The use of Wolbachia as a tool to control insect vectors has recently been suggested. In this context, studies on the prevalence and diversity of this bacterium in wild populations are relevant. Here, we evaluated the diversity of two Wolbachiagenes (ftsZ and wsp) and the prevalence of this endosymbiont in wild Aedes albopictus. Using semi-nested polymerase chain reaction, our results showed th...

Obligate endosymbiosis is operationally defined when loss or removal of the endosymbiont from the host results in the death of both. Whereas these relationships are typically viewed as mutualistic, molecular and cellular analysis reveals numerous instances in which these symbiotic relationships are established by alternative, nonmutualistic strategies. The endosymbiont usurps or integrates into...

Mitochondria are the main sites of biological energy generation in eukaryotes. These organelles are remnants of a bacterial endosymbiont that took up residence inside a host cell over 1,500 million years ago. Comparative genomics studies suggest that the mitochondrion is monophyletic in origin. Thus, the original mitochondrial endosymbiont has evolved independently in anaerobic and aerobic envi...

In creating mitochondria some 2 billion years ago, the first eukaryotes needed to establish protein import machinery in the membranes of what was a bacterial endosymbiont. Some of the preexisting protein translocation apparatus of the endosymbiont appears to have been commandeered, including molecular chaperones, the signal peptidase, and some components of the protein-targeting machinery. Howe...

Aegagropiles are conglomerations of fibre debris from Posidonia oceanica meadows that frequently found along Mediterranean beaches, but the plant organ which these fibres arise remains unknown. In this study, a histological comparison P. organs 3 shoots with structure aegagropile showed most them leaf sheaths and rhizomes, suggesting they degradation products “matte” rather than litter, is main...

O ne of the more remarkable discoveries of 20th century biology is that all eukaryotes are chimeras of two or more different cells (1). The tree of life does not just bifurcate through successive speciation events; its branches also graft, one onto another, merging lineages to produce novel fruit. Our mitochondria, and the photosynthetic plastids of plants and algae, are proof of the success of...

Francisella is a genus of bacterial pathogens potentially lethal to humans. We report here for the first time a novel Francisella-like endosymbiont discovered in a hard-tick (Rhipicephalus sanguineus s.l.) obtained from a chicken (Gallus domesticus) in Thailand. The phylogenetic results indicate the 16S rDNA sequences of this Francisella bacterium form a unique clade with the Francisella-like e...

Wolbachia is an intracellular endosymbiont infecting most arthropod and some filarial nematode species that is vertically transmitted through the maternal lineage. Due to this primary mechanism of transmission, most studies have focused on Wolbachia interactions with the host germline. However, over the last decade many studies have emerged highlighting the prominence of Wolbachia in somatic ti...

Chloroplasts originate from ancient cyanobacteria-like endosymbiont. Several tens of chloroplast proteins are encoded by the chloroplast genome, while more than hundreds are encoded by the nuclear genome in plants and algae, but the exact number and identity of nuclear-encoded chloroplast proteins are still unknown. We describe here attempts to identify a large number of unidentified chloroplas...

Lyrodus turnerae n. sp., a species of Teredinidae, is described from specimens in tropical Australia and Papua New Guinea. The new species is characterized by the morphology of the pallets, with a dark periostracal cap sharply descending into a thin calcium cup. New and existing collection records of L. turnerae are presented, indicating a distribution range from coastal Papua New Guinea and th...