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Characterizing The Maternally Inherited Endosymbionts Of Solitary Bees, Abiya Saeed
Characterizing The Maternally Inherited Endosymbionts Of Solitary Bees, Abiya Saeed
Theses and Dissertations--Entomology
Solitary bees are important pollinators of crops, with species in the family Megachilidae (mason bees) being used for orchard pollination. Commercial movement of these bees also moves their microbiota, including bacterial endosymbionts capable of reproductive manipulation. To test for presence of these bacteria, I screened commercially available species of US orchard pollinators and locally captured solitary bees from Kentucky. I also set up mason bee boxes in five apple orchards to examine recruitment of local pollinators. I conducted 454-pyrosequencing to determine bacterial diversity within four species followed by diagnostic PCR of 30 collected species (184 individuals) to determine infection frequency …
Putting Theory Into Practice: Predicting The Invasion And Stability Of Wolbachia Using Simulation Models And Empirical Studies, Philip R. Crain
Putting Theory Into Practice: Predicting The Invasion And Stability Of Wolbachia Using Simulation Models And Empirical Studies, Philip R. Crain
Theses and Dissertations--Entomology
A new strategy to fight mosquito-borne disease is based on infections of the maternally-transmitted, intracellular bacterium Wolbachia pipientis. Estimates predict that Wolbachia infects nearly half of all insect species, as well as other arthropods and some nematodes. Wolbachia manipulates the reproduction of its host to promote infection, most commonly causing a form of conditional sterility known as cytoplasmic incompatibility. Generally, Wolbachia infections are benign and do not inflict significant costs upon its host. However, studies demonstrate that some infections are associated with substantial costs to its host. These same infections can also induce pathogen interference and decrease vector competency …