Meeting Abstract
Wolbachia is a very common endosymbiotic bacterium that can affect its hosts in various complicated ways. It can affect some nematodes and numerous arthropods, including terrestrial isopods.” The focus of our research was the potential effects Wolbachia can have on not only terrestrial isopods, but also aquatic species of isopods as well. Using PCR, specimens were obtained from the Rice Creek Field Station in Oswego, New York, which were then analyzed to determine species and sex. The species, Caecidotea racovitzai, was identified and then several of the collected specimens were tested for Wolbachia. Our initial results showed little to no Wolbachia infection, but may be skewed because of the limited sample size being tested at the time. We are currently testing additional samples, as well as a marine isopod species, Idotea baltica, that we plan on working further with in the lab to test prevalence of Wolbachia in freshwater and marine isopods.
