Molecular evidence for multiple infections of a new subgroup of Wolbachia in the European raspberry beetle Byturus tomentosus

Wolbachia, a group of maternally inherited intracellular parasitic bacteria , alter host reproduction, including the induction of thelytokous parthenog enesis, feminization of genetic males, son killing and, most commonly the i nduction of cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI), in a diverse array of arthrop ods. CI can result in infertility and has attracted attention because of it s potential in biological control and as an agent in speciation. Although t here has been some analysis of overall infection rates in arthropods and wi thin individual insect orders, there has been little exploration of within- species variation. In this study, primers specific for the ftsZ gene of Wol bachia were used to amplify it from different geographical samples of the E uropean raspberry beetle (Byturus tomentosus), confirming the presence of W olbachia. More than 99% of UK individuals were found to be infected with Wo lbachia and 97% of these B. tomentosus beetles harboured multiple infection s. Preliminary analysis of B. tomentosus beetles from continental European populations revealed a lower level of infection (24%) than those from the U K. Phylogenetic analysis using the ftsZ DNA sequences places Wolbachia from B. tomentosus into a new clade (Abt) within the A division, with some revi sions to the existing Wolbachia phylogeny.