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. 2004 Jun;167(2):827–834. doi: 10.1534/genetics.103.015990

Natural Wolbachia infections in the Drosophila yakuba species complex do not induce cytoplasmic incompatibility but fully rescue the wRi modification.

Sofia Zabalou 1, Sylvain Charlat 1, Androniki Nirgianaki 1, Daniel Lachaise 1, Hervé Merçot 1, Kostas Bourtzis 1
PMCID: PMC1470911  PMID: 15238531

Abstract

In this study, we report data about the presence of Wolbachia in Drosophila yakuba, D. teissieri, and D. santomea. Wolbachia strains were characterized using their wsp gene sequence and cytoplasmic incompatibility assays. All three species were found infected with Wolbachia bacteria closely related to the wAu strain, found so far in D. simulans natural populations, and were unable to induce cytoplasmic incompatibility. We injected wRi, a CI-inducing strain naturally infecting D. simulans, into the three species and the established transinfected lines exhibited high levels of CI, suggesting that absence of CI expression is a property of the Wolbachia strain naturally present or that CI is specifically repressed by the host. We also tested the relationship between the natural infection and wRi and found that it fully rescues the wRi modification. This result was unexpected, considering the significant evolutionary divergence between the two Wolbachia strains.

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Selected References

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