From Parasite to Mutualist: Rapid Evolution of Wolbachia in Natural Populations of Drosophila
https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.0050114

Andrew R. Weeks, Michael Turelli, William R. Harcombe, K. Tracy Reynolds, Ary A. Hoffman, PLOS Biology


This is a research paper on a case study in Wolbachia evolution published in PLoS Biology in 2007. The study takes advantage of a natural experiment - the spread of Wolbachia through California Drosophila populations - to test the hypothesis that maternal transmission favors evolution towards mutualism. This paper provides insight into Wolbachia biology, but also a case study for a broader evolutionary principle.


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Subject: Biology, Ecology, Ecology:Symbiotic Relations, Symbiotic Relations:Mutualism, Parasitism, Biology:Evolution, Evolution:Principles, Patterns, Processes, Biology:Microbiology, Molecular Biology
Resource Type: Scientific Resources, Research Results
Grade Level: College Upper (15-16), Graduate/ProfessionalKeywords: Wolbachia, Drosophila, symbiosis, mutualism, evolution, vertical transmission, maternal transmission, cytoplasmic incompatibility, fecundity