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Updated: May 27, 2026

Visualizing Bacteria in Nematodes using Fluorescent Microscopy
Published on: October 19, 2012
Endosymbiotic bacteria associated with nematodes, ticks and amoebae
Mark Taylor1, Oleg Mediannikov, Didier Raoult
1Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology Group, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, UK.
Abstract:
Endosymbiosis is a mutualistic, parasitic or commensal symbiosis in which one symbiont is living within the body of another organism. Such symbiotic relationship with free-living amoebae and arthropods has been reported with a large biodiversity of microorganisms, encompassing various bacterial clades and to a lesser extent some fungi and viruses. By contrast, current knowledge on symbionts of nematodes is still mainly restricted to Wolbachia and its interaction with filarial worms that lead to increased pathogenicity of the infected nematode. In this review article, we aim to highlight the main characteristics of symbionts in term of their ecology, host cell interactions, parasitism and co-evolution, in order to stimulate future research in a field that remains largely unexplored despite the availability of modern tools.
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