Comparative analysis of Wolbachia maternal transmission and localization in host ovaries
Many insects and other animals carry microbial endosymbionts that influence their reproduction and fitness. These relationships only persist if endosymbionts are reliably transmitted from one host generation to the next. Wolbachia are maternally transmitted endosymbionts found in most insect species, but transmission rates can vary across environments. Maternal transmission of wMel Wolbachia depends on temperature in natural Drosophila melanogaster hosts and in transinfected Aedes aegypti, where wMel is used to block pathogens that cause human disease. In D. melanogaster, wMel transmission declines in the cold as Wolbachia become less abundant in host ovaries and at the posterior pole plasm (the site of germline formation) in mature oocytes.
Hague, M.T.J., Wheeler, T.B. & Cooper, B.S. Comparative analysis of Wolbachia maternal transmission and localization in host ovaries. Commun Biol 7, 727 (2024).