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Review of treatment methods to remove Wolbachia bacteria from arthropods

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Abstract

Wolbachia are intracellular bacteria that infect numerous and diverse arthropod species including economic pests of crops and disease vectors affecting livestock and humans. Research on these symbionts has identified profound effects of Wolbachia on their hosts with possible application in pest control. Such research often requires methods to cure infections. To facilitate future research on these bacteria, we reviewed the Wolbachia literature to summarize results of 110 studies spanning 62 taxa that report on treatment methods and outcomes. Application of tetracycline in diet is the most common method and is typically successful. Rifampicin is secondarily used, and may be successful when tetracycline is not. Elevated temperatures can be used to eliminate infections, but is not often used. Rearing hosts under crowded conditions or starvation has been shown to reduce Wolbachia titre which affects maternal transmission. Application of treatment methods has a number of considerations with possible implications for the interpretation of data. This review is intended to alert the reader to treatment options and potential non-target effects.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and the Chinese Ministry of Education for providing Y. Li the opportunity to work at the Lethbridge Research Centre (LRC). We also thank Paul C. Coghlin (LRC) for his guidance and continuous encouragement through this project.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Agriculture, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, China

    Y.-Y. Li & B.-P. Pang

  2. Lethbridge Research Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Lethbridge, AB, Canada

    Y.-Y. Li & K. D. Floate

  3. Cereal Research Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Winnipeg, MB, Canada

    P. G. Fields

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  1. Y.-Y. Li
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  2. K. D. Floate
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  3. P. G. Fields
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  4. B.-P. Pang
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Correspondence to B.-P. Pang.

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Li, YY., Floate, K.D., Fields, P.G. et al. Review of treatment methods to remove Wolbachia bacteria from arthropods. Symbiosis 62, 1–15 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13199-014-0267-1

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