“ Candidatus Xiphinematobacter ”

Abstract

Xi.phi.ne.ma.to.bac'ter. Gr. neut. n. Xiphinema, ‐atos the genus name of the host organism; N.L. masc. n. bacter the equivalent of Gr. neut. n. baktron a rod; N.L. masc. n. Xiphinematobacter the rod‐shaped microbe associated with Xiphinema . Verrucomicrobia / Spartobacteria / Chthoniobacterales / Chthoniobacteraceae / “Candidatus Xiphinematobacter” Full‐grown cells are rod‐shaped with rounded ends, 0.7–1.0 × 2.1–3.2 μm ; however, cells in the J 1 (first juvenile) stage of nematode development have a wrinkled, pleomorphic shape. The longer entities usually consist of a mother cell from which a daughter cell is budding, giving rise to serial pairs typical of this bacterial genus. In thin sections cells have two or three membranes consisting of, from inside to outside, a cytoplasmic membrane, an electron‐dense outer membrane, and, in many individuals, a vacuolar membrane which is probably derived from the host cell membrane and which often shows discontinuities. No peptidoglycan layer is evident ; however, a periplasmic hexagonally arrayed monolayer of 10 nm protein units is sometimes present. Gram‐stain‐negative, nonmotile, and nonsporulating. DNA is often condensed at cell poles . Bacteria live as obligate cytoplasmic symbionts with maternal transmission in nematodes of the Xiphinema americanum group ( Nematoda, Longidoridae ), in which they are presumed to induce thelytokous ( mother‐to‐daughter ) parthenogenesis . DNA G + C content ( mol %): not determined. Type species : “ Candidatus Xiphinematobacter brevicolli ” Vandekerckhove, Willems, Gillis and Coomans 2000, 2203.