The butterfly Danaus plexippus is infected with the bacteria Wolbachia and Spiroplasma Public
Swamy, Rohini Sanjeev (2012)
Published
Abstract
Abstract
The butterfly Danaus plexippus is infected with the bacteria
Wolbachia and Spiroplasma
Very little is known about the microorganisms that exist within
Monarch butterflies ( Danaus
plexippus). Several studies have been carried out looking at
the microorganisms of other insect
species; research shows that large amounts of insect species are
infected with Wolbachia and
Spiroplasma. These bacteria have varying phenotypes within
their hosts, as well as different
relationships with their specific hosts. This study shows that
Monarch butterflies are, too,
infected with Wolbachia and Spiroplasma. The
prevalence rates of these bacteria were
determined using bacterium-specific Polymerase Chain Reactions.
Wolbachia had an extremely
low prevalence rate ~1%, while Spiroplasma had a high
prevalence rate ~80%. Interestingly, the
prevalence rates of both bacteria, especially Spiroplasma,
were different across the populations
screened. There was no significant difference in the number of
Wolbachia infected males vs.
females, but there was a significant difference between
Spiroplasma infected males vs. females.
Sequencing the bacteria and further phylogenetic analyses will be
important in determining the
strains of the bacteria and the phenotypes they cause in
Monarchs.
Table of Contents
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction
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1
Methods
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7
Fig 1..
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8
Table 1
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10
Results
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11
Table 2
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11
Fig 2.
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Fig 3.
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Fig 4..
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Fig. 5.
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Fig 6.
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Discussion
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17
Future Directions
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22
References
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23
Appendix A
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27
Appendix B
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35
Appendix C
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37
Appendix D
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39
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