(1st Place) Spatial dynamics of Wolbachia transmission in Drosophila simulans

Bacteria from the genus Wolbachia are intracellular symbionts found within many arthropod, and nematode species. These bacteria employ a wide range of tactics, such as altering their hosts’ physiology, development, and behavior, in order to propagate. While the benefits these strategies provide is well understood, there are limited data on the exact mechanisms by which they are executed. Wolbachia have been used as a biological control for vector mosquitoes in the past, and while successful, a better understanding of Wolbachia transmission could improve their viability as a form of vector control in the future. In order to better understand how these bacteria are transmitted across generations, I conducted Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FiSH) on Drosophila simulans embryos coinfected with Wolbachia strains wHa and wNo. Following FiSH, image analysis revealed a significantly higher abundance of wHa, relative to wNo. Additionally, wNo seems restricted to the posterior margins of the embryos while wHa is evenly distributed. Future research will focus on deriving the significance of these observed distributions and how they relate to Wolbachia-host interactions.