A short, high-temperature treatment of host larvae to analyze Wolbachia–host interactions in the moth Ostrinia scapulalis. (October 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Sugimoto, Takafumi N.; Kayukawa, Takumi; Matsuo, Takashi; Tsuchida, Tsutomu; Ishikawa, Yukio
• Is Part Of: Journal of insect physiology. Volume 81(2015:Oct.)
• Page Start: 48
• Page End: 51
• Publication Date: 2015-10
• Subjects: Wolbachia -- Heat treatment -- Male killing -- Endosymbiont -- Sex-ratio distortion; Insects -- Physiology -- Periodicals; Insectes -- Physiologie -- Périodiques; Insects -- Physiology; Periodicals; 571.157
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jinsphys.2015.06.016
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0022-1910

Abstract

Graphical abstract: Highlights: Wolbachia infecting Ostrinia moths induces male-specific death by feminizing males. A short, high-temperature treatment effectively reduced Wolbachia in the host. This treatment gave rise to progeny consisting of both sexes and sexual mosaics. The sex ratio in the progeny correlated with Wolbachia density in their mothers. This method may be useful for probing the critical time for the action of Wolbachia . Abstract: Maternally inherited endosymbiotic bacteria of the genus Wolbachia cause various reproductive alterations in their hosts. Wolbachia induces male-specific death during embryonic and larval stages in the moth Ostrinia scapulalis . To investigate how the density of Wolbachia affects their performance in the host, we attempted to reduce its density using a short, high-temperature treatment of the host at the larval stage. Individuals cured of infection as well as sexual mosaics, which harbor Wolbachia, were obtained by this method in the next generation. The sex of uninfected offspring was exclusively male, similar to that of the offspring of larvae treated with antibiotics. A strong correlation was found between Wolbachia density in female moths and the sex ratio of their progeny. These results suggest that a short, high-temperature treatment at the larval stage reduced the density of Wolbachia in the adult stage, and, hence, inhibited interference with the host's development in the next generation. Since the direct effects of the heat treatment on Wolbachia were transient, this method may be useful for specifying the critical time for interference by Wolbachia in host development.