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Published on: June 1, 2022
Wolbachia as a bacteriocyte-associated nutritional mutualist
Takahiro Hosokawa1, Ryuichi Koga, Yoshitomo Kikuchi
1National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Tsukuba 305-8566, Japan.
Summary
In bedbugs, the bacterium Wolbachia lives in a specialized organ and provides essential nutrients, acting as a vital mutualist. This discovery shows how parasitic microbes can evolve into beneficial symbionts.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Evolutionary Biology
- Insect Symbiosis
Background:
- Insects often rely on bacterial symbionts for nutrients, housed in specialized bacteriocytes within bacteriomes.
- Facultative symbionts like Wolbachia are typically viewed as distinct from obligate nutritional mutualists.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the symbiotic relationship between Wolbachia and the bedbug Cimex lectularius.
- To determine if Wolbachia can function as an obligate nutritional mutualist in bedbugs.
Main Methods:
- Identification and localization of bacterial symbionts in bedbug tissues using microscopy.
- Experimental elimination of Wolbachia and assessment of host insect growth and reproduction.
- Rescue experiments involving B vitamin supplementation.
Main Results:
- Wolbachia was identified as an obligate symbiont residing in bedbug bacteriomes.
- Elimination of Wolbachia led to host growth retardation and sterility.
- B vitamin supplementation rescued these deficiencies, confirming Wolbachia's nutritional role.
Conclusions:
- Wolbachia in bedbugs functions as an obligate nutritional mutualist, challenging previous classifications.
- This study reveals that bacteriocyte-associated mutualism can evolve from facultative microbial associates.
- It highlights a previously unrecognized evolutionary pathway from parasitism to mutualism.
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