Wolbachia MLST genes
The Wolbachia pipientis MLST scheme uses fragments of the following five conserved genes:
| gatB: | aspartyl/glutamyl-tRNA(Gln) amidotransferase, subunit B (wMel locus WD_0146) |
| coxA: | cytochrome c oxidase, subunit I (WD_0301) |
| hcpA: | conserved hypothetical protein, NCBI COG0217 (WD_0484) |
| ftsZ: | cell division protein (WD_0723) |
| fbpA: | fructose-bisphosphate aldolase (WD_1238) |
These genes were chosen from an initial collection of 46 loci on the basis of the following features:
- presence throughout the sequenced Rickettsiales order
- a single copy within the wMel genome
- a wide spatial distribution in the wMel genome
- evidence of strong stabilizing selection within Wolbachia (average Ka/Ks<<1).
These criteria conform to the standard loci requirements for an MLST system.