approaches. | the molecular analysis of the filarioidea and the endobacteria wolbachia is no more limited to the agents of human diseases and the diversified sampling permits a synthesis with the morphological and biological results. the validity of the genera with "uncoherent host range", such as monsonella, litomosoides and cercopithifilaria, is confirmed and, consequently, their evolution by host-switchings. dirofilaria and onchocerca, types of two subfamilies, appear more closely related than with other o ... | 2008 | 18814705 |
| behavior of wolbachia endosymbionts from drosophila simulans in drosophila serrata, a novel host. | many species harbor the incompatibility-inducing microbe wolbachia, a maternally inherited endoparasite that causes reduced egg hatch in crosses between infected males and uninfected females. infected females are immune to this effect, which gives them a relative fitness advantage that results in the spread of the infection. the strength of incompatibility, fitness deficits associated with the infection, and transmission rate from mother to offspring largely determine the rate and extent of spre ... | 1997 | 18811258 |
| absence of wolbachia endobacteria in the non-filariid nematodes angiostrongylus cantonensis and a. costaricensis. | abstract: the majority of filarial nematodes harbour wolbachia endobacteria, including the major pathogenic species in humans, onchocerca volvulus, brugia malayi and wuchereria bancrofti. these obligate endosymbionts have never been demonstrated unequivocally in any non-filariid nematode. however, a recent report described the detection by pcr of wolbachia in the metastrongylid nematode, angiostrongylus cantonensis (rat lungworm), a leading cause of eosinophilic meningitis in humans. to address ... | 2008 | 18801163 |
| sex mosaics in a male dimorphic ant cardiocondyla kagutsuchi. | gynandromorphy, or the development of organisms with a combination of male and female morphological features, is common in hymenoptera. the underlying mechanism is likely associated with the sex-determination system, and studying this phenomenon should lead to a deeper understanding of both embryonic development and sex determination. the reproductive capabilities of gynandromorphs (hereafter, sex mosaics) remain unclear. we studied gynandromorphy in the malaysian ant cardiocondyla kagutsuchi, w ... | 2009 | 18797835 |
| wolbachia: master manipulators of invertebrate biology. | wolbachia are common intracellular bacteria that are found in arthropods and nematodes. these alphaproteobacteria endosymbionts are transmitted vertically through host eggs and alter host biology in diverse ways, including the induction of reproductive manipulations, such as feminization, parthenogenesis, male killing and sperm-egg incompatibility. they can also move horizontally across species boundaries, resulting in a widespread and global distribution in diverse invertebrate hosts. here, we ... | 2008 | 18794912 |
| nonrandom wolbachia infection status of drosophila melanogaster strains with different mtdna haplotypes. | wolbachia are maternally inherited bacteria, which typically spread in the host population by inducing cytoplasmic incompatibility (ci). in drosophila melanogaster, wolbachia is quite common but ci is variable, with most of the studies reporting low levels of ci. surveying mitochondrial dna (mtdna) variation and infection status in a worldwide d. melanogaster collection, we found that the wolbachia infection was not randomly distributed among flies with different mtdna haplotypes. this preferent ... | 2008 | 18780877 |
| an intracellular symbiont and other microbiota associated with field-collected populations of sawflies (hymenoptera: symphyta). | six species of sawfly (hymenoptera: symphyta) from four taxonomic families (agridae, diprionidae, pamphiliidae, and tenthredinidae) were collected from locations across canada and surveyed for their associated microbiota. total dna was extracted from individual insects, and polymerase chain reaction (pcr) was used to amplify the conserved 16s rrna gene from microbiota. denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (dgge) and restriction fragment length polymorphism (rflp) were undertaken to separate b ... | 2008 | 18772939 |
| transfection of wolbachia pipientis into drosophila embryos. | wolbachia is a genus of obligate intracellular alpha-proteobacteria represented by the type species wolbachia pipientis (dumler et al., 2001). wolbachia commonly reside within cytoplasmic vacuoles of arthropods and helminths (werren and windsor, 2000; casiraghi et al., 2004); vertebrate infections have not been identified. wolbachia are maternally transmitted from mothers to offspring though the embryonic cytoplasm. wolbachia are able to induce a diverse range of phenotypes in their invertebrate ... | 2007 | 18770621 |
| verified and potential pathogens of predatory mites (acari: phytoseiidae). | several species of phytoseiid mites (acari: phytoseiidae), including species of the genera amblyseius, galendromus, metaseiulus, neoseiulus, phytoseiulus and typhlodromus, are currently reared for biological control of various crop pests and/or as model organisms for the study of predator-prey interactions. pathogen-free phytoseiid mites are important to obtain high efficacy in biological pest control and to get reliable data in mite research, as pathogens may affect the performance of their hos ... | 2008 | 18763041 |
