Naturally occurring single and double infection with Wolbachia strains in the butterfly Eurema hecabe: transmission efficiencies and population density dynamics of each Wolbachia strain

Wolbachia belonging to Alphaproteobacteria are transovarially transmitted bacteria responsible for reproductive alterations in a wide range of arthropods. In natural populations of the butterfly Eurema hecabe, there are two different types of Wolbachia-infected individuals. Individuals singly infected with Wolbachia strain wHecCI exhibit strong cytoplasmic incompatibility, whereas those doubly infected with wHecCI and wHecFem exhibit feminization. Here, we examined the infection frequencies and population densities of each Wolbachia strain in different host tissues (ovary, testis, fat body, midgut, Malpighian tubule and leg), and the cost of infection in offspring produced by single-infected and double-infected mothers of E. hecabe. The vertical transmission rate of wHecCI was nearly 100%, and that of wHecFem was c. 80%. The wHecCI densities were 10(3)-10(4)-fold higher than the wHecFem densities. In most tissues, the wHecCI densities were significantly higher in offspring of single-infected mothers than in offspring of double-infected mothers. In offspring of double-infected mothers, however, the wHecCI densities were not affected by the presence of wHecFem, suggesting a lack of interaction between the wHecCI and wHecFem densities. The offspring development time was dependent on the infection status of the mothers. These results imply that the maternal infection status affects the Wolbachia densities and fitness of offspring.