Promotes Its Own Uptake by Host Cells.

Wolbachia pipientis is an incredibly widespread bacterial symbiont of insects, present in an estimated 25 to 52% of species worldwide. Wolbachia is faithfully maternally transmitted both in a laboratory setting and in the wild. In an established infection, Wolbachia is primarily intracellular, residing within host-derived vacuoles that are associated with the endoplasmic reticulum.

Paternal Grandmother Age Affects the Strength of -Induced Cytoplasmic Incompatibility in Drosophila melanogaster.

are obligate intracellular bacteria that are globally distributed in half of all arthropod species. As the most abundant maternally inherited microbe in animals, manipulate host reproduction via reproductive parasitism strategies, including cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI). CI manifests as embryonic death when -modified sperm fertilize uninfected eggs but not maternally infected eggs.

One prophage WO gene rescues cytoplasmic incompatibility in .

are maternally inherited, intracellular bacteria at the forefront of vector control efforts to curb arbovirus transmission. In international field trials, the cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI) drive system of Mel is deployed to replace target vector populations, whereby a -induced modification of the sperm genome kills embryos. However, in the embryo rescue the sperm genome impairment, and therefore CI results in a strong fitness advantage for infected females that transmit the bacteria to offspring.

Prophage WO genes recapitulate and enhance Wolbachia-induced cytoplasmic incompatibility.

The genus Wolbachia is an archetype of maternally inherited intracellular bacteria that infect the germline of numerous invertebrate species worldwide. They can selfishly alter arthropod sex ratios and reproductive strategies to increase the proportion of the infected matriline in the population. The most common reproductive manipulation is cytoplasmic incompatibility, which results in embryonic lethality in crosses between infected males and uninfected females.