https://serc.carleton.edu/microbelife/k12/microbes_within/resources.html
Questions
Briefly describe the basic biology of Wolbachia.
What is meant by an obligate, intracellular symbiont?
What are the 4 basic reproductive strategies induced by Wolbachia?
Resources
Wolbachia pipientis - Encyclopedia of Life (more info)
Biology of Wolbachia (more info)
Wolbachia (more info)Wolbachia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (more info)
Wolbachia: A Tale of Sex and Survival (more info)
Reproductive Strategies
Questions
Define the 4 reproductive strategies of Wolbachia.
Why would Wolbachia induce asexual reproduction in its host?
How can we "cure" the host of asexual reproduction?
Resources
Asexual Reproduction (more info)
Wolbachia pipientis - Encyclopedia of Life (more info)
Bizarre parasite that kills male insects and disrupts insect sex lives is not all bad: it can make sterile fruit flies fertile again (more info)
But Madame Butterfly, Where Are All the Males? (more info)
Wolbachia, widowmaker (more info)
Human Disease
Questions
List and describe two major human diseases associated with Wolbachia.
How did researchers confirm that Wolbachia was actually responsible for these diseases?
How are they being treated?
Resources
A-WOL - Anti-Wolbachia Consortium (more info)
Worms' bacteria main cause of river blindness - Parasites - medical research (more info)
Africa: One step nearer to cure for river blindness (more info)
Targeting wolbachia, doxycycline reduces pathology of lymphatic filariasis (more info)
Doxycycline Reduces Plasma VEGF-C/sVEGFR-3 and Improves Pathology in Lymphatic Filariasis (more info)
New Culprit Emerges in River Blindness (more info)
Speiation in Insects
Black Fly
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Adult Black Fly (Simulium yahense) with Onchocerca volvulus emerging from the insect's antenna. The parasite is responsible for the disease known as
River Blindness in Africa. Image provided courtesy of the USDA under Public Domain.
Questions
What is meant by reproduction isolation? How can it lead to speciation?
How does Wolbachia influence speciation?
How did researchers confirm that Wolbachia may be responsible for speciation in insects?
Resources
Evolution 101: Speciation - Reproductive Isolation (more info)
Bacterium Can Alter Evolution Of Another Species (more info)
Bacteria Spurs Speciation (more info)
Infection Divides Two Wasp Species (more info)
Speciation and Wolbachia (more info)
Evolution: Infectious Speciation (more info)
Wolbachia and Wasp Evolution (more info)
Vector Control
Questions
What is meant by "vector-borne" disease?
Name at least two vector-borne diseases. How might vector-borne diseases be controlled using Wolbachia?
How might Wolbachia help to prevent the spread of malaria?
Resources
Vector-Borne Diseases (more info)
Bacterial parasite shows potential in disease control (more info)
Mosquito age and dengue transmission (more info)
Study raises malaria block hopes (more info)
Can Wolbachia help prevent the spread of malaria? (more info)
Wolbachia pipientis - Encyclopedia of Life (more info) - Video: Population replacement strategies for controlling vector populations and the use of
Wolbachia pipientis for genetic drive
Viruses/Phage: The Parasites Within
Questions
Describe the structure and infection process of bacteriophage.
What is the difference between the lytic and lysogenic lifestyles of bacteriophage?
What is the effect of bacteriophage WO-B within Wolbachia? The host insect? How did researchers confirm this relationship?
Resources
Bacteriophage (more info)
Mysterious Invaders - A Closer Look at Viruses ( This site may be offline. )
Viral hitchhiker inhibits Wolbachia bacteria's ability to proliferate (more info)
The Tripartite Associations between Bacteriophage, Wolbachia, and Arthropods (more info)
Symbiotic enemies fight over insect (more info)
Symbiosis & Host-Microbe Interactions
Questions
Define endosymbiosis. What is the endosymbiotic theory of evolution?
Compare/contrast mitochondria & Wolbachia.
What is horizontal gene transfer? How does it relate to Wolbachia?
Resources
Symbiosis (more info)
The Endosymbiotic Theory (more info)
The Evolution of Organelles (more info)
It Takes Teamwork: How Endosymbiosis Changed Life on Earth (more info)
Horizontal Gene Transfer (more info)
Parasite Invades Its Host's DNA (more info)
One Species' Genome Discovered Inside Another's (more info)
The parasitic bacterium Wolbachia and the origin of the eukaryotic cell ( This site may be offline. )
Wolbachia pipientis are gram-negative bacteria that form intracellular inherited infections in many invertebrate hosts. They are extremely common with at least 20% of all insects being infected. Since insect species comprise ~85% of all animal species on the planet, Wolbachia pipientis are one of the most common bacterial endosymbionts in the biosphere and can be of major importance in ecological and evolutionary processes. Moreover they infect numerous non-insect invertebrates including filarial nematodes, terrestrial crustaceans, mites, and spiders. They are predominantly transmitted through females to developing eggs, but can also undergo some horizontal transmission between host species. The limits of the host range are not fully appreciated at this time. Much of the success of Wolbachia can be attributed to the diverse phenotypes that result from infection. These include classical mutualism in nematodes in which the bacteria are required for fertility and larval development; and reproductive parasitism in arthropods as characterized by the ability of Wolbachia to override chromosomal sex determination, induce parthenogenesis, selectively kill males, influence sperm competition and generate cytoplasmic incompatibility. Reproductive parasitism enhances the spread of Wolbachia through host arthropod populations by increasing the number of infected females, the transmitting sex of this bacterium. Wolbachia are present in mature eggs, but not mature sperm. It is thought that the phenotypes caused by Wolbachia, especially cytoplasmic incompatibility, may be important in promoting rapid speciation events in insects. The unique biology of Wolbachia has attracted a growing number of researchers and science educators interested in questions ranging from the evolutionary implications of infection to the use of this endosymbiont for human disease control and discovery-based projects in high school classrooms.
