Molecular diagnosis of <i>Wolbachia</i> endosymbiont from Iranian scorpion <i>Hemiscorpius lepturus</i> using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of 16S rDNA gene

Abstract

There are several reports concerning the intracellular bacteria, Wolbachia, which infect an extensive range of invertebrates and promote a diverse array of reproductive alteration which encourage infection spread among its host population. This study reports the identification of Wolbachia in the Iranian scorpion named Hemiscorpius lepturus (H. lepturus) collected from the southwestern province of Khuzestan using partial polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of Wolbachia 16S rDNA gene. PCR product was directly sequenced and the alignment of the sequence with similar sequences in GenBank showed high similarity with 16S rDNA gene of Wolbachia endosymbiont of Drosophila melanogaster.

Key words: Wolbachia, Iranian scorpion, 16S rDNA gene, Hemiscorpius lepturus.