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Discovery of a Novel Wolbachia Supergroup in Isoptera

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Abstract

Wolbachia are one of the most abundant groups of bacterial endosymbionts in the biosphere. Interest in these heritable microbes has expanded with the discovery of wider genetic diversity in undersampled host species. Here, we report on the putative discovery of a new genetic lineage, denoted supergroup H, which infects the Isopteran species Zootermopsis angusticollis and Z. nevadensis. Evidence for this novel supergroup is based on portions of new Wolbachia gene sequences from each species spanning 3.5 kilobases of DNA and the following genes: 16S rDNA, dnaA, gltA, groEL, and ftsZ. Single-gene and concatenated maximum likelihood phylogenies establish this new supergroup and validate the positioning of the other Wolbachia supergroups. This discovery is the first example of a termite Wolbachia that is highly divergent from the Isopteran Wolbachia previously described in supergroup F. This study highlights the importance of multilocus approaches to resolving Wolbachia supergroup relationships. It also suggests that surveys of Wolbachia in more earlier-originating (and undersampled) groups of arthropods are more apt to reveal novel genetic diversity.

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Acknowledgments

We thank P. Degnan and A. Lazarus for technical assistance with sequencing. For help with Zootermopsis specimens, we appreciate Dr. Colin Brent’s shipment of Z. nevadensis individuals, and we thank the administrators of the Huddart Park, San Mateo County, CA, for allowing collection of Z. angusticollis colonies. This work was supported by grants from the NASA Astrobiology Institute (NNA04CC04A) and the Neal W. Cornell Endowed Research Fund. This work was performed while Seth Bordenstein held a National Research Council Research Associateship Award at the Marine Biological Laboratory.

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  1. The Marine Biological Laboratory, The Josephine Bay Paul Center for Comparative Molecular Biology and Evolution, Woods Hole, MA, 02543, USA

    Seth Bordenstein

  2. Department of Biology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, 02115-5000, USA

    Rebeca B. Rosengaus

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  1. Seth Bordenstein
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  2. Rebeca B. Rosengaus
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Correspondence to Seth Bordenstein.

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Bordenstein, S., Rosengaus, R.B. Discovery of a Novel Wolbachia Supergroup in Isoptera. Curr Microbiol 51, 393–398 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-005-0084-0

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