Abstract
Mussels Mytilus galloprovincialis from the Thau lagoon (Mediterranean coast of France) were regularly sam pIed to determine the prevalence and intensity of parasitic infections. Microscopi caUy, hepatopancreatic tubules of the mussel appeared infected by a rickettsia-like organism (RLO). Each RLO were surrounded by 2 unit membranes, and colonies composed of several bacteria were enclosed within a vacuolar membrane of the host cell. ln addition, examination by transmission elec tron microscopy revealed that the RLO was infected by phage particles . Histological investigations of the turbeUarian Urastoma cyprinae parasitizing the mussels have shown that this ectoparasite was also infected by 2 types of procaryotes, a chlamydia-like organism (CLO) and a mollicute-like organism (MLO). The CLO displayed characteristic developmental stages of the Chlamydia les and was secon darily infected by ele ctron-dense particles presumed to be phage particles . The MLO exhibited sorne morphological characteristics of the mollicutes, in that the microorganisms were bounded by a single membrane sharing a trilaminar structure. Neither of these microorganisms have previously been reported in Platyhelminthes.
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