The Wolbachia bacterium is one of the best studied reproductive manipulators found in variuos invertebrate taxa. Theoretically it infects two thirds of invertebrates. It is thought to have a huge impact on its hosts’ evolution.
The ant is a very successful organism in terrestrial ecosystems especially with its charicteristic sociality. However, the influence of Wolbachia on the animal remains to be paid more attention.
This study is to examine Wolbachia infection frequency in some ant species in Korea. The result shows that 9 out of 12 ant species harbor the bacterium. Furthermore, at least two species show polymorphism in their infection status at the colony level.
This will be used as a foundation of further study on the interactions between the bacterium and ant species.

• Jae Chun Choe(Ecology and Evolution Team, National Institute of Ecology, Division of EcoScience, Ewha Womans University)
• Jaeyeon Kang(Ecology and Evolution Team, National Institute of Ecology)
• Eunha Ko(Ecology and Evolution Team, National Institute of Ecology, Division of EcoScience, Ewha Womans University)
• Gilsang Jeong(Ecology and Evolution Team, National Institute of Ecology)