This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Rasgon, J. L.
Right arrow Articles by Ren, X.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Rasgon, J. L.
Right arrow Articles by Ren, X.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Rasgon, J. L.
Right arrow Articles by Ren, X.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, November 2006, p. 6934-6937, Vol. 72, No. 11
0099-2240/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.01673-06
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Survival of Wolbachia pipientis in Cell-Free Medium{triangledown}

Jason L. Rasgon,1,2* Courtney E. Gamston,1,{dagger} and Xiaoxia Ren1,2,{dagger}

The W. Harry Feinstone Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21205,1 The Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 212052

Received 18 July 2006/ Accepted 28 August 2006

Wolbachia pipientis is an obligate intracellular bacterium found in a wide range of invertebrate taxa. While over ecological timescales Wolbachia infections are maintained by strict maternal inheritance, horizontal transfer events are common over evolutionary time. To be horizontally transferred between organisms, Wolbachia bacteria must pass through and survive an extracellular phase. We used BacLight live-dead staining, PCR, and fluorescence in situ hybridization to assess the ability for purified Wolbachia bacteria to survive in cell-free media. We found that purified Wolbachia bacteria were able to survive extracellularly for up to 1 week with no decrease in viability. While no replication was observed in the extracellular phase, purified Wolbachia bacteria were able to reinvade cells and establish stable infections at all time points. The ability of Wolbachia bacteria to survive outside host cells may increase the probability of successful horizontal transfer and the exploitation of new ecological niches. Our development of methods to purify and maintain viable Wolbachia bacteria from cultured cells will be useful for other researchers studying Wolbachia biology.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: The W. Harry Feinstone Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, The Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, 615 N. Wolfe Street, E4626, Baltimore, MD 21205. Phone: (410) 502-2584. Fax: (410) 955-0105. E-mail: jrasgon{at}jhsph.edu.

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 1 September 2006.

{dagger} C.E.G. and X.R. contributed equally to this work.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, November 2006, p. 6934-6937, Vol. 72, No. 11
0099-2240/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.01673-06
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Jin, C., Ren, X., Rasgon, J. L. (2009). The Virulent Wolbachia Strain wMelPop Efficiently Establishes Somatic Infections in the Malaria Vector Anopheles gambiae. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 75: 3373-3376 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»