Wolbachia Strain Diversity in Chrysomela Aeneicollis
The endosymbiont bacterium Wolbachia has been found to infect the microbiome of the sierran leaf beetle Chrysomela aeneicollis. Wolbachia has been documented to interfere with the reproductive compatability between mating pairs. The genetic diversity and roles of different strains on host physiological processes are currently understudied. DNA found in collected beetles from the drainages Tuttle Creek and Rock Creek in the Owens River Valley were analyzed. Genomics processing tools and Multi Locus Sequence Typing revealed the allele variations within Wolbachia strain types A and B. Twenty two unique genotype combinations were found in the DNA of Wolbachia A across the two sampling sites. Only one gentoype was found for Wolbachia B and was found in both sampling sites. The density of the two strain types were related to how fast it took for eggs to hatch. Eggs produced by beetles with higher densities of type A took longer to hatch and eggs produced by beetles with higher densities of type B hatched faster.