Ir. M.E. Huigens : On the evolution of Wolbachia-induced parthenogenesis in Trichogramma wasps

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28 May 2003 16:00
Unit: Wageningen University
Location: Aula (gebouw 362), Gen. Foulkesweg 1, Wageningen
Promotor: prof.dr. J.C. van Lenteren (Entomology)
Co Promotor: dr.ir. R. Stouthamer (University of California, Riverside, USA)

 The bacterium Wolbachia is one of the most common parasites in the animal kingdom and can manipulate its host’s reproduction in several impressive ways. Uninfected Trichogramma wasps need sex to produce daughters but Wolbachia-infected females produce daughters from both their fertilized and unfertilized eggs (asexual reproduction). Trichogramma lays her eggs in butterfly eggs and is therefore massively used in biological control of caterpillar pests. In my Ph.D. study I have focussed on the evolutionary pathways of Wolbachia-infections in Trichogramma wasps that occur in the Mojave Desert. We have shown the first evidence of how Wolbachia - and asexual reproduction - can be infectious in nature: uninfected wasps can become infected with Wolbachia, and subsequently reproduce asexually, when they share a butterfly egg with infected conspecifics (Nature 405, 178-179) or infected wasps from another species. Aside from being an important new finding for evolutionary work on Wolbachia, our results can also be interesting for applied purposes. Wolbachia can namely enhance the efficacy of biological control of caterpillar pests because - for control purposes - superfluous males are not being produced.
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