Wolbachia Infection Dynamics in Tribolium confusum (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) and Their Effects on Host Mating Behavior and Reproduction

Wolbachia interact with their hosts in a broad variety of relationships that range from parasitism to mutualism. To improve the understanding of complex relationships between Wolbachia and host, we performed not only mating and crossing experiments to investigate effects of Wolbachia on mate choice,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of economic entomology 2015-06, Vol.108 (3), p.1408-1415
Main Authors: Ming, Qing-Lei, Shen, Jia-Fei, Cheng, Chao, Liu, Chan-Min, Feng, Zhao-Jun
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
adults
Animals
Bacteria
Beetles
Biological evolution
Coleoptera
crossing
Cytoplasmic incompatibility
Eggs
Fecundity
Female
Females
hosts
Incompatibility
Infections
Larva - growth & development
Larva - microbiology
Male
males
Mate selection
Mating behavior
Mutualism
Ovum - growth & development
Ovum - microbiology
Parasitism
Pupa - growth & development
Pupa - microbiology
quantitative polymerase chain reaction
Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction
Reproduction
reproductive performance
Sexual Behavior, Animal
spatiotemporal density
STORED-PRODUCT
Tenebrionidae
tissues
Tribolium - growth & development
Tribolium - microbiology
Tribolium - physiology
Tribolium confusum
Wolbachia
Wolbachia - physiology
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Summary:Wolbachia interact with their hosts in a broad variety of relationships that range from parasitism to mutualism. To improve the understanding of complex relationships between Wolbachia and host, we performed not only mating and crossing experiments to investigate effects of Wolbachia on mate choice, mating performance, and reproduction in the confused flour beetles Tribolium confusum (Jacquelin du Val), but also quantitative PCR to determine Wolbachia spatiotemporal infection density dynamics within beetles. Wolbachia induced strong cytoplasmic incompatibility, but had no effects on male mate choice and mating performance. Compared with Wolbachia-uninfected females, infected females had very high fecundity irrespective of male's infection status. Wolbachia infection densities in beetles were higher in eggs and adults and in the reproductive tissues and abdomens, whereasWolbachia density in adults did not differ between sexes and among different ages. These results suggest that Wolbachia have evolved mutualistic interactions with T. confusum, which provides the first evidence ofWolbachia mutualisms in this beetle species.We discussed these findings and their evolutionary implications in light ofWolbachia—host interactions.
ISSN:0022-0493
1938-291X
DOI:10.1093/jee/tov053