Publications by authors named "Courtney N Zecher"
The disruption of host-symbiont interactions through the use of antibiotics can help elucidate microbial functions that go beyond short-term nutritional value. Termite gut symbionts have been studied extensively, but little is known about their impact on the termite's reproductive output. Here we describe the effect that the antibiotic rifampin has not only on the gut microbial diversity but also on the longevity, fecundity, and weight of two termite species, Zootermopsis angusticollis and Reticulitermes flavipes.
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- The study examines how transferring the endosymbiotic bacteria Wolbachia pipientis between different species of parasitoid wasps affects the regulation of both host and bacterial genomes.
- Increased genetic mixing between two wasp species leads to a significant rise in bacterial loads and infection spread to new tissues, along with changes in the bacteriophage WO-B densities.
- The findings reveal complex interactions, including reduced fecundity and male-to-female bacterial transfer, suggesting a crucial relationship among Wolbachia, its associated phage, and their host species.
We report here genome sequences and comparative analyses of three closely related parasitoid wasps: Nasonia vitripennis, N. giraulti, and N. longicornis.
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