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WOLBACHIA PIPIENTIS : Microbial Manipulator of Arthropod Reproduction
Ist Teil von
Annual review of microbiology, 1999-01, Vol.53 (1), p.71-102
Ort / Verlag
Palo Alto, CA 94303-0139: Annual Reviews
Erscheinungsjahr
1999
Quelle
MEDLINE
Beschreibungen/Notizen
The α-proteobacterium
Wolbachia pipientis
is a very common
cytoplasmic symbiont of insects, crustaceans, mites, and filarial nematodes. To
enhance its transmission,
W. pipientis
has evolved a large scale of host
manipulations: parthenogenesis induction, feminization, and male killing.
W.
pipientis
's most common effect is a crossing incompatibility between
infected males and uninfected females. Little is known about the genetics and
biochemistry of these symbionts because of their fastidious requirements. The
affinity of
W. pipientis
for the microtubules associated with the early
divisions in eggs may explain some of their effects. Such inherited
microorganisms are thought to have been major factors in the evolution of sex
determination, eusociality, and speciation.
W. pipientis
isolates are
also of interest as vectors for the modification of wild insect populations, in
the improvement of parasitoid wasps in biological pest control, and as a new
method for interfering with diseases caused by filarial nematodes.