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Article: "Male-targeting" bacterium's genome is deciphered.
- Article from:
- Biotech Week
- Article date:
- April 7, 2004
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2004 APR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Living inside the gonad cells of more than a million species of insects, spiders, crustaceans and worms, most members of the Wolbachia family of intracellular bacteria manipulate the reproduction of their host to help ensure their own survival.
The losers in that manipulation are always the males of the host organism. Depending on the specific pair of Wolbachia and host species involved, the host males are either killed, converted into females, or prevented from successfully fertilizing the eggs of uninfected females.
Scientists have now shed light on the biology and evolution of these amazing bacteria by ...