ArticlePLoS pathogens2013
Rapid sequential spread of two Wolbachia variants in Drosophila simulans.
Article in PLoS pathogens, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 121 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
121 citing papers in PubMed, 217 citations in OpenAlex.
- Native Wolbachia infection dynamics across Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) populations in Hawai'i.Parasites & vectors · 2026Article
- Pervasive effects ofbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Calibrating and documenting host-switching and evolution of incompatibility loci for two closely related Wolbachia clades.Genetics · 2026Article
- Temperature-sensitive cytoplasmic incompatibility across divergent Wolbachia partly reflects cifB transcription, not endosymbiont density.Molecular biology and evolution · 2026Article
- Article
- Climate predictsbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Temperature-sensitive cytoplasmic incompatibility across divergentbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Calibrating and documenting host-switching and evolution of incompatibility loci for two closely relatedbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Exploration of Wolbachia strains in Amrasca biguttula Ishida (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) and its egg parasitoid Trichogramma chilonis (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae).BMC microbiology · 2026Article
- Wolbachia Host Shifts and Widespread Occurrence of Reproductive Manipulation Loci in European Butterflies.Molecular ecology · 2025Article
- Telomere-to-telomere genome assembly uncovers Wolbachia-driven recurrent male bottleneck effect and selection in a sawfly.Communications biology · 2025Article
- Stochastic Fluctuations of the Facultative EndosymbiontEcology and evolution · 2025Article
- Reciprocal Host-Evolutionary applications · 2025Article
- Review
- Changes in the frequency of facultative endosymbionts in insect populations: overview and applications.Entomologia generalis · 2025Article
- Wolbachia Offers Protection Against Two Common Natural Viruses of Drosophila.Microbial ecology · 2025Article
- Pervasive horizontal transmission of Wolbachia in natural populations of closely related and widespread tropical skipper butterflies.BMC microbiology · 2025Article
- Mitochondrial andPeerJ · 2025Article
- Spatially VaryingEvolutionary applications · 2024Article
- Review
61 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The maternally inherited intracellular bacteria Wolbachia can manipulate host reproduction in various ways that foster frequency increases within and among host populations. Manipulations involving cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI), where matings between infected males and uninfected females produce non-viable embryos, are common in arthropods and produce a reproductive advantage for infected females. CI was associated with the spread of Wolbachia variant wRi in Californian populations of Drosophila simulans, which was interpreted as a bistable wave, in which local infection frequencies tend to increase only once the infection becomes sufficiently common to offset imperfect maternal transmission and infection costs. However, maternally inherited Wolbachia are expected to evolve towards mutualism, and they are known to increase host fitness by protecting against infectious microbes or increasing fecundity. We describe the sequential spread over approximately 20 years in natural populations of D. simulans on the east coast of Australia of two Wolbachia variants (wAu and wRi), only one of which causes significant CI, with wRi displacing wAu since 2004. Wolbachia and mtDNA frequency data and analyses suggest that these dynamics, as well as the earlier spread in California, are best understood as Fisherian waves of favourable variants, in which local spread tends to occur from arbitrarily low frequencies. We discuss implications for Wolbachia-host dynamics and coevolution and for applications of Wolbachia to disease control.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.