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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, September 2004, p. 5366-5372, Vol. 70, No. 9
0099-2240/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/AEM.70.9.5366-5372.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Heads or Tails: Host-Parasite Interactions in the Drosophila-Wolbachia System

Zoe Veneti,1,{dagger} Michael E. Clark,2 Timothy L. Karr,2,{ddagger} Charalambos Savakis,1,3 and Kostas Bourtzis1,4*

Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, FORTH, Vassilika Vouton,1 Medical School, University of Crete, Heraklion, Crete,3 Department of Environmental and Natural Resources Management, University of Ioannina, Agrinio, Greece,4 Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois2

Received 13 February 2004/ Accepted 20 April 2004

Wolbachia strains are endosymbiotic bacteria typically found in the reproductive tracts of arthropods. These bacteria manipulate host reproduction to ensure maternal transmission. They are usually transmitted vertically, so it has been predicted that they have evolved a mechanism to target the host's germ cells during development. Through cytological analysis we found that Wolbachia strains display various affinities for the germ line of Drosophila. Different Wolbachia strains show posterior, anterior, or cortical localization in Drosophila embryos, and this localization is congruent with the classification of the organisms based on the wsp (Wolbachia surface protein) gene sequence. This embryonic distribution pattern is established during early oogenesis and does not change until late stages of embryogenesis. The posterior and anterior localization of Wolbachia resembles that of oskar and bicoid mRNAs, respectively, which define the anterior-posterior axis in the Drosophila oocyte. By comparing the properties of a single Wolbachia strain in different host backgrounds and the properties of different Wolbachia strains in the same host background, we concluded that bacterial factors determine distribution, while bacterial density seems to be limited by the host. Possible implications concerning cytoplasmic incompatibility and evolution of strains are discussed.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Environmental and Natural Resources Management, University of Ioannina, 2 Seferi St., 30100 Agrinio, Greece. Phone: 30-26410-39514. Fax: 30-26410-33716. E-mail: kbourtz{at}cc.uoi.gr.

{dagger} Present address: Department of Biology, University College London, London NW1 2HE, United Kingdom.

{ddagger} Present address: Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Bath, Bath BA2 7AY, United Kingdom.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, September 2004, p. 5366-5372, Vol. 70, No. 9
0099-2240/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/AEM.70.9.5366-5372.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



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