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Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 56 (2006), 2535-2540; DOI  10.1099/ijs.0.64386-0
© 2006 International Union of Microbiological Societies

‘Candidatus Midichloria mitochondrii’, an endosymbiont of the tick Ixodes ricinus with a unique intramitochondrial lifestyle

Davide Sassera1, Tiziana Beninati2, Claudio Bandi1, Edwin A. P. Bouman3, Luciano Sacchi4, Massimo Fabbi5 and Nathan Lo2

1 Dipartimento di Patologia Animale, Igiene e Sanità Pubblica Veterinaria, Università degli studi di Milano, 20133 Milan, Italy
2 School of Biological Sciences, The University of Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia
3 Biology Centre, Institute of Parasitology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Branisovská 31, 370 05 Ceské Budejovice, Czech Republic
4 Dipartimento di Biologia Animale, Università di Pavia, Piazza Botta 9, 27100 Pavia, Italy
5 Sezione Diagnostica di Pavia, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell'Emilia Romagna "Bruno Ubertini", 27100 Pavia, Italy

Correspondence
Nathan Lo
nathan{at}usyd.edu.au

An intracellular bacterium with the unique ability to enter mitochondria exists in the European vector of Lyme disease, the hard tick Ixodes ricinus. Previous phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA gene sequences suggested that the bacterium formed a divergent lineage within the Rickettsiales (Alphaproteobacteria). Here, we present additional phylogenetic evidence, based on the gyrB gene sequence, that confirms the phylogenetic position of the bacterium. Based on these data, as well as electron microscopy (EM), in situ hybridization and other observations, we propose the name ‘Candidatus Midichloria mitochondrii’ for this bacterium. The symbiont appears to be ubiquitous in females of I. ricinus across the tick's distribution, while lower prevalence is observed in males (44 %). Based on EM and in situ hybridization studies, the presence of ‘Candidatus M. mitochondrii’ in females appears to be restricted to ovarian cells. The bacterium was found to be localized both in the cytoplasm and in the intermembrane space of the mitochondria of ovarian cells. ‘Candidatus M. mitochondrii’ is the first bacterium to be identified that resides within animal mitochondria.

Abbreviations: EM, electron microscopy

The GenBank/EMBL/DDBJ accession number for the gyrB gene sequence of ‘Candidatus Midichloria mitochondrii’ is AM159536.




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Origin and Evolution of the Mitochondrial Aminoacyl-tRNA Synthetases
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[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


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Copyright © 2006 by the International Union of Microbiological Societies.