Wolbachia属共生细菌及其对节肢动物生殖活动的调控作用

Wolbachia endosymbionts and their manipulation of reproduction of arthropod hosts

Wolbachia属是广泛分布于节肢动物生殖组织内的一类共生细菌。这些共生菌通过卵的细胞质传播并参与多种调控其宿主生殖活动的机制 ,包括 :诱导生殖不亲和、诱导孤雌生殖、雌性化、雄性致死和调节繁殖力。Wolbachia被认为与性别决定、共生关系和物种形成等重要生物学问题密切相关 ,是探索这些研究领域的新线索。而且Wolbachia可作为特定的载体对其宿主种群进行遗传调控 ,如增强寄生蜂在害虫生物防治中的作用 ,控制线虫引起的疾病传播。该文综述了Wolbachia的形态学及存在部位、基因组结构、系统发育、种的命名、水平传递和Wolbachia对其宿主生殖活动的调控作用 ,并分析了Wolbachia研究的科学意义和发展趋势 ,以期引起我国生物学家对Wolbachia研究的注意和快速切入。

Wolbachia is a common and widespread group of symbiotic bacteria found in reproductive tissues of arthropods. These bacteria are transmitted through the cytoplasm of eggs and have evolved various mechanisms for manipulating reproduction of their hosts, including induction of reproductive incompatibility, parthenogenesis, feminization, male killing, fecundity or fertility modifying. Wolbachia is thought to be major factors in the evolution of sex determination, eusociality, and speciation. It is a new clue for those research fields. Wolbachia is also of interest as vectors for the modification of their host populations, in the improvement of parasitoid wasps in biological pest control, and as a new method for interfering with diseases caused by filarial nematodes. In this paper, Wolbachia biology is reviewed, including morphological description and distribution, genome sequences, phylogeny and naming of Wolbachia species, horizontal transfer and phenotypic effects on their host. The science value of Wolbachia and potential directions for future research are also discussed.