The 2005 ESA Annual Meeting and Exhibition
December 15-18, 2005
Ft. Lauderdale, FL

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Friday, December 16, 2005
D0108

Analysis of Wolbachia strains associated with plum curculio using the wsp gene in the eastern United States

Xing Zhang, zhxing@vt.edu1, Shirley Luckhart, sluckhart@ucdavis.edu2, Douglas G. Pfeiffer, dgpfeiff@vt.edu1, and Zhijian Tu, jaketu@vt.edu3. (1) Virginia Tech, Department of Entomology, Blacksburg, VA, (2) University of California, Davis, Microbiology, One Shields Avenue, Rm 3437 Tupper Hall, Davis, CA, (3) Virginia Polytechnic University and State University, Department of Biochemistry, Blacksburg, VA

Wolbachia are widespread cytoplasmically inherited bacteria that induce various reproduc- tive alterations in host arthropods, including cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI). Reproductive incompatibility between two strains of plum curculio may due to incompatible Wolbachia strains infection. Here we investigate distribution patterns of Wolbachia infection associate with plum curculio strain distribution. In Wolbachia analysis, all samples are infected by Wolbachia. There are two close Wolbachia strains (97% identical) existing in the northern and middle parts of eastern North America (New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey, West Virginia and Virginia). There is one main Wolbachia strain existing in the southern part of eastern North America (Georgia, South Carolina and Florida). The Florida population has a higher diversity of Wolbachia. A recombination analysis shows that the fourth Wolbachia strain is a recombination of two other Wolbachia strains. Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP) was used for superinfection detection. Some individuals singly and others doubly infected with two B-group Wolbachia in northern of eastern North America. Individuals in southern North America mostly show single infections with a A-group Wolbachia. Therefore, current results suggest that Wolbachia strains approximate distribution of PC strains: northern strain infected with two B-group Wolbachia strains, southern strain infected with one A-group Wolbachia strain and Mid-Atlantic is the convergence area.


Species 1: Coleoptera Curculionidae Conotrachelus nenuphar (plum curculio)
Keywords: Wsp, Strains