You will not find Wolbachia bacteria in the usual places! Instead, these bacteria prefer to inhabit small animals like fruit flies, spiders or mosquitoes. In these hosts, the bacterium and the animal live in symbiosis, protecting and benefiting each other. The bacterium produces helpful molecules for the animal, and in return, the host provides the bacterium with a place to live and food.
Within insects, Wolbachia pipientis defends its host from harmful intruders, as this bacterium eliminates viruses like Zika, Yellow-fever or Dengue. That’s why we even utilize this bacterium in the battle against these dangerous viruses. To do this, mosquitoes infected with Wolbachia pipientis are released into the environment. Within the mosquito population, the bacteria eradicate these viruses, thereby protecting us from them.
Some nasty viruses can live in mosquitos and get transported into our bodies, when these infected mosquitos bite us. Luckily, some bacteria have superpowers that can fight off these viruses. Find out how the bacterium Wolbachia protects both mosquitos and us from these nasty viruses.