| inherited fungal and bacterial endosymbionts of a parasitic wasp and its cockroach host. | bacterial endosymbionts of insects are increasingly being recognized as common, diverse, and integral to the biology of their hosts. inherited fungal symbionts have been largely overlooked, however, even though insect guts appear to be a key habitat for an incredible array of fungal diversity. like bacteria, fungal symbionts also likely play important roles in the ecology and evolution of their insect associates. the objective of this study was to lay the foundations for understanding the roles ... | 2009 | 18758845 |
| stochastic spread of wolbachia. | wolbachia are very common, maternally transmitted endosymbionts of insects. they often spread by a mechanism termed cytoplasmic incompatibility (ci) that involves reduced egg hatch when wolbachia-free ova are fertilized by sperm from wolbachia-infected males. because the progeny of wolbachia-infected females generally do not suffer ci-induced mortality, infected females are often at a reproductive advantage in polymorphic populations. deterministic models show that wolbachia that impose no costs ... | 2008 | 18755670 |
| natural enemies of mass-reared predatory mites (family phytoseiidae) used for biological pest control. | predatory mites of the family phytoseiidae are valued natural enemies that provide effective pest control in greenhouses and on agricultural crops. mass-reared phytoseiids are occasionally associated with microorganisms and although their effects are not always apparent, some are pathogenic and reduce host fitness. invertebrate pathogens are encountered more frequently in mass production systems than in nature because rearing environments often cause overcrowding and other stresses that favour p ... | 2008 | 18726699 |
| no resistance to male-killing wolbachia after thousands of years of infection. | maternally transmitted male-killing endosymbionts can exert strong and relentless selection pressure on their hosts to evolve resistance to these infections. surveys of current infection prevalence and mtdna diversity indicate that drosophila innubila is and has been infected with male-killing wolbachia at moderate frequencies for extended evolutionary periods. here, we use coalescent simulations to infer the minimum age of the wolbachia infection in this species, and estimate that the infection ... | 2008 | 18717746 |
| a new cytogenetic mechanism for bacterial endosymbiont-induced parthenogenesis in hymenoptera. | vertically transmitted endosymbiotic bacteria, such as wolbachia, cardinium and rickettsia, modify host reproduction in several ways to facilitate their own spread. one such modification results in parthenogenesis induction, where males, which are unable to transmit the bacteria, are not produced. in hymenoptera, the mechanism of diploidization due to wolbachia infection, known as gamete duplication, is a post-meiotic modification. during gamete duplication, the meiotic mechanism is normal, but ... | 2008 | 18713719 |
| the genetics and cell biology of wolbachia-host interactions. | wolbachia are gram-negative bacteria that are widespread in nature, carried by the majority of insect species as well as some mites, crustaceans, and filarial nematodes. wolbachia can range from parasitic to symbiotic, depending upon the interaction with the host species. the success of wolbachia is attributed to efficient maternal transmission and manipulations of host reproduction that favor infected females, such as sperm-egg cytoplasmic incompatibility (ci). much remains unknown about the me ... | 2008 | 18713031 |
| the effect of wolbachia on genetic divergence between populations: models with two-way migration. | wolbachia are intracellular bacteria that cause various reproduction alterations in their hosts, including cytoplasmic incompatibility (ci), an incompatibility between sperm and egg that typically results in embryonic death. we investigate theoretically the effects of wolbachia-induced bidirectional ci on levels of divergence between two populations, where there is migration in both directions and differential selection at a single locus. the main findings are as follows: wolbachia differences i ... | 2002 | 18707453 |
| which way to manipulate host reproduction? wolbachia that cause cytoplasmic incompatibility are easily invaded by sex ratio-distorting mutants. | the bacterium wolbachia manipulates its hosts by inducing cytoplasmic incompatibility (ci), where zygotes formed from crosses between uninfected mothers and infected fathers die. in addition, it distorts the host's sex ratio via male killing, parthenogenesis induction, or feminization. here, we model transitions between these states, examining the evolution of mutants of ci strains that retain both the ability to induce and resist ci but, in addition, cause sex ratio distortion. the model shows ... | 2002 | 18707445 |
