PMID- 12919416
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20031110
LR  - 20191107
IS  - 1462-2912 (Print)
IS  - 1462-2912 (Linking)
VI  - 5
IP  - 9
DP  - 2003 Sep
TI  - Acidovorax-like symbionts in the nephridia of earthworms.
PG  - 804-9
AB  - Dense accumulations of bacteria in the excretory organs, nephridia, were first 
      described more than 75 years ago in members of the annelid family Lumbricidae 
      (earthworms). These nephridial symbionts were assumed to play a role in the 
      degradation of proteins in the excretory fluid for nitrogen recycling. In the 
      present study, the phylogenetic affiliation of the nephridial bacteria of the 
      earthworms Lumbricus terrestris, Aporrectodea tuberculata, Octolasion lacteum and 
      Eisenia foetida was resolved. The 16S rRNA gene sequences of the symbionts formed 
      a monophyletic cluster within the genus Acidovorax. Similarity between symbiont 
      sequences from different host species was 95.5-97.6%, whereas similarity was> 99% 
      between symbiont sequences from individuals of the same species. Densely packed 
      bacteria were detected in the ampulla of the nephridia by fluorescence in situ 
      hybridization (FISH) using Acidovorax-specific oligonucleotide probes. No other 
      bacterial cells could be found by FISH, although a few sequences other than 
      Acidovorax had been found by PCR and cloning. These results suggest that the 
      Acidovorax-earthworm symbiosis is a stable, host-specific association that has 
      evolved from a common bacterial ancestor. Given the close phylogenetic 
      relationship of the symbionts to proteolytic, free-living Acidovorax species, 
      they may indeed play a role in protein degradation during nitrogen excretion by 
      earthworms.
FAU - Schramm, Andreas
AU  - Schramm A
AD  - Department of Ecological Microbiology, University of Bayreuth, D-95440 Bayreuth, 
      Germany. andreas.schramm@bitoek.uni-bayreuth.de
FAU - Davidson, Seana K
AU  - Davidson SK
FAU - Dodsworth, Jeremy A
AU  - Dodsworth JA
FAU - Drake, Harold L
AU  - Drake HL
FAU - Stahl, David A
AU  - Stahl DA
FAU - Dubilier, Nicole
AU  - Dubilier N
LA  - eng
SI  - GENBANK/AJ543434
SI  - GENBANK/AJ543435
SI  - GENBANK/AJ543436
SI  - GENBANK/AJ543437
SI  - GENBANK/AJ543438
SI  - GENBANK/AJ543439
SI  - GENBANK/AJ543440
GR  - GM20177/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/United States
PT  - Journal Article
PT  - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
PT  - Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.
PT  - Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.
PL  - England
TA  - Environ Microbiol
JT  - Environmental microbiology
JID - 100883692
RN  - 0 (DNA, Bacterial)
RN  - 0 (RNA, Ribosomal, 16S)
RN  - N762921K75 (Nitrogen)
SB  - IM
MH  - Animals
MH  - Base Sequence
MH  - Betaproteobacteria/*classification/genetics/isolation & purification/*physiology
MH  - DNA, Bacterial/isolation & purification
MH  - Genes, rRNA
MH  - In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence
MH  - Molecular Sequence Data
MH  - Nitrogen/metabolism
MH  - Oligochaeta/*microbiology
MH  - Phylogeny
MH  - Polymerase Chain Reaction
MH  - Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length
MH  - RNA, Ribosomal, 16S/genetics
MH  - Sequence Homology
MH  - *Symbiosis
OTO - NASA
OT  - Non-programmatic
EDAT- 2003/08/16 05:00
MHDA- 2003/11/11 05:00
CRDT- 2003/08/16 05:00
PHST- 2003/08/16 05:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2003/11/11 05:00 [medline]
PHST- 2003/08/16 05:00 [entrez]
AID - 10.1046/j.1462-2920.2003.00474.x [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Environ Microbiol. 2003 Sep;5(9):804-9. doi: 10.1046/j.1462-2920.2003.00474.x.