Phylogenetically distant symbiotic microorganisms reside in Glossina midgut and ovary tissues

Many blood-feeding insects, including tsetse flies (Diptera: Glossinidae), harbour intracellular bacterial symbionts. Using isolates from tissues of several Glossina species and diagnostic DNA oligonucleotide primers, a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based assay was designed to identify symbiotic bacteria. Those inhabiting the midgut of Glossina were found to belong to the gamma subdivision, whereas ovarian Proteobacteria were of the alpha subdivision--probably genus Wolbachia (Rickettsiaceae). The presence of Wolbachia-like Rickettsia in the ovaries of G.morsitans subspecies may help to explain the maternally inherited incompatibility of some crosses within this species.