The distribution of strains of endosymbiotic bacteria Wolbachia pipientis in natural populations of Culex pipiens mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae)

Abstract

Wolbachia is a group of maternally inherited endosymbiotic bacteria that infect and induce cytoplasmic incompatibility in a wide range of arthropods. Wolbachia species are involved and play a significant role in some evolutionary processes, e.g. those of rapid speciation. The mosquito Culex pipiens displays the greatest variability of cytoplasmic incompatibility crossing types compared with other arthropods suggesting differential infection by multiple Wolbachia pipientis strains. We investigated the distribution of these strains based on the polymorphism of transposable element Tr1 in natural populations of the C. pipiens, as well as C. torrentium, from Russian Federation, Republic of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic and Republic of Belarus. No C. torrentium were found infected. Infection rates of different strains of Wolbachia in populations of typical and molestus forms of C. pipiens are compared and discussed.