Which statement describes cytoplasmic incompatibility in Wolbachia-based strategies?

Which statement describes cytoplasmic incompatibility in Wolbachia-based strategies?

• A. Infected males mating with uninfected females produce no offspring due to cytoplasmic incompatibility.
• B. Infected females are sterile.
• C. Cytoplasmic incompatibility increases reproduction.
• D. Wolbachia causes immediate death of all offspring.

Answer: (A)

Cytoplasmic incompatibility happens when a male infected with Wolbachia carries a modified sperm that cannot successfully fertilize an egg unless the egg contains Wolbachia to rescue that modification. Wolbachia is transmitted through the egg, so an uninfected female cannot provide the rescuing environment, leading to embryos that fail to develop and produce no viable offspring. If the female is infected, her eggs include Wolbachia and can rescue the modification, allowing normal embryonic development and viable offspring. This explains why matings between an infected male and an uninfected female yield little to no offspring, a mechanism leveraged in Wolbachia-based control strategies. The other ideas—sterile infected females, increased reproduction, or immediate death of all offspring—don’t reflect how incompatibility depends on the infection status of both parents and results in selective cross incompatibility rather than universal sterility or death.

Cytoplasmic incompatibility happens when a male infected with Wolbachia carries a modified sperm that cannot successfully fertilize an egg unless the egg contains Wolbachia to rescue that modification. Wolbachia is transmitted through the egg, so an uninfected female cannot provide the rescuing environment, leading to embryos that fail to develop and produce no viable offspring. If the female is infected, her eggs include Wolbachia and can rescue the modification, allowing normal embryonic development and viable offspring. This explains why matings between an infected male and an uninfected female yield little to no offspring, a mechanism leveraged in Wolbachia-based control strategies. The other ideas—sterile infected females, increased reproduction, or immediate death of all offspring—don’t reflect how incompatibility depends on the infection status of both parents and results in selective cross incompatibility rather than universal sterility or death.