Conference presentation
Detection of endosymbiotic bacteria in booklice with different reproductive modes: sexual and asexual
USC Research Conference, 2013 (Sunshine Coast, Australia, 01-Jul-2013–05-Jul-2013)
University of the Sunshine Coast
2013
Abstract
The booklice, Liposcelis bostrychophila, are an important pest to storedgrain products worldwide. For long time, this species has been thought to reproduce asexually only, i.e. females produce offspring without the need of fertilization by males. In the past 5 years, males have been found in several strains of L. bostrychophila in the USA. It is becoming clear that some strains of L. bostrychophila reproduce sexually, i.e. fertilization by males is necessary. Intriguingly, sexual reproduction occurs in two different ways in these populations. Some females (FM type) produce both male and female offspring, as seen in most insects and animals. Other females (F-only type), however, produce only female offspring; these females are fertilized by males produced by FM-type females. Endosymbiotic bacteria such as Wolbachia, Rickettsia and Cardinium, have been shown to infl uence the reproduction behavior of their host insects via sex-ratio-distorting, parthenogenesis induction, cytoplasmic incompatibility, feminization and male killing. Although all of them have been reported to be present L. bostrychophila in previous studies, however, it has shown incongruity result from different research. Whether these bacteria infl uence the reproduction behavior of L. bostrychophila is still unclear. In this study, I used diagnostic PCR (polymerase chain reaction) to investigate the presence of endosymbiotic bacteria in both sexual and asexual strains of L. bostrychophila. My preliminary results showed that endosymbiotic bacteria are present in both asexual and sexual strains. Different strains of L. bostrychophila, however, appear to harbour different types of endosymbiotic bacteria. Rickettsia are only found in asexual strains whereas Cardinium is only found in the sexual F-only type females.
Details
- Title
- Detection of endosymbiotic bacteria in booklice with different reproductive modes: sexual and asexual
- Authors
- Qianqian Yang (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Science, Health, Education and Engineering
- Conference details
- USC Research Conference, 2013 (Sunshine Coast, Australia, 01-Jul-2013–05-Jul-2013)
- Publisher
- University of the Sunshine Coast
- Date published
- 2013
- Copyright note
- Copyright © 2013 the author.
- Organisation Unit
- University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 99448863902621
- Output Type
- Conference presentation
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