Инфицированность эндосимбиотической бактерией Wolbachia видов блох (Siphonaptera: Insecta) Свердловской области и Хабаровского края

Wolbachia are maternally inherited symbiotic bacteria that are widespread among arthropods and filarial nematode parasites. It has been found in all main insect orders although some of them are still insufficiently studied. We performed PCR-screening for 15 species, 252 samples of fleas (Siphonaptera), that had been collected in the Sverdlovsk region and Khabarovsk territory. Six new symbiotic associations of Wolbachia-Siphonaptera were found for the first time. On the basis of earlier published data and the results of the current study we estimate that a minimum of 500 out of 2000 species in the Siphonaptera order are infected with Wolbachia