Query: NC_017252:155166 Buchnera aphidicola str. TLW03 (Acyrthosiphon pisum) chromosome,
Lineage: Buchnera aphidicola; Buchnera; Enterobacteriaceae; Enterobacteriales; Proteobacteria; Bacteria
General Information: It is believed that the Buchnera provide the essential nutrients the host lacks. Besides a nutritional co-dependence, due to a co-existence of millions of years, Buchnera have lost the ability to produce cell surface components such as lipopolysaccharides. This makes for an obligate endosymbiont relationship between host and Buchnera. Buchnera are prokaryotic cells which belong to the gamma-Proteobacteria, closely related to the Enterobacteriaceae family. Phylogenetic studies using 16S rRNA indicate that the symbiotic relationship was established around 200-250 million years ago. Since Buchnera are closely related to Escherichia coli and Haemophilus influenzae, comparative genomic studies can shed light on the evolutionary mechanisms of intracellular endosymbiosis as well as the different underlying molecular basis between organisms with parasitic behavior and symbionts.
Subject: NC_005861:695130 Candidatus Protochlamydia amoebophila UWE25, complete genome
Lineage: Protochlamydia amoebophila; Protochlamydia; Parachlamydiaceae; Chlamydiales; Chlamydiae; Bacteria
General Information: An endosymbiont of free-living amoebae (Acanthamoeba sp. endosymbiont UWE25) and implicated as a potential human pathogen this strain is an environmental isolate. Amoeba endosymbiont. Bacteria belonging to the Chlamydiales group are obligate intracellular parasites of eukaryotic cells. They are found within vertebrates, invertebrate cells, and amoebae hosts. Chlamydiae are one of the commonest causes of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and if left untreated may cause infertility in women. They are transmitted by direct contact or aerosols, and can cause various diseases, while also being able to coexist with the host in an apparently asymptomatic state. Candidatus Protochlamydia amoebophila, originally Parachlamydia is an endosymbiont of free-living amoebae (Acanthamoeba). This organism is an obligate intracellular endosymbiont and lives in small inclusions dispersed throughout the host cell.