PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Zabalou, Sofia AU - Charlat, Sylvain AU - Nirgianaki, Androniki AU - Lachaise, Daniel AU - Merçot, Hervé AU - Bourtzis, Kostas TI - Natural Wolbachia Infections in the <em>Drosophila yakuba</em> Species Complex Do Not Induce Cytoplasmic Incompatibility but Fully Rescue the <em>w</em>Ri Modification AID - 10.1534/genetics.103.015990 DP - 2004 Jun 01 TA - Genetics PG - 827--834 VI - 167 IP - 2 4099 - http://www.genetics.org/content/167/2/827.short 4100 - http://www.genetics.org/content/167/2/827.full SO - Genetics2004 Jun 01; 167 AB - In this study, we report data about the presence of Wolbachia in Drosophila yakuba, D. teissieri, and D. santomea. Wolbachia strains were characterized using their wsp gene sequence and cytoplasmic incompatibility assays. All three species were found infected with Wolbachia bacteria closely related to the wAu strain, found so far in D. simulans natural populations, and were unable to induce cytoplasmic incompatibility. We injected wRi, a CI-inducing strain naturally infecting D. simulans, into the three species and the established transinfected lines exhibited high levels of CI, suggesting that absence of CI expression is a property of the Wolbachia strain naturally present or that CI is specifically repressed by the host. We also tested the relationship between the natural infection and wRi and found that it fully rescues the wRi modification. This result was unexpected, considering the significant evolutionary divergence between the two Wolbachia strains.