TY - JOUR AU - Wentzel, Maren AU - Sawyer, Sara PY - 2017/04/04 Y2 - 2024/03/29 TI - The Wolbachia infection frequency of insects in central West Virginia JF - Proceedings of the West Virginia Academy of Science JA - Proc. W. Va. Acad. Sci. VL - 89 IS - 1 SE - Meeting Abstracts-Oral DO - 10.55632/pwvas.v89i1.267 UR - https://pwvas.org/index.php/pwvas/article/view/267 SP - AB - <p><em><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">Wolbachia </span></em><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">is a bacterial endosymbiont that infects the reproductive tissue of Arthropods, particularly insects. It</span><em></em><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">is transmitted primarily through the ova cytoplasm, alters the reproductive success of its host and thus a suspected driver of evolution and speciation. The frequency of infection in insects around the world suggest an equilibrium has been reached with rates ranging from 20% to 65%. We are investigating the infection frequency with </span><em><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">Wolbachia</span></em><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;"> in arthropods in central West Virginia to compare to infection in other locations. Insects were from wooded and meadow areas of the Glenville State College Campus, and Lewis County in the Stonewall Jackson Lake area, fixed in 95% ethanol and identified to species. To determine if an insect was infected with </span><em><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">Wolbachia</span></em><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">, DNA was extracted and PCR performed using </span><em><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">Wolbachia</span></em><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">-specific primers. Species sampled to date represent 9 of 16 target orders of Class Insecta, as well as 4 orders from Phylum Arthropoda. To date, 58 of 102 insects tested have demonstrated </span><em><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">Wolbachia </span></em><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">infection. This puts the infection rate of tested samples at approximately 56%.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">  </span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">To get a clearer understanding of the infection rate in this area, we intend to sample additional insects and add additional orders.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">  </span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">Determining the infection frequency in this area is an important step in understanding the impact of </span><em><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">Wolbachia</span></em><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;"> on the insects of West Virginia. </span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">  </span></p> ER -