About This Project

The maternally vertical transmitted bacterial reproductive parasite Wolbachia occurs in ~50% of all arthropods including the pillbug Armadillidium vulgare. In some pillbugs, Wolbachia feminizes genetic male offspring into functioning anatomical females. A second feminizing phenomenon is a nuclear insert called the f-element. We will be the first to determine the frequency of thes two sex ratio distorter distribution in A. vulgare across the United States.

Ask the Scientists

What is the context of this research?

In 2022 Durand et al.published a paper documenting the distribution and types of Wolbachia related sex ration distorters (SRD) for A. vulgare in Europe and Japan. This study followed previous works documenting the SRDs in pillbugs. Durand, 2022 was the first study showing how common these SRDs were and how the SRDs related to CO1 haplotypes. The study painted an interesting picture of A. vulgare evolutionary dynamics in relation to Wolbachia. The obvious gap for us to try and fill is the absence of North American data, since A. vulgare is the most common pillbug in the United States.

What is the significance of this project?

The idea that a bacterial infection can control an organism's reproduction is amazing to my students. We previously cultured A. vulgare and documented the feminization in vitro, however we have not looked at genetic screenings across a wider geographic area. Knowing how common the distribution of Wolbachia and the f-element are and how they are genetically grouped, will provide greater insight to the field of holobiomics and Wolbachia related symbiosis. Research questions: How common are the SRDs across the United States and are there any correlation between mitochondrial haplotypes and Wolbachia and/or f-element SRDs?, and How diverse are SRD Wolbachia Supergroups across the US?

What are the goals of the project?

We started collecting spring/summer and PCR this fall 2023 . Our experimental design includes euthanized pillbug DNA extraction and purification using spin columns. We will use the eluted DNA to run multile PCR reactions with seperate primers to sequence CO1, and detect Wolbachia and the f-element SRDs. The CO1 and Wolbachia positive PCR products will be Sanger sequenced. We will use bioinformatics for CO1 barcode pillbug ID confirmation, CO1 sequence alignment with 23 known mitochoindrial haloptypes, Wolbachia supergroup ID, and correlation between CO1 haplotypes and Wolbachia. We also will determine statistical frequency of SRDs in each state sampled and evaluate genetic distance between them.