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Title: Warm temperature inhibits cytoplasmic incompatibility induced by endosymbiotic Rickettsiella in spider hosts
Abstract Bacterial endosymbionts manipulate reproduction in arthropods to increase their prevalence in the host population. One such manipulation is cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI), wherein the bacteria sabotage sperm in infected males to reduce the hatch rate when mated with uninfected females, but zygotes are ‘rescued’ when that male mates with an infected female. In the spiderMermessus fradeorum(Linyphiidae),Rickettsiellasymbionts cause variable levels of CI. We hypothesised that temperature affects the strength of CI and its rescue inM. fradeorum, potentially mediated by bacterial titre. We rearedRickettsiella‐infected spiders in two temperature conditions (26°C vs. 20°C) and tested CI induction in males and rescue in females. In incompatible crosses between infected males and uninfected females, the hatch rate from warm males was doubled (mean ± standard error = 0.687 ± 0.052) relative to cool males (0.348 ± 0.046), indicating that CI induction is weaker in warm males. In rescue crosses between infected females and infected males, female rearing temperature had a marginal effect on CI rescue, but the hatch rate remained high for both warm (0.960 ± 0.023) and cool females (0.994 ± 0.004). Bacterial titre, as measured by quantitative polymerase chain reaction, was lower in warm than cool spiders, particularly in females, suggesting that bacterial titre may play a role in causing the temperature‐mediated changes in CI.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
1953223
PAR ID:
10541175
Author(s) / Creator(s):
 ;  ;  ;  
Publisher / Repository:
Wiley-Blackwell
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Environmental Microbiology
Volume:
26
Issue:
9
ISSN:
1462-2912
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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