Karyotype relationships among Anastrepha bistrigata, A. striata and A. serpentina (Diptera, Tephritidae)

The species of Anastrepha are arranged into 17 intrageneric groups. Recently, it was proposed that two species of the striata group, Anastrepha striata and A. bistrigata, might be realocated to serpentina group. Anastrepha bistrigata and A. serpentina have an X1X2Y/X1X1 X2X2 sex chromosome system while A. striata has a XY/XX system. It was previously proposed that the karyotype of A. bistrigata could be derived from that of A. striata by an Y:A fusion, and that the karyotype of A. serpentina would be derived from another, hypothetical karyotype. In the present report sequential staining with DAPI and chromomycin A3 (CMA3), followed by C-banding, revealed that the C-banded heterochromatic blocks of the sex chromosomes of A. bistrigata have different affinities to fluorochromes in comparison to the chromosomes of A. striata, from which they have hypothetically derived. The chromosomes of A. serpentina show substantial differences in their cytochemical properties compared to their A. bistrigata and A. striata counterparts. The FISH technique showed that the ribosomal gene sequences are located in DAPI- or DAPI/CMA3-positive heterochromatic blocks of the sex chromosomes, one site on the Y chromosome and one site on the X chromosome (X1 in A. bistrigata and A. serpentina). The data suggest that the karyotype of A. striata and A. bistrigata could be derived from a common ancestral karyotype, while the A. serpentina karyotype probably has a distinct origin

Wolbachia in guilds of Anastrepha fruit flies (Tephritidae) and parasitoid wasps (Braconidae)

Abstract The endosymbiont Wolbachia is efficiently transmitted from females to their progenies, but horizontal transmission between different taxa is also known to occur. Aiming to determine if horizontal transmission might have occurred between Anastrepha fruit flies and associated braconid wasps, infection by Wolbachia was screened by amplification of a fragment of the wsp gene. Eight species of the genus Anastrepha were analyzed, from which six species of associated parasitoid wasps were recovered. The endosymbiont was found in seven Anastrepha species and in five species of braconids. The WSP Typing methodology detected eight wsp alleles belonging to Wolbachia supergroup A. Three were already known and five were new ones, among which four were found to be putative recombinant haplotypes. Two samples of Anastrepha obliqua and one sample of Doryctobracon brasiliensis showed multiple infection. Single infection by Wolbachia was found in the majority of samples. The distribution of Wolbachia harboring distinct alleles differed significantly between fruit flies and wasps. However, in nine samples of fruit flies and associated wasps, Wolbachia harbored the same wsp allele. These congruences suggest that horizontal transfer of Wolbachia might have occurred in the communities of fruit flies and their braconid parasitoids

Wolbachia in guilds of Anastrepha fruit flies (Tephritidae) and parasitoid wasps (Braconidae)

Abstract The endosymbiont Wolbachia is efficiently transmitted from females to their progenies, but horizontal transmission between different taxa is also known to occur. Aiming to determine if horizontal transmission might have occurred between Anastrepha fruit flies and associated braconid wasps, infection by Wolbachia was screened by amplification of a fragment of the wsp gene. Eight species of the genus Anastrepha were analyzed, from which six species of associated parasitoid wasps were recovered. The endosymbiont was found in seven Anastrepha species and in five species of braconids. The WSP Typing methodology detected eight wsp alleles belonging to Wolbachia supergroup A. Three were already known and five were new ones, among which four were found to be putative recombinant haplotypes. Two samples of Anastrepha obliqua and one sample of Doryctobracon brasiliensis showed multiple infection. Single infection by Wolbachia was found in the majority of samples. The distribution of Wolbachia harboring distinct alleles differed significantly between fruit flies and wasps. However, in nine samples of fruit flies and associated wasps, Wolbachia harbored the same wsp allele. These congruences suggest that horizontal transfer of Wolbachia might have occurred in the communities of fruit flies and their braconid parasitoids