The Wolbachia Holy Grail: loci behind CI
This obscure alpha-proteobacterium, named Wolbachia , was first discovered because of the weird ways in which it messed with insect reproduction - everything from parthenogenesis induction to male killing to the most common of effects, so-called "cytoplasmic incompatibility." In this case, Wolbachia somehow prevents uninfected females and infected males from mating. Ever since it was first described by Hertig and Wolbach back in 1924, folks have been trying to figure out the how of CI. At the Wolbachia 2016 meetings, it seems like someone(s) has finally cracked that nut. <DISCLAIMER: I am actually sitting on my ass in my home office and not at the #Wolb2016 meetings as they are in Australia and I'm allergic to traveling to Australia. However, I heard on the twitter that> Seth Bordenstein + Daniel LePage and John Beckman presented data on two loci - WD0631 and WD0632 - which may be behind CI. It seems like these loci, when co-expressed in an uninfected male ...