Microbiology

The symbioses between cellulose-degrading flagellates and bacteria are one of the most fascinating phenomena in the complex micro-ecosystem found in the hindgut of lower termites. However, little is known about the identity of the symbionts. One example is the epibiotic bacteria colonizing the surface of hypermastigote protists of the genusStaurojoenina. By using scanning electron microscopy, it was shown that the whole surface ofStaurojoeninasp. from the termiteNeotermes cubanusis densely covered with long rod-shaped bacteria of uniform size and morphology. PCR amplification of 16S rRNA genes from isolated protozoa and subsequent cloning yielded a uniform collection of clones with virtually identical sequences. Phylogenetic analysis placed them as a new lineage among theBacteroidales, only distantly related to other uncultivated bacteria in the hindgut of other termites, including an epibiont of the flagellateMixotricha paradoxa. The closest cultivated relative wasTannerella forsythensis(<85 % sequence identity). Fluorescencein situhybridization with a newly designed clone-specific oligonucleotide probe confirmed that these sequences belong to the rod-shaped epibionts ofStaurojoeninasp. Transmission electron microscopy confirmed the presence of a Gram-negative cell wall and revealed special attachment sites for the symbionts on the cell envelope of the flagellate host. Based on the isolated phylogenetic position and the specific association with the surface ofStaurojoeninasp., we propose to classify this new taxon ofBacteroidalesunder the provisional name ‘CandidatusVestibaculum illigatum’.

Although some Campylobacter species are agents of gastroenteritis and periodontal disease in humans, little is known of the variety of campylobacters in the gastrointestinal tract of healthy individuals. This paper provides evidence for the existence of a previously undescribed, uncultivated Campylobacter species that may be a commensal in the healthy human gut. Saliva and faeces from 20 healthy individuals were examined by PCR assays specific for nine species of campylobacter (C. sputorum, C. concisus, C. upsaliensis, C. helveticus, C. Iari, C. fetus, C. hyointestinalis, C. jejuni and C. coli) and for the genus as a whole. Genus-specific amplicons were produced from 19 of 20 saliva samples and from 18 of 20 faecal samples. C. concisuss species-specific amplicons were produced from 19 of 20 saliva samples and 3 of 20 faecal samples. The faecal samples were all PCR-negative for other Campylobacter species. Three unidentified 16S rRNA Campylobacter genus-specific amplicons of faecal origin were sequenced. Phylogenetic analysis showed that these sequences were 99% similar, and clustered within the genus as a novel group which was termed HS (HS = healthy subject). A PCR primer pair specific for the HS group was designed from the sequence data and used to reexamine the original samples. Although it was not possible to culture the organism from faeces, specific PCR assay detected it in 10 of the 20 faecal samples, but not in any corresponding saliva samples. The authors propose that the source of the amplicons is a previously undescribed and so far uncultivated species, which they term ‘Candidatus Campylobacter hominis’.