Strain Hiromi 1, a sulfur-oxidizing gammaproteobacterium was isolated from a hydrothermal vent chimney in the Okinawa Trough and represents a novel genus that may include a phylogenetic group found as endosymbionts of deep-sea gastropods. The SSU rRNA gene sequence similarity between strain Hiromi 1 and the gastropod endosymbionts was approximately 97%. The strain was shown to grow both chemoli...

The life cycles of many organisms are constrained by the seasonality of resources. This is particularly true for leaf-mining herbivorous insects that use deciduous leaves to fuel growth and reproduction even beyond leaf fall. Our results suggest that an intimate association with bacterial endosymbionts might be their way of coping with nutritional constraints to ensure successful development in...

Here we investigated the bacterial endosymbionts of weevils of the genus Curculio. From all four species of Curculio weevils examined, a novel group of bacterial gene sequences were consistently identified. Molecular phylogenetic analyses demonstrated that the sequences formed a distinct clade in the Gammaproteobacteria, which was not related to previously known groups of weevil endosymbionts s...

Lateral gene transfer (LGT) from bacteria to animals occurs more frequently than was appreciated prior to the advent of genome sequencing. In 2007, LGT from bacterial Wolbachia endosymbionts was detected in ~33% of the sequenced arthropod genomes using a bioinformatic approach. Today, Wolbachia/host LGT is thought to be widespread and many other cases of bacteria-animal LGT have been described....

In situ hybridization of rumen ciliate protozoa with 165 ribosomal RNA fluorescent oligonucleotide probes specific for Archaea and Bacteria provided semi-quantitative indication of the location, type and extent of prokaryotic colonization of various protozoal species. The isotrichid holotrich ciliates generally carried a smaller load of intracellular microorganisms than did the entodiniomorphid...

The streamlined genomes of ancient obligate endosymbionts generally lack transposable elements, as a consequence of their intracellular confinement. Yet, the genomes of Wolbachia, one of the most abundant bacterial endosymbionts on Earth, are littered with transposable elements, in particular insertion sequences (ISs). This paradox raises the question of whether or not such a mobile DNA prolife...

Biogenic methane contributes substantially to the atmospheric methane concentration and thus to global warming. This trace gas is predominantly produced by strictly anaerobic methanogenic archaea, which thrive in the most divergent ecological niches, e. g. paddy fields, sediments, landfills, and the digestive tract of various animals. Methanogenic archaea also live as endosymbionts in the cytop...

Insects are host to a wide range of vertically transmitted bacterial endosymbionts, but we know relatively little about their viral counterparts. Here, we discuss the vertically transmitted viral endosymbionts of insects, firstly examining the diversity of this group, and then focusing on the well-studied sigma viruses that infect dipterans. Despite limited sampling, evidence suggests that vert...

Microscopic localization of endosymbiotic bacteria in three species of mealybug (Pseudococcus longispinus, the long-tailed mealybug; Pseudococcus calceolariae, the citrophilus mealybug; and Pseudococcus viburni, the obscure mealybug) showed these organisms were confined to bacteriocyte cells within a bacteriome centrally located within the hemocoel. Two species of bacteria were present, with th...

The phylogenetic relationship of chemoautotrophic, sulfur-oxidizing, ectosymbiotic bacteria growing on a marine nematode, a Laxus sp. (formerly a Catanema sp.), to known endosymbionts and free-living bacteria was determined. Comparative 16S rRNA sequencing was used to investigate the unculturable nematode epibionts, and rRNA-targeted oligonucleotide hybridization probes were used to identify th...