“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 multi-disciplinary 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.

Modeling the Life Cycle of the Intramitochondrial Bacterium “Candidatus Midichloria mitochondrii” Using Electron Microscopy Data / F. Comandatore, G. Radaelli, S. Montante, L. Sacchi, E. Clementi, S. Epis, A. Cafiso, V. Serra, M. Pajoro, D. Di Carlo, A. Maria Floriano, F. Stavru, C. Bandi, D. Sassera. - In: MBIO. - ISSN 2150-7511. - 12:3(2021 Jun). [10.1128/mBio.00574-21]

Modeling the Life Cycle of the Intramitochondrial Bacterium “Candidatus Midichloria mitochondrii” Using Electron Microscopy Data

F. Comandatore
Primo
;
S. Epis;A. Cafiso;V. Serra;M. Pajoro;D. Di Carlo;C. Bandi
Penultimo
;
2021

Abstract

“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 multi-disciplinary 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.
Settore VET/06 - Parassitologia e Malattie Parassitarie degli Animali
giu-2021
Article (author)
File in questo prodotto:
File Dimensione Formato  
Comandatore_et_al_2021_MidiModel.pdf

accesso aperto

Tipologia: Publisher's version/PDF
Dimensione 2.07 MB
Formato Adobe PDF
2.07 MB Adobe PDF Visualizza/Apri
Pubblicazioni consigliate

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/2434/853426
Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? 2
  • Scopus 10
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? 10
social impact