Absence of Wolbachia Endobacteria in Chandlerella quiscali, an Avian Filarial Parasite

Abstract

Chandlerella quiscali is a filarial nematode parasite of the common grackle (Quiscalus quiscula), a widespread bird species found throughout most of North America. Worms collected from wild-caught birds were morphologically identified as C. quiscali and tested for the presence of Wolbachia, an alphaproteobacterial endosymbiont required for reproduction and maturation by many filarial species. Although various methods, including PCR, in situ hybridization and immunohistology, were employed, we were unable to detect evidence of colonization with Wolbachia. Due to the widespread distribution of the grackle host, localization within the host, and high-infection rates, C. quiscali may be among the most easily obtainable of Wolbachia-free filarial species. Further studies of C. quiscali and other Wolbachia-free filarial species may help to shed light on the reason(s) that some filarial species require Wolbachia while others do not.

A new type F Wolbachia from Splendidofilariinae (Onchocercidae) supports the recent emergence of this supergroup

“…Until now, only two splendidofilariine species had been analysed and appeared not to be infected with Wolbachia: an Aproctella sp. (Ferri et al, 2011) and Chandlerella quiscali (McNulty et al, 2012), both parasites of birds. We screened one species parasitic in mammals, Rumenfilaria andersoni, and one parasitic in saurians, Madathamugadia hiepei.…”

Comparing the mitochondrial genomes of Wolbachia-dependent and independent filarial nematode species

“…The other 3, A. viteae L. loa and O. flexuosa , are Wolbachia -free [ 1 , 8 , 10 , 28 ], presumably due to secondary loss of the endosymbiont [ 1 , 29 ]. Conversely, C. quiscali and S. digitata are Wolbachia -free and belong to subfamilies (Splendidofilariinae and Setariinae, respectively) that have not been shown to contain Wolbachia -infected species, suggesting that these subfamilies split from the lineage prior to the introduction of Wolbachia endobacteria [ 2 , 9 ].…”

Description and molecular characterisation of Pelecitus copsychi Uni, Mat Udin & Martin n. sp. (Nematoda: Onchocercidae) from the white-rumped shama Copsychus malabaricus (Scopoli) (Passeriformes: Muscicapidae) of Pahang, Malaysia

“…copsychi n. sp. in the Dirofilariinae ( McNulty et al., 2012 ; Lefoulon et al., 2016 ; this study). One might hypothesize that avian filariae in general are devoid of Wolbachia .…”