Spiroplasma and Wolbachia in Leaf Beetles

Spiroplasma Presence in the Microbiota Compared to Wolbachia in C. aeneicollis leaf beetles

Presenter: Ruby Kaiser

Presenter Status: Undergraduate student

Academic Year: 20-21

Semester: Spring

Faculty Mentor: Nathan Rank

Department: Biology

Other Funding Source/Program: National Science Foundation

Screenshot URL: https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1wWiGdfx74MbdUiiNdCTMJVTIABvZPjQK

Abstract:
Animal microbiota can play a key role in mediating responses to stressful temperatures or other abiotic factors. They can also influence the adaptive significance of genetic variation in animal populations by altering the relative performance of individuals of different genotypes. The leaf beetle Chrysomela aeneicollis lives at high elevations in the California Sierra Nevada mountains, and populations possess genetic variation at mitochondrial and nuclear genes that influence its response to stress. I looked at the variation in the microbiota, focusing on Wolbachia and Spiroplasma, to determine relationships between the beetle populations and different bacterial strains.