PLOS ONE


Publications
51

Zoothamnium mariella sp. nov., a marine, colonial ciliate with an atypcial growth pattern, and its ectosymbiont Candidatus Fusimicrobium zoothamnicola gen. nov., sp. nov

Citation
Kendlbacher et al. (2024). PLOS ONE 19 (4)
Names
Ca. Fusimicrobium zoothamnicola
Abstract
Ciliates are unicellular eukaryotes, regularly involved in symbiotic associations. Symbionts may colonize the inside of their cells as well as their surface as ectosymbionts. Here, we report on a new ciliate species, designated as Zoothamnium mariella sp. nov. (Peritrichia, Sessilida), discovered in the northern Adriatic Sea (Mediterranean Sea) in 2021. We found this ciliate species to be monospecifically associated with a new genus of ectosymbiotic bacteria, here proposed as Candidatus Fusimicr

First detection of Candidatus Rickettsia tarasevichiae in Hyalomma marginatum ticks

Citation
Su et al. (2024). PLOS ONE 19 (2)
Names
Ca. Rickettsia tarasevichiae
Abstract
Ticks are important vectors of zoonotic diseases and play a major role in the circulation and transmission of many rickettsial species. The aim of this study was to investigate the carriage of Candidatus Rickettsia tarasevichiae (CRT) in a total of 1168 ticks collected in Inner Mongolia to elucidate the potential public health risk of this pathogen, provide a basis for infectious disease prevention, control and prediction and contribute diagnostic ideas for clinical diseases that present with fe

Genomic characterization of a novel, widely distributed Mycoplasma species “Candidatus Mycoplasma mahonii” associated with the brittlestar Gorgonocephalus chilensis

Citation
Aroh et al. (2023). PLOS ONE 18 (8)
Names
Ca. Mycoplasma mahonii
Abstract
Symbiotic relationships are ubiquitous throughout the world’s oceans, yet for many marine organisms, including those in the high latitudes, little is understood about symbiotic associations and functional relationships. From a recently determined genome sequence of a filter-feeding basket star from Argentina, Gorgonocephalus chilensis, we discovered a novel Mycoplasma species with a 796Kb genome (CheckM completeness of 97.9%, G+C content = 30.1%). Similar to other Mycoplasma spp. within Mycoplas

On-site detection system of Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus by using TaqMan probe-based insulated isothermal polymerase chain reaction (iiPCR)

Citation
Yao et al. (2023). PLOS ONE 18 (6)
Names
Ca. Liberibacter asiaticus
Abstract
Citrus Huanglongbing (HLB) is one of the most destructive diseases of citrus plants caused by the obligate and phloem-limiting bacterium Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (Las). Reliable detection methods are important for successful control of the disease. This study was aimed to develop a rapid and user-friendly on-site detection system for Las using the TaqMan probe-based insulated isothermal polymerase chain reaction (iiPCR) assay. The Las-specific on-site detection system could be completed

Potato psyllids mount distinct gut responses against two different ‘Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum’ haplotypes

Citation
Tang et al. (2023). PLOS ONE 18 (6)
Names
“Liberibacter solanacearum”
Abstract
‘Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum’ (Lso) is a bacterial pathogen infecting several crops and causing damaging diseases. Several Lso haplotypes have been identified. Among the seven haplotypes present in North America, LsoA and LsoB are transmitted by the potato psyllid, Bactericera cockerelli (Šulc), in a circulative and persistent manner. The gut, which is the first organ pathogen encounters, could be a barrier for Lso transmission. However, the molecular interactions between Lso and the ps

The inside scoop: