Wolbachia virus Obligate intracellular symbiont four major reproductive strategies basic information

1. By: Thomas Garrity and
Presley Davis

2. Wolbachia
pipientis
• Gram-negative
• Common obligate intracellular
bacteria
• Normally found in arthropods and
nematodes
• In arthropods, it is a parasitic
symbiont.
• In nematodes, it is mostly a
mutualistic symbiont.
• It is inherited vertically but can be
inherited horizontally across species
• Causes reproductive incompatibility,
parthenogenesis, and feminization.
• Found in reproductive tissues
(ovaries and testes)
• First reported in tissues of mosquito

3. What is meant by an obligate, intracellular
symbiont?
An obligate intracellular symbiont cannot
reproduce outside of their host cell. This means
that the parasite’s reproduction depends entirely
on resources in the cell.

4. The Four Basic Reproductive
Strategies Used by Wolbachia
1.Feminization of infected males (turning
them into females or pseudo-females that
are infertile)
2.Parthenogenesis: reproduction of infected
females without males
3.Killing of infected males
4.Cytoplasmic incompatibility: modification of
sperm from infected males which results in
embryonic defects and death when sperm
fertilize eggs that are not infected