Incomplete removal of Wolbachia with tetracycline has two-edged reproductive effects in the thelytokous wasp Encarsia formosa (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae)

Wolbachia pipientis are intracellular endosymbionts that induce parthenogenesis in the parasitoid Encarsia formosa. Previous studies that focused on effects of Wolbachia on the wasp usually used tetracycline to remove Wolbachia without concern for the joint influences of tetracycline and Wolbachia. Here we treated the wasps (F0 lines) with tetracycline to produce offspring (F1 lines) which were not fed tetracycline to avoid antibiotic influence. The quantitative data and fluorescence in situ hybridization showed that Wolbachia titers were reduced but not totally removed. The Wolbachia that infected the male offspring were unpredictably detected. Low dose tetracycline enhanced the fertility of 2-day-old F0 wasps after 24 h of treatment; however, compared with controls, the oocyte load of 3- to 6-day-old tetracycline-treated wasps decreased day by day, and tetracycline reduced the longevity of the wasps. The fecundity of controls was significantly higher than that of the treated F1-10 and F1-20 generations. Gene expression of vitellogenin reflected the same trend as that of wasp fecundities in both F0 and F1 lines. Moreover, female offspring proportions of F0 and F1 lines were related to the titer of infected Wolbachia, demonstrating that Wolbachia titer affected the sex determination of E. formosa.