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Video Q&A ViewAttendees 3

Systematics, Evolution, and Biodiversity

Student Competition 10-Minute Paper

Grad SysEB: Evolution, Genetics, and Morphology On-Demand Presentations

Wolbachia invasion in western cherry – infesting Rhagoletis

On-Demand
Student Competition On-Demand

    Presenting Author(s)

  • Daniel Bruzzese

    PhD Candidate
    University of Notre Dame
    Notre Dame, Indiana

    • Co-Author(s)

  • HS

    Hannes Schuler

    Free University of Bozen-Bolzano
    Bolzano, Trentino-Alto Adige, Italy

  • WY

    Wee Yee

    USDA-ARS
    Wapato, Washington

  • TW

    Thomas Wolfe

    University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences
    Vienna, Wien, Austria

  • MG

    Mary Glover

    University of Notre Dame
    Mishawaka, Indiana

  • RG

    Robert Goughnour

    Washington State University Extension
    Vancouver, Washington

  • JF

    Jeffrey Feder

    Professor
    University of Notre Dame
    Notre Dame, Indiana

Recently, it has been shown that Wolbachia induced cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI)may couple with other non-endosymbiont reproductive isolation (RI) to further reduce geneflow and contribute to the speciation process. However, this was shown between allopatric populations, and it remains to be seen if fixed Wolbachia differences can remain between hybridizing populations. Recent surveys of the Western cherry-infesting fly, Rhagoletis indifferens have identified a unique mtDNA haplotype in central Washington State USA (CW), different from the haplotype in the Pacific Northwest (PNW) and indicative of a Wolbachia sweep. Thus R. indifferens and its Wolbachia endosymbionts may be a good system to look for a stable Wolbachia hybrid zone. Here, we performed mating assays, Wolbachia strain genotyping, and whole Wolbachia genome comparisons to determine if there is a new Wolbachia strain and why this new strain is fixed in CW. We found a new strain, wInd, that coinfects flies in CW, and corresponds to the unique mtDNA haplotype. However, we found no evidence that this strain causes CI or any other type of RI, yet evidence suggests this strain may be spreading. Whole genome comparisons between the invading and the endemic Wolbachia strains find that while both are A-type Wolbachia, both have very different gene structure and content. Currently, an ongoing pathway analysis will determine if the wInd strain provides any fitness benefits through nutrient supplementation or disease resistance to explain its fixation. Finally, the new strain could simply have become fixed due to positive fitness impacts from new mtDNA haplotype.