Ecology and Evolution of a Novel Bacterial Symbiont Causing Cytoplasmic Incompatibility

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Insects and their relatives are commonly infected with maternally inherited bacteria that spread by manipulating the reproduction of their hosts. A common type of reproductive manipulation is cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI), in which bacteria cause infected males to be incompatible with uninfected females. This incompatibility sabotages the reproduction of uninfected females. Previously, only the bacterium Wolbachia was thought to cause this kind of manipulation. However, the recently discovered bacterium Cardinium also causes CI. This project is the first ecological study of Cardinium and will test models of how this bacterium spreads in its wasp host Encarsia pergandiella, an important biological control agent of the agricultural pest, sweetpotato whitefly. This project will also examine CI in a host infected with both Wolbachia and Cardinium, Encarsia inaron, the primary biological control agent of ash whitefly, a pest of ornamental trees in the US. The study will examine interactions between the two bacteria, and their individual and combined effects on the host. The study will determine if either, or both bacteria cause CI, and if they are mutually incompatible. This research will contribute to a better understanding of how two lineages of CI bacteria spread and affect their hosts. There is much interest in the potential of CI bacteria to suppress pests and disease agents. Broader impacts of this research include applications for management of agricultural pests and prevention of human diseases that are transmitted by insects and ticks, such as malaria and Lyme disease. This research will also contribute to education by training graduate and undergraduate students.