Wolbachia endosymbionts and their effects on the fitness of the arthropod hosts

: Wolbachia are common and maternally inherited bacteria found in reproductive tissue of a wide range of arthropod species. A tremendous amount of progress on their manipulating reproduction of their host has been made over the past 30 years. Recent surveys have found that they could effect the fitness of their hosts. The recent advances on Wolbachia distribution, locality and their effects on the fitness of hosts are reviewed, and the significance and potential implications of the fields are discussed.