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<p>Maternally inherited <i>Wolbachia</i> endosymbionts are known to manipulate arthropod reproduction. In the lepidopteran insect <i>Eurema mandarina</i> (de l’Orza 1869) (Lepidoptera: Pieridae), individuals doubly infected with a <i>Wolbachia</i> strain that induces cytoplasmic incompatibility, wCI, and a strain that induces feminization, wFem, have been reported from Tanegashima Island for at least 20&#xa0;years. Feminization biases host population sex ratios toward females, potentially leading to extreme female-biased populations and the absence of males. However, how wFem and wFem-infected lineages are maintained over the long term remains an unresolved problem. Exploring an unstudied population with a sex ratio skewed by wFem can provide insights into the persistence mechanisms of wFem and its host. The present study aimed to elucidate the sex ratio and <i>Wolbachia</i> infection status of <i>E. mandarina</i> populations on Yakushima Island, located near Tanegashima Island in the southern part of Japan. Most individuals observed in the field were female, and PCR analyses based on the <i>wsp</i> gene showed that all females examined were doubly infected with wCI and wFem. A complete female bias was observed in offspring derived from these females, indicating that wFem induced feminization in butterflies. Mitochondrial DNA analyses revealed that <i>E. mandarina</i> populations from Yakushima and Tanegashima Islands shared the same mtDNA haplotypes, suggesting that the wFem-infected lineages on the two islands have a common maternal origin. Dissections of female individuals showed that females suffered a scarcity of males on Yakushima Island. The extreme sex ratio bias observed was considered especially severe in the <i>E. mandarina</i> population on Yakushima Island.</p>

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Extreme sex ratio bias caused by feminization-inducing Wolbachia wFem in Eurema mandarina (Lepidoptera: Pieridae) on Yakushima Island

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年6月20日

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  • Riku Matsumoto,
  • Asuka Shintani,
  • Hana Yamamoto,
  • Tatsuro Konagaya

摘要

Maternally inherited Wolbachia endosymbionts are known to manipulate arthropod reproduction. In the lepidopteran insect Eurema mandarina (de l’Orza 1869) (Lepidoptera: Pieridae), individuals doubly infected with a Wolbachia strain that induces cytoplasmic incompatibility, wCI, and a strain that induces feminization, wFem, have been reported from Tanegashima Island for at least 20 years. Feminization biases host population sex ratios toward females, potentially leading to extreme female-biased populations and the absence of males. However, how wFem and wFem-infected lineages are maintained over the long term remains an unresolved problem. Exploring an unstudied population with a sex ratio skewed by wFem can provide insights into the persistence mechanisms of wFem and its host. The present study aimed to elucidate the sex ratio and Wolbachia infection status of E. mandarina populations on Yakushima Island, located near Tanegashima Island in the southern part of Japan. Most individuals observed in the field were female, and PCR analyses based on the wsp gene showed that all females examined were doubly infected with wCI and wFem. A complete female bias was observed in offspring derived from these females, indicating that wFem induced feminization in butterflies. Mitochondrial DNA analyses revealed that E. mandarina populations from Yakushima and Tanegashima Islands shared the same mtDNA haplotypes, suggesting that the wFem-infected lineages on the two islands have a common maternal origin. Dissections of female individuals showed that females suffered a scarcity of males on Yakushima Island. The extreme sex ratio bias observed was considered especially severe in the E. mandarina population on Yakushima Island.