Supergroup F Wolbachia in terrestrial isopods: Horizontal transmission from termites?

Bianca Laís Zimmermann; Giovanna M Cardoso; Didier Bouchon; Pedro H Pezzi; Alexandre V Palaoro; Paula B Araujo

doi:10.1007/s10682-021-10101-4

Supergroup F Wolbachia in terrestrial isopods: Horizontal transmission from termites?

Evol Ecol. 2021;35(2):165-182. doi: 10.1007/s10682-021-10101-4. Epub 2021 Jan 21.

Authors

Bianca Laís Zimmermann¹, Giovanna M Cardoso², Didier Bouchon³, Pedro H Pezzi⁴, Alexandre V Palaoro⁵, Paula B Araujo⁴

Affiliations

¹ Instituto Federal de Ciências e Tecnologia do Rio Grande Do Sul. Rua Nelsi Ribas Fritsch, 1111, Bairro Esperança, Ibirubá, Rio Grande Do Sul CEP 98200-000 Brazil.
² Centro de Estudos em Biologia Subterrânea, Departamento de Biologia, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia Aplicada, Universidade Federal de Lavras, Campus Universitário, CP 3037, Lavras, Minas Gerais CEP 37200-900 Brazil.
³ CNRS UMR 7267, Laboratoire Ecologie Et Biologie Des Interactions, Université de Poitiers, 5 Rue Albert Turpain, Batiment B8-B35, TSA 51106, 86073 Poitiers, France.
⁴ Departamento de Zoologia, Laboratório de Carcinologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Av. Bento Gonçalves, 9500, Bairro Agronomia, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande Do Sul CEP 91501-970 Brazil.
⁵ LUTA do, Departamento de Ecologia e Biologia Evolutiva, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Rua Artur Riedel, 275, Bairro Eldorado, Diadema, São Paulo CEP 09972-270 Brazil.

Abstract

Horizontal transmission between distantly related species has been used to explain how Wolbachia infect multiple species at astonishing rates despite the selection for resistance. Recently, a terrestrial isopod species was found to be infected by an unusual strain of supergroup F Wolbachia. However, only Wolbachia of supergroup B is typically found in isopods. One possibility is that these isopods acquired the infection because of their recurrent contact with termites-a group with strong evidence of infection by supergroup F Wolbachia. Thus, our goals were: (1) check if the infection was an isolated case in isopods, or if it revealed a broader pattern; (2) search for Wolbachia infection in the termites within Brazil; and (3) look for evidence consistent with horizontal transmission between isopods and termites. We collected Neotroponiscus terrestrial isopods and termites along the Brazilian coastal Atlantic forest. We sequenced and identified the Wolbachia strains found in these groups using coxA, dnaA, and fpbA genes. We constructed phylogenies for both bacteria and host taxa and tested for coevolution. We found the supergroup F Wolbachia in other species and populations of Neotroponiscus, and also in Nasutitermes and Procornitermes termites. The phylogenies showed that, despite the phylogenetic distance between isopods and termites, the Wolbachia strains clustered together. Furthermore, cophylogenetic analyses showed significant jumps of Wolbachia between terrestrial isopods and termites. Thus, our study suggests that the horizontal transmission of supergroup F Wolbachia between termites and terrestrial isopods is likely. Our study also helps understanding the success and worldwide distribution of this symbiont.

Supplementary information: The online version of this article (10.1007/s10682-021-10101-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Keywords: Horizontal transmission; Isopoda; Isoptera; Neotropical fauna; Symbiosis.