Wolbachia infection shared among planthoppers (Homoptera : Delphacidae) and their endoparasite (Strepsiptera : Elenchidae): a probable case of interspecies transmission

Wolbachia, a group of parasitic bacteria of arthropods, are believed to be horizontally transmitted among arthropod taxa. We present a new probable ex ample of interspecies horizontal transmission of Wolbachia by way of an end oparasite based on the conformity of Wolbachia gene sequences. Field sample s of two rice planthoppers, Laodelphax striatellus and Sogatella furcifera possessed identical Wolbachia. Among three major endoparasites of planthopp ers, a strepsipteran, Elenchus japonicus, harboured the identical Wolbachia strain, suggesting strepsipteran transmission of Wolbachia from one planth opper to the other. No Wolbachia was detected in a mermithid nematode Agame rmis unka, and dryinid wasps possessed different types of Wolbachia.