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Infection frequency; insects; pests; polymerase chain reaction; Wolbachia

Wolbachia is a ubiquitous, Gram-negative, vertically transmitted, alpha-proteobacterium that causes an array of reproductive abnormalities including cytoplasmic incompatibility, feminization of genetic males, parthenogenesis in a number of insect species, among others. Wolbachia is now being exploited as an agent for pest and vector control. Previous surveys indicated that it is commonly seen in 16–76% of arthropods. In this paper, using polymerase chain reaction assay based on specific amplification of the ftsZ-A and -B supergroup Wolbachia gene fragments, we found that 30% of insects and pests screened were positive for Wolbachia. Among them 66.7% harbour double Wolbachia infection, while 33.3% harbour single Wolbachia infection. These results indicate widespread infection with both double and single Wolbachia, and provide a wealth of information to exploit this endobacterium for the management of pests and vectors.

B M Prakash¹ H P Puttaraju¹

1. Laboratory of Seribiotechnology, Department of Sericulture and Life Sciences, Bangalore University, Bangalore 560 056, India

Published

June 2007

Manuscript received

15 June 2006

Accepted

10 February 2007

Early published

4 April 2007