| relative wolbachia density of field-collected aedes albopictus mosquitoes in thailand. | female aedes albopictus mosquitoes from natural populations of different geographical regions of thailand were collected and allowed to oviposit to determine relative wolbachia a and wolbachia b densities of their offspring (f1) by using real-time quantitative pcr (rtq-pcr). an important aspect of this work is that all aedes albopictus mosquitoes were collected from the field. twenty-seven offspring were from diverse areas of thailand (songkhla, konkaen, chantaburi, and kanchanaburi). the range ... | 2008 | 18697321 |
| symbionts, including pathogens, of the predatory mite metaseiulus occidentalis: current and future analysis methods. | metaseiulus (= typhlodromus or galendromus) occidentalis (nesbitt) (acari: phytoseiidae) is an effective natural enemy of pest mites in a variety of crops around the world, although it is considered to be endemic in the western usa. a broad understanding of much of its biology, ecology, behavior, and genetics has been obtained over the past 60 years, but the role(s) symbionts play, which includes pathogens and other microorganisms, remains to be resolved fully. until molecular tools became avail ... | 2008 | 18696231 |
| wolbachia plays no role in the one-way reproductive incompatibility between the hybridizing field crickets gryllus firmus and g. pennsylvanicus. | wolbachia are cytoplasmically inherited alpha-proteobacteria that can cause cytoplasmic incompatibility (ci) in insects. this incompatibility between sperm and egg is evident when uninfected females mate with infected males. wolbachia-driven reproductive incompatibilities are of special interest because they may play a role in speciation. however, the presence of wolbachia does not always imply incompatibility. the field crickets gryllus firmus and g. pennsylvanicus exhibit a very clear unidirec ... | 2008 | 18685571 |
| efficacy of 2- and 4-week rifampicin treatment on the wolbachia of onchocerca volvulus. | the microfilaricidal and temporarily sterilizing drug ivermectin is used for mass treatment of filarial infections. filariae containing wolbachia endobacteria can also be treated by the antibiotic doxycycline. the loss of wolbachia results in sterilization of onchocerca volvulus and macrofilaricidal effects. besides doxycycline, other antibiotics may be effective in depleting wolbachia. a preliminary study on the effects of rifampicin on the endobacteria, embryogenesis and microfilariae producti ... | 2008 | 18679718 |
| rapidly evolving mitochondrial genome and directional selection in mitochondrial genes in the parasitic wasp nasonia (hymenoptera: pteromalidae). | we sequenced the nearly complete mtdna of 3 species of parasitic wasps, nasonia vitripennis (2 strains), nasonia giraulti, and nasonia longicornis, including all 13 protein-coding genes and the 2 rrnas, and found unusual patterns of mitochondrial evolution. the nasonia mtdna has a unique gene order compared with other insect mtdnas due to multiple rearrangements. the mtdnas of these wasps also show nucleotide substitution rates over 30 times faster than nuclear protein-coding genes, indicating a ... | 2008 | 18653734 |
| wolbachia modification of sperm does not always require residence within developing sperm. | wolbachia are maternally inherited intracellular bacteria known to manipulate the reproduction of their arthropod hosts. wolbachia commonly affect the sperm of infected arthropods. wolbachia-modified sperm cannot successfully fertilize unless the female is infected with the same wolbachia type. a study of spermatogenesis in the parasitic wasp nasonia vitripennis reveals that wolbachia are not required in individual spermatocytes or spermatids to modify sperm. in n. vitripennis, wolbachia modify ... | 2008 | 18648384 |
| standardization of a colorimetric method to quantify growth and metabolic activity of wolbachia-infected mosquito cells. | the aedes albopictus aa23 cell line, which is persistently infected with wolbachia pipientis strain walbb, tends to grow as aggregated clusters of cells that are difficult to disperse for conventional quantification based on cell number. we used a. albopictus c7-10 cells to validate conversion of methylthiazole tetrazolium (mtt) to a colored formazan product with respect to incubation time, cell number over a 40-fold range, and metabolic activity as cells enter stationary phase. using this assay ... | 2008 | 18622662 |
| characterization and transcriptional analysis of two gene clusters for type iv secretion machinery in wolbachia of armadillidium vulgare. | wolbachia are maternally inherited alpha-proteobacteria that induce feminization of genetic males in most terrestrial crustacean isopods. two clusters of vir genes for a type iv secretion machinery have been identified at two separate loci and characterized for the first time in a feminizing wolbachia. furthermore, we demonstrated that these operons are transcriptionally active in ovaries and in all other tissues tested, suggesting that t4ss has a significant role in wolbachia biology. these obs ... | 2008 | 18582562 |