Geographic and Temporal Variation of Distinct Intracellular Endosymbiont Strains of Wolbachia sp. in the Grasshopper Chorthippus parallelus a Frequency-Dependent Mechanism?

• Published in: Microbial ecology Vol. 77; no. 4; pp. 1036 - 1047
• Main Authors: Martínez-Rodríguez, Paloma, Rolán-Alvarez, Emilio, del Mar Pérez-Ruiz, M., Arroyo-Yebras, Francisca, Carpena-Catoira, Carla, Carvajal-Rodríguez, Antonio, Bella, José L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer Science + Business Media 01.05.2019; Springer US; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Animals; Biodiversity; Biological Coevolution; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Chorthippus parallelus; Computer Simulation; Dynamics; Ecology; Fitness; Frequency dependence; GENES AND GENOMES; Genetic drift; Geoecology/Natural Processes; Geography; Grasshoppers - microbiology; Intracellular; Life Sciences; Linear Models; Microbial Ecology; Microbiology; Natural populations; Natural selection; Nature Conservation; Polymorphism, Genetic; Reproductive fitness; Sampling error; Seasons; Symbiosis; Temporal variations; Water Quality/Water Pollution; Wolbachia; Wolbachia - genetics; Wolbachia - physiology; Frequency-dependent natural selection; Temporal biodiversity; Fitness estimate; Evolutionary dynamics
• ISSN: 0095-3628; 1432-184X
• DOI: 10.1007/s00248-019-01338-2

Wolbachia is an intracellular endosymbiont that can produce a range of effects on host fitness, but the temporal dynamics of Wolbachia strains have rarely been experimentally evaluated. We compare interannual strain frequencies along a geographical region for understanding the forces that shape Wolbachia strain frequency in natural populations of its host, Chorthippus parallelus (Orthoptera, Acrididae). General linear models show that strain frequency changes significantly across geographical and temporal scales. Computer simulation allows to reject the compatibility of the observed patterns with either genetic drift or sampling errors. We use consecutive years to estimate total Wolbachia strain fitness. Our estimation of Wolbachia fitness is significant in most cases, within locality and between consecutive years, following a negatively frequency-dependent trend. Wolbachia spp. B and F strains show a temporal pattern of variation that is compatible with a negative frequency-dependent natural selection mechanism. Our results suggest that such a mechanism should be at least considered in future experimental and theoretical research strategies that attempt to understand Wolbachia biodiversity.