[5] The first organism classified as Wolbachia was discovered in 1924 by Marshall Hertig and Simeon Burt Wolbach in the common house mosquito.

[8][9] Since, a large number of bacteria with close phylogenetic affinity to the originally detected W. pipientis have been discovered in a variety of hosts spanning over the Arthropoda and Nematoda phyla.

[10] The genus Wolbachia is of considerable interest today due to its ubiquitous distribution, its many different evolutionary interactions, and its potential use as a biocontrol agent.

[15][16][17] Unlike Wolbachia, which needs a host cell to multiply, relatives belonging to these genera can be cultured on agar plates.

Wolbachia bacteria maximize their spread by altering the reproductive capabilities of their hosts, in favour for the infected females.

For example, populations of the pill woodlouse, Armadillidium vulgare which are exposed to the feminizing effects of Wolbachia, have been known to lose their female-determining chromosome.

[34] Cryptic species of ground wētā (Hemiandrus maculifrons complex) are host to different lineages of Wolbachia which might explain their speciation without ecological or geographical separation.

Compared to predator-prey interactions, the physical association between the host and parasites typically lasts longer, occurs at various developmental stages, and enables Wolbachia to directly contact various tissues.

When the mouthparts and ovipositors of aphelinid parasitoid wasps become contaminated through feeding Wolbachia-infected Bemisia tabaci, it can infect the next host.

[46] The pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) in the bacteria, such as peptidoglycan, can activate the host's innate immune responses.

Wolbachia may initially occupy somatic stem cells as a stable reservoir[52] and then use the host's vitellogenin transovarial transportation system to enter the oocyte.

Invasion of a new population likely stems from specific phenotypic effects, including reproductive manipulations and/or providing direct fitness benefits to their female hosts.

[66] In leafminers of the species Phyllonorycter blancardella, Wolbachia bacteria help their hosts produce green islands on yellowing tree leaves, that is, small areas of leaf remaining fresh, allowing the hosts to continue feeding while growing to their adult forms.

Larvae treated with tetracycline, which kills Wolbachia, lose this ability and subsequently only 13% emerge successfully as adult moths.

[68] In the parasitic filarial nematode species responsible for elephantiasis, such as Brugia malayi and Wuchereria bancrofti, Wolbachia has become an obligate endosymbiont and provides the host with chemicals necessary for its reproduction and survival.

[69] Elimination of the Wolbachia symbionts through antibiotic treatment therefore prevents reproduction of the nematode, and eventually results in its premature death.

[73] There is substantial evidence that the presence of Wolbachia that induce parthenogenesis have put pressure on species to reproduce primarily or entirely this way.

[78][79] Comparative sequence analyses of bacteriophage WO[80] offer some of the most compelling examples of large-scale horizontal gene transfer between Wolbachia coinfections in the same host.

A large part of the pathogenicity of filarial nematodes is due to host immune response toward their Wolbachia.

[89] Naturally existing strains of Wolbachia have been shown to be a route for vector control strategies because of their presence in arthropod populations, such as mosquitoes.

[90][91] Due to the unique traits of Wolbachia that cause cytoplasmic incompatibility, some strains are useful to humans as a promoter of genetic drive within an insect population.

[92] An example includes a life-shortening Wolbachia that can be used to control dengue virus and malaria by eliminating the older insects that contain more parasites.

The wMel strain of Wolbachia pipientis significantly reduced infection and dissemination rates of CHIKV in mosquitoes, compared to Wolbachia uninfected controls and the same phenomenon was observed in yellow fever virus infection converting this bacterium in an excellent promise for YFV and CHIKV suppression.

[112] In another study, West Nile virus (WNV) infection rate was significantly higher in Wolbachia (strain wAlbB)-infected C. tarsalis compared to controls.

One example is with strain wAlbB in Culex tarsalis, where infected mosquitoes actually carried the West Nile virus (WNV) more frequently.

As a result, careful studies of the Wolbachia strain and ecological consequences must be done before releasing artificially-infected mosquitoes in the environment.

[117] In 2016, WMP scientist Scott Ritchie proposed using wMel mosquitos to combat the spread of the Zika virus.

[119] In October 2016, it was announced that US$18 million in funding was being allocated for the use of Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes to fight Zika and dengue viruses.

[123] In March 2023, Brazil's Oswaldo Cruz Foundation signed an agreement with WMP to provide funds for a large "mosquito factory" producing infected insects.

In July 2017, it announced a plan to release about 20 million Wolbachia-infected male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in Fresno, California, in an attempt to combat the Zika virus.