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 Dobson, S. L.
Right arrow Articles by O'Neill, S. L.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Dobson, S. L.
Right arrow Articles by O'Neill, S. L.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Dobson, S. L.
Right arrow Articles by O'Neill, S. L.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, February 2002, p. 656-660, Vol. 68, No. 2
0099-2240/02/$04.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/AEM.68.2.656-660.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Characterization of Wolbachia Host Cell Range via the In Vitro Establishment of Infections{dagger}

Stephen L. Dobson,1,2* Eric J. Marsland,2 Zoe Veneti,3 Kostas Bourtzis,3,4 and Scott L. O'Neill1,{ddagger}

Section of Vector Biology, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut 06437,1 Department of Entomology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky 40546,2 Insect Molecular Genetics Group, Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, FORTH-Hellas, Vassilika Vouton, Heraklion 71110, Crete,3 Department of Environmental and Natural Resources Management, University of Ioannina, Agrinio 30100, Greece4

Received 31 July 2001/ Accepted 21 November 2001

Maternally transmitted bacteria of the genus Wolbachia are obligate, intracellular symbionts that are frequently found in insects and cause a diverse array of reproductive manipulations, including cytoplasmic incompatibility, male killing, parthenogenesis, and feminization. Despite the existence of a broad range of scientific interest, many aspects of Wolbachia research have been limited to laboratories with insect-rearing facilities. The inability to culture these bacteria outside of the invertebrate host has also led to the existing bias of Wolbachia research toward infections that occur in host insects that are easily reared. Here, we demonstrate that Wolbachia infections can be simply established, stably maintained, and cryogenically stored in vitro using standard tissue culture techniques. We have examined Wolbachia host range by introducing different Wolbachia types into a single tissue culture. The results show that an Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) cell line can support five different Wolbachia infection types derived from Drosophila simulans (Diptera: Drosophilidae), Culex pipiens (Culicidae), and Cadra cautella (Lepidoptera: Phycitidae). These bacterial types include infection types that have been assigned to two of the major Wolbachia clades. As an additional examination of Wolbachia host cell range, we demonstrated that a Wolbachia strain from D. simulans could be established in host insect cell lines derived from A. albopictus, Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), and Drosophila melanogaster. These results will facilitate the development of a Wolbachia stock center, permitting novel approaches for the study of Wolbachia infections and encouraging Wolbachia research in additional laboratories.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Stephen L. Dobson, Department of Entomology, S225 Ag. Sci. Center N., University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40546-0091. Phone: (859) 257-4902. Fax: (859) 323-1120. E-mail: sdobson{at}uky.edu.

{dagger} Publication 01-08-73 of the University of Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station.

{ddagger} Present address: Dept. of Zoology and Entomology, University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, February 2002, p. 656-660, Vol. 68, No. 2
0099-2240/02/$04.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/AEM.68.2.656-660.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • McMeniman, C. J., Lane, A. M., Fong, A. W. C., Voronin, D. A., Iturbe-Ormaetxe, I., Yamada, R., McGraw, E. A., O'Neill, S. L. (2008). Host Adaptation of a Wolbachia Strain after Long-Term Serial Passage in Mosquito Cell Lines. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 74: 6963-6969 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Sakamoto, J. M., Azad, A. F. (2007). Propagation of Arthropod-Borne Rickettsia spp. in Two Mosquito Cell Lines. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 73: 6637-6643 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Rasgon, J. L., Ren, X., Petridis, M. (2006). Can Anopheles gambiae Be Infected with Wolbachia pipientis? Insights from an In Vitro System. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 72: 7718-7722 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Rasgon, J. L., Gamston, C. E., Ren, X. (2006). Survival of Wolbachia pipientis in Cell-Free Medium. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 72: 6934-6937 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Xi, Z., Dobson, S. L. (2005). Characterization of Wolbachia Transfection Efficiency by Using Microinjection of Embryonic Cytoplasm and Embryo Homogenate. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 71: 3199-3204 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Ballard, J. W. O. (2004). Sequential Evolution of a Symbiont Inferred From the Host: Wolbachia and Drosophila simulans. Mol Biol Evol 21: 428-442 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Fenollar, F., La Scola, B., Inokuma, H., Dumler, J. S., Taylor, M. J., Raoult, D. (2003). Culture and Phenotypic Characterization of a Wolbachia pipientis Isolate. J. Clin. Microbiol. 41: 5434-5441 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Veneti, Z., Clark, M. E., Zabalou, S., Karr, T. L., Savakis, C., Bourtzis, K. (2003). Cytoplasmic Incompatibility and Sperm Cyst Infection in Different Drosophila-Wolbachia Associations. Genetics 164: 545-552 [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»