Introduction to Wolbachia infection status in arthropods of Iran

Background: The relationship between symbiont bacteria and arthropods is an interesting topic for lots of researchers. Wolbachia has been considered as the most abundant intracellular symbiont in arthropods. It can affect host growth procedure, reproduction and immunity of arthropods.Objectives: The main objective of this study was to determine the status of Wolbachia infection in arthropods of Iran.Materials and Methods: An intensive search of available literature was done in Web of Science , PubMed and SID databases. Wolbachia, arthropods, insects, Iran and Infection were used as search keywords. Literature which has been done in Iran was used in this study.Results: The collected 32 publications in Iranian and International journals revealed that studying on Wolbachia in Iran started in 2003. Scorpions, Siphonaptera, Diptera, Hemiptera, Hymenoptera, and Lepidoptera were studied for Wolbachia infections In Iran. Psychodidae and Trichogrammatidae were the most studied families.Conclusion: Although Wolbachia was detected in studied species, it was not present in all of their different populations, or different infection rates were found among different populations. This seems to be due to variation of climate, environmental conditions and environmental factors. With a wide range of arthropods infection, maternal transmission, and the various effects on its hosts, Wolbachia serves as a new tool for developing environmentally safe strategies for controlling disease vectors. In future studies, knowing its pattern of presence and biological properties as well as its relationship with vectors, we will be able to develop symbiont-based control programs. New methods of vector control require basic studies on identifying the symbionts, such studies could serve as a basis for future studies on the impact of this bacterial symbionts on vector biology, transmission cycle, and its potential use in control programs.

کلیدواژه ها:

Wolbachia ، arthropods ، bacterial symbionts ، insects ، Iran