Wolbachia screening in spiders and assessment of horizontal transmission between predator and prey.

Recent studies have revealed that the prevalence of Wolbachia in arthropods is attributable not only to its vertical transmission, but also to its horizontal transfer. In order to assess the horizontal transmission of Wolbachia between predator and prey, arthropods belonging to 11 spider families and six insect families were collected in the same field of rice. The distribution of Wolbachia in these arthropods was detected by diagnostic PCR amplification of the wsp (Wolbachia outer surface protein gene) and 16S rDNA genes. Nurscia albofasciata Strand (Araneae: Titanoecidae), Propylea japonica Thunberg (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), Paederus fuscipes Curtis (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae), and Nilaparvata lugens Stal (Homoptera: Delphacidae) were infected with Wolbachia. This is the first report of infection of N. albofasciata and P. fuscipes by Wolbachia. No direct evidence indicated the existence of horizontal transmission of Wolbachia between predator and prey.