Frequency of infection with A and B supergroup <Emphasis Type="Italic">Wolbachia</Emphasis> in insects and pests associated with mulberry and silkworm

Wolbachia is a ubiquitous, Gram-negative, vertically transmitted, alpha-proteobacterium that causes an array of reproductive abnormalities including cytoplasmic incompatibility, feminization of genetic males, parthenogenesis in a number of insect species, among others. Wolbachia is now being exploited as an agent for pest and vector control. Previous surveys indicated that it is commonly seen in 16–76% of arthropods. In this paper, using polymerase chain reaction assay based on specific amplification of the ftsZ-A and-B supergroup Wolbachia gene fragments, we found that 30% of insects and pests screened were positive for Wolbachia. Among them 66.7% harbour double Wolbachia infection, while 33.3% harbour single Wolbachia infection. These results indicate widespread infection with both double and single Wolbachia, and provide a wealth of information to exploit this endobacterium for the management of pests and vectors.