Metagenomic analyses reveal three supergroups of Wolbachia in a single genus of feather-feeding lice (Penenirmus).

Insects with nutritionally limited diets often harbor bacterial endosymbionts that supplement their nutritional requirements. However, not all interactions between bacteria and insects are mutually beneficial. Wolbachia is a genus of bacteria that frequently causes cytoplasmic incompatibility and other reproductive parasitic effects on many of its arthropod hosts.