Spiroplasma melliferum: Difference between revisions
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==Description and Significance== | ==Description and Significance== | ||
<I>Spiroplasma melliferum</I> is a bacterium that was isolated from | <I>Spiroplasma melliferum</I> is a bacterium that was isolated from hemolymph and gut of honeybees <I>(Apis mellifera)</I> as Strain BC-3<sup>T</sup> (= ATCC 33219). It was also recovered from hemolymph of bumble bees, leafcutter bees, and a robber fly and the intestinal contents of sweat bees, digger bees, bumblebees, and a butterfly. It was also found in a variety of plant surfaces (flowers) (2). | ||
==Genome Structure== | ==Genome Structure== | ||
Revision as of 20:48, 12 January 2014
A Microbial Biorealm page on Spiroplasma melliferum
Classification
Higher Order Taxa:
Class: Mollicutes
Order: Mycoplasmatales
Family: Spiroplasmataceae
Genus: Spiroplasma
Species: melliferum
NCBI Accession #: JQ347516
Description and Significance
Spiroplasma melliferum is a bacterium that was isolated from hemolymph and gut of honeybees (Apis mellifera) as Strain BC-3T (= ATCC 33219). It was also recovered from hemolymph of bumble bees, leafcutter bees, and a robber fly and the intestinal contents of sweat bees, digger bees, bumblebees, and a butterfly. It was also found in a variety of plant surfaces (flowers) (2).
Genome Structure
The whole-genome shotgun sequencing of S. Melliferum IPMB4A produced a draft assembly that was ~1.1 Mb in size and covered ~80% of the chromosome (1).
Cell and Colony Structure
Spiroplasma melliferum is a helical, motile bacteria without cell walls (1). Spiroplasma melliferum has a classic fried-egg shaped colony morphology.
Metabolism
Spiroplasma melliferum ferments glucose and hydrolyzes arginine (1). It also possesses all the genes required for glycolysis to convert glucose-6-phophate into pyruvate which is used for the production of cysteine (1).
Ecology
Endosymbiotic inhabitants.
Pathology
While most of the Spiroplasma species appeared to be harmless commensals of insects, a small number of species have evolved pathogenicity toward various arthropods and plants (1).
Host: infects the honeybee.
References
1) Wen-Sui Lo, Ling-Ling Chen, Wan-Chia Chung, Gail Gasparich, Chih-Horng Kuo. (2013) Comparative genome analysis of Spiroplasma melliferum IPMB4A, a honeybee-associated bacterium. BMC Genomics. 9 January 2014. http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2164/14/22
2) Clark, T. B., R. F. Whitcomb, J. G. Tully, C. Mouches, C. Saillard, J. M. Bove, H. Wroblewski, P. Carle, D. L. Rose, R.B. Henegar, and D. L. Williamson. (1985) Spiroplasma melliferum, a New Species from the Honeybee (Apis mellifera). International Journal of Systematic Bacteriology, Vol. 35, No. 3, 296-308.
Edited by Brittany Demmons, student of Dr. Lisa R. Moore, University of Southern Maine, Department of Biological Sciences, http://www.usm.maine.edu/bio
