Low Wolbachia incidence in Bactrocera and Zeugodacus species from Thailand and genome analysis of Wolbachia associated with Zeugodacus apicalis.

Abstract

Wolbachia are bacterial endosymbionts found widely in arthropods and filarial nematodes. Infecting about half of all arthropod species, Wolbachia manipulate their hosts in various ways, including cytoplasmic incompatibility. Here, we investigated Wolbachia diversity in Bactrocera and Zeugodacus, two prevalent tephritid fruit fly genera, using molecular methods. Wolbachia was only detected in Zeugodacus apicalis (de Meijere) (Diptera: Tephritidae) and not in the other 7 studied species. This newly discovered strain, named wZap, belongs to supergroup B with a 1.3 Mb genome containing 1,248 genes. Phylogenetic analysis of its cytoplasmic incompatibility factor genes cifA and cifB revealed their placement within the Type I clade. Given the presence of cif genes in the wZap genome, further research into their roles in fruit flies could be crucial for developing pest control strategies that exploit CI mechanisms.