Modeling the Life Cycle of the Intramitochondrial Bacterium ' Candidatus Midichloria mitochondrii' Using Electron Microscopy Data
| Autor: | Fabrizia Stavru, Luciano Sacchi, Valentina Serra, Alessandra Cafiso, Anna Maria Floriano, Domenico Di Carlo, E. Clementi, Francesco Comandatore, Sebastiano Montante, Sara Epis, M. Pajoro, Claudio Bandi, Davide Sassera, Giacomo Radaelli |
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| Rok vydání: | 2021 |
| Předmět: |
DNA
Bacterial 0106 biological sciences Bdellovibrio-like hypothesis Systems biology Ixodes ricinus “Candidatus Midichloria mitochondrii Mitochondrion Biology 010603 evolutionary biology 01 natural sciences Microbiology 03 medical and health sciences Symbiosis Virology parasitic diseases Organelle Animals Phylogeny Tropism Alphaproteobacteria 030304 developmental biology mitochondrial network Life Cycle Stages 0303 health sciences endosymbiosis Ixodes Endosymbiosis fungi QR1-502 Mitochondria Cell biology Microscopy Electron Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus Intracellular Research Article |
| Zdroj: | mBio, Vol 12, Iss 3 (2021) mBio |
| ISSN: | 2150-7511 |
| Popis: | "Candidatus Midichloria mitochondrii" is a Gram-negative bacterium that lives in strict intracellular symbiosis with the hard tick Ixodes ricinus, forming one of the most intriguing endosymbiosis described to date. The bacterium is capable of durably colonizing the host mitochondria, a peculiar tropism that makes "Ca. Midichloria mitochondrii" a very interesting tool to study the physiology of these cellular organelles. The interaction between the symbiont and the organelle has, however, been difficult to characterize. A parallelism with the predatory bacterium Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus has been drawn, suggesting the hypothesis that "Ca. Midichloria mitochondrii" could prey on mitochondria and consume them to multiply. We studied the life cycle of the bacterium within the host oocytes using a multidisciplinary approach, including electron microscopy, molecular biology, statistics, and systems biology. Our results were not coherent with a predatory-like behavior by "Ca. Midichloria mitochondrii" leading us to propose a novel hypothesis for its life cycle. Based on our results, we here present a novel model called the "mitochondrion-to-mitochondrion hypothesis." Under this model, the bacterium would be able to move from mitochondrion to mitochondrion, possibly within a mitochondrial network. We show that this model presents a good fit with quantitative electron microscopy data. IMPORTANCE Our results suggest that "Candidatus Midichloria mitochondrii," the intramitochondrial bacterium, does not invade mitochondria like predatory bacteria do but instead moves from mitochondrion to mitochondrion within the oocytes of Ixodes ricinus. A better understanding of the lifestyle of "Ca. Midichloria mitochondrii" will allow us to better define the role of this bacterial symbiont in the host physiology. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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