• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.62 no.1
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• pp.117-130
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• 2024

Ticks host different pathogens as endosymbiont and nonpathogenic microorganisms and play an important role in reproductive fitness and nutrient provision. However, the bacterial microbiomes of white-tailed deer ticks have received minimal attention. This study aimed to examine the bacterial microbiome of ticks collected from Odocoileus virginianus on the Mexico-United States border to assess differences in microbiome diversity in ticks of different species, sexes, and localities. Five different tick species were collected: Rhipicephalus microplus, Dermacentor nitens, Otobius megnini, Amblyomma cajennense, and A. maculatum. The tick microbiomes were analyzed using next-generation sequencing. Among all tick species, the most predominant phylum was Proteobacteria, followed by Actinobacteria and Firmicutes. The ticks from Tamaulipas and Nuevo León presented the highest bacterial species diversity. Acinetobacter johnsonii and A. lwoffii were the common bacterial species in the microbiome of all ticks, Coxiella were present in R. microplus, and Dermacentor nitens also exhibited a Francisella-like endosymbiont. The microbiome of most females in D. nitens was less diverse than that of males, whereas R. microplus occurs in females, suggesting that microbiome diversity is influenced by sex. In the bacterial communities of A. maculatum and O. megnini, Candidatus Midichloria massiliensis, and Candidatus Endoecteinascidia fumentensis were the most predominant endosymbionts. These results constitute the initial report on these bacteria, and this is also the first study to characterize the microbiome of O. megnini.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.53 no.3
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• pp.329-333
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• 2015

The emergence of dirofilarial infections in Asia including Vietnam is a clinically significant threat to the community. We here report a rare case of subcutaneous Dirofilaria repens infection on the posterior thoracic wall in a young woman presenting a painful, itchy, and palpable nodule. The adult worm was identified by mitochondrial cox1 and nuclear ITS-2 sequence determination. The diagnosis was additionally confirmed by 16S rRNA sequencing of the endosymbiont Wolbachia pipientis commonly co-existing with D. repens. This is a rare case of subcutaneous human infection on the posterior thoracic region caused by D. repens.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.398-403
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• 1989

The root nodule of Canavalia lineta was classified as a determinate nodule and the symbiont as a Rhizobium-bacteriod based on their morphological characteristics. Isolated encosymbiont was similar both to R. leguminosarum and R. meliloti in its peritrichous arrangement of flagella and some of the physiological characteristics. Compared to control plants, Canavalia seedlings inoculated with the isolate grew normally due to induced root nodules, confirming isolate's infectivity and effectivity. Characteristics of the reisolated endosymbiont from induced root nodule were identical to those of the first isolate, indicating the nodules were induced by the first isolate. From these results, it was confirmed that Rhizobium strain isolated from the root nodules of Canavalia lineata was a real symbiont, and was named Rhizobium sp. SNU003.

• Current Research on Agriculture and Life Sciences
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.115-123
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• 2012

Whiteflies harbor several secondary endosymbionts, which are maternally inherited from mother to offspring, that have major effects on host preferences, biology, and evolution. Here, we identified Wolbachia bacteria in sweetpotato whitefly (Bemisia tabaci) as well as whitefly popluations from other countries by comparison of 16S rDNA sequences. Wolbachia were detected in all tested indigenous B. tabaci populations (Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal, and the Philippines) as well as Q1 biotype of Korea, whereas they were absent from B biotype of Korea and Q biotype of China. Wolbachia were also detected in all five tested Aleurodicus dispersus populations as well as Tetraleurodes acaciae, whereas they were not detected in all seven Trialeurodes vaporariorum populatuions. In addiiton, Wolbachia were detected in parasitic wasp (Encarsia formosa) of B. tabaci as well as honeybee (Apis mellifera). Among the 19 whitefly populations from different countries, our analysis identified four phylogenetic groups of Wolbachia, thereby demonstrating the high diversity of this genus. Wolbachia phylogeny suggests a correlation of geographical range with ecological variation at the species level.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.54 no.3
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• pp.273-280
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• 2016

We evaluated the activity of methanolic extracts of Melaleuca cajuputi flowers against the filarial worm Brugia pahangi and its bacterial endosymbiont Wolbachia. Anti-Wolbachia activity was measured in worms and in Aedes albopictus Aa23 cells by PCR, electron microscopy, and other biological assays. In particular, microfilarial release, worm motility, and viability were determined. M. cajuputi flower extracts were found to significantly reduce Wolbachia endosymbionts in Aa23 cells, Wolbachia surface protein, and microfilarial release, as well as the viability and motility of adult worms. Anti-Wolbachia activity was further confirmed by observation of degraded and phagocytized Wolbachia in worms treated with the flower extracts. The data provided in vitro and in vivo evidence that M. cajuputi flower extracts inhibit Wolbachia, an activity that may be exploited as an alternative strategy to treat human lymphatic filariasis.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.450-455
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• 1992

Five strains of the fast-growing endosymbionts were isolated from the nodules of Lotus eorniculatus var. japonicus inhabited in Taejeon. From morphological and physiOlogical characteristics and nodulation test, the isolated strains were identified as Rhizobium loti. Compared to the control plant, both Lotus cornieulatus var. japonieus and Lotus corniculatus seedlings inoculated with the isolated strains. grew normally due to effective root nodule. The reisolated endosymbiont from the induced root nodule was confirmed identical to those of the first isolates by investigating antibiotic resistance and morphological characteristics. Three strains among the isolates. R. loti TUS I. TUS5 and TUS6 produced a ca1cof1uorbinding exopolysaccharide.

• ALGAE
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.1-10
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• 2006

Genomic data is accumulating in public database at an unprecedented rate. Although presently dominated by the sequences of metazoan, plant, parasitic, and picoeukaryotic taxa, both expressed sequence tag (EST) and complete genomes of free-living algae are also slowly appearing. This wealth of information offers the opportunity to clarify many long-standing issues in algal and plant evolution such as the contribution of the plastid endosymbiont to nuclear genome evolution using the tools of comparative genomics and multi-gene phylogenetics. A particularly powerful approach for the automated analysis of genome data from multiple taxa is termed phylogenomics. Phylogenomics is the convergence of genomics science (the study of the function and structure of genes and genomes) and molecular phylogenetics (the study of the hierarchical evolutionary relationships among organisms, their genes and genomes). The use of phylogenetics to drive comparative genome analyses has facilitated the reconstruction of the evolutionary history of genes, gene families, and organisms. Here we survey the available genome data, introduce phylogenomic pipelines, and review some initial results of phylogenomic analyses of algal genome data.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.796-808
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• 2018

The intracellular bacterium Wolbachia pipientis is widespread in arthropods. Recently, possibilities of novel Wolbachia-mediated hosts, their distribution, and natural rate have been anticipated, and the coconut leaf beetle Brontispa longissima (Gestro) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), which has garnered attention as a serious pest of palms, was subjected to this interrogation. By adopting Wolbachia surface protein (wsp) and multilocus sequence type (MLST) genotypic systems, we determined the Wolbachia infection density within host developmental stages, body parts, and tissues, and the results revealed that all the tested samples of B. longissima were infected with the same Wolbachia strain (wLog), suggesting complete vertical transmission. The MLST profile elucidated two new alleles (ftsZ-234 and coxA-266) that define a new sequence type (ST-483), which indicates the particular genotypic association of B. longissima and Wolbachia. The quantitative real-time PCR analysis revealed a higher infection density in the eggs and adult stage, followed by the abdomen and reproductive tissues, respectively. However, no significant differences were observed in the infection density between sexes. Moreover, the wsp and concatenated MLST alignment analysis of this study with other known Wolbachia-mediated arthropods revealed similar clustering with distinct monophyletic supergroup B. This is the first comprehensive report on the prevalence, infection dynamics, and phylogeny of the Wolbachia endosymbiont in B. longissima, which demonstrated that Wolbachia is ubiquitous across all developmental stages and distributed in the entire body of B. longissima. Understanding the Wolbachia infection dynamics would provide useful insight to build a framework for future investigations, understand its impacts on host physiology, and exploit it as a potential biocontrol agent.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.23 no.11
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• pp.1536-1543
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• 2013

Proteases produced by Xenorhabdus are known to play a significant role in virulence leading to insect mortality. The present study was undertaken to purify and characterize protease from Xenorhabdus indica, an endosymbiont of nematode Steinernema thermophilum, and to decipher its role in insect mortality and its efficacy to control Helicoverpa armigera. A set of 10 strains of Xenorhabdus isolated from different regions of India were screened for protease activity on the basis of zone of clearing on gelatin agar plates. One potent strain of Xenorhabdus indica was selected for the production of protease, and the highest production (1,552 U/ml) was observed at 15-18 h of incubation at $28^{\circ}C$ in soya casein digest broth. The extracellular protease was purified from culture supernatant using ammonium sulfate precipitation and ion-exchange chromatography. The enzyme was further characterized by SDS-PAGE and zymography, which confirmed the purity of the protein and its molecular mass was found to be ~52 kDa. Further MALDI-TOF/TOF analysis and effect of metal chelating agent 1,10-phenanthrolin study revealed the nature of the purified protease as a secreted alkaline metalloprotease. The bioefficacy of the purified protease was also tested against cotton bollworm (Helicoverpa armigera) and resulted in $67.9{\pm}0.64%$ mortality within one week. This purified protease has the potential to be developed as a natural insecticidal agent against a broad range of agriculturally important insects.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.127-134
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• 1997

Transmission electron microscopy of an ArGnthnmoebo isolate (KA/LS) from a contact lens case revealed bacterial endosymbionts within cytoplasm of the amoebae. The Acnnthamoebn isolate belonged to the morphological group ll. Based on the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) - restriction fragment leilgth polymorphism (RFLP) of 185 ribosomal RNA coding DNA (rDNA) , the isolate was identified as A. Iwnunensis. Strain typing by isoenzyme analysis using isorlectric focusing (IEF) and mitochondrial (Ent) DNA RFLP revealed that the isolate was closely related with KA/Ll , the most predominant type of isolates from contact lens storage casas, KA/E2, a clinical isolate, KA/W4, previou:fly reported to host endosymbionts. and L3a strains of A. Iwnunensis. The endosymbionts were similar to those of KA/W4 in a.jpects that they were randomly distributed in both trophozoites and cysts, and were rod-shaped bacteri3 measuring approximately 1.38 x 0.50 ㎛. But the number of endosymbionts per amoeba was significantly lower than that of KA/W4. They were neither limited by phagosomal membranes nor included in lacunae- like stnlcture.