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Wolbachia are maternally inherited intracellular bacteria that infect a wide range of arthropods and cause an array of effects on host reproduction, fitness and mating behavior. Although our understanding of the Wolbachia-associated effects on hosts is rapidly expanding, our knowledge of the host factors that mediate Wolbachia dynamics is rudimentary. Here, we explore the interactions between Wolbachia and its host, the two-spotted spider mite Tetranychus urticae Koch. Our results indicate that Wolbachia induces strong cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI), increases host fecundity, but has no effects on the longevity of females and the mating competitiveness of males in T. urticae. Most importantly, host mating pattern was found to affect Wolbachia density dynamics during host aging. Mating of an uninfected mite of either sex with an infected mite attenuates the Wolbachia density in the infected mite. According to the results of Wolbachia localization, this finding may be associated with the tropism of Wolbachia for the reproductive tissue in adult spider mites. Our findings describe a new interaction between Wolbachia and their hosts.

Cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI) has been proposed as a major mechanism by which certain strains of Wolbachia to invade and persist in host populations. However, mechanisms that underlie the invasion and persistence of non-CI strains are less well understood. Here, we established a spider mite Tetranychus phaselus population multiply infected by Cardinium as well as two distinct lineages of Wolbachia, designated wCon and wOri, to study the forces driving the spread of the non-CI strain of Wolbachia wOri. Interestingly, we found that wOri provided a longevity advantage to its female hosts under ideal conditions, making wOri stay longer in this population, and then being transmitted to more offspring. Furthermore, the lifespan of uninfected females was reduced when mated with multiple-infected males. As a result, the uninfected population is attenuated by the multiple-infected males. Thus, we infer that the host age effects of multiple infection may represent sufficient forces driving the spread of wOri through the host population.

Wolbachia are maternally inherited intracellular bacteria that infect a wide range of arthropods and cause an array of effects on host reproduction, fitness and mating behavior. Although our understanding of the Wolbachia-associated effects on hosts is rapidly expanding, our knowledge of the host factors that mediate Wolbachia dynamics is rudimentary. Here, we explore the interactions between Wolbachia and its host, the two-spotted spider mite Tetranychus urticae Koch. Our results indicate that Wolbachia induces strong cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI), increases host fecundity, but has no effects on the longevity of females and the mating competitiveness of males in T. urticae. Most importantly, host mating pattern was found to affect Wolbachia density dynamics during host aging. Mating of an uninfected mite of either sex with an infected mite attenuates the Wolbachia density in the infected mite. According to the results of Wolbachia localization, this finding may be associated with the tropism of Wolbachia for the reproductive tissue in adult spider mites. Our findings describe a new interaction between Wolbachia and their hosts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]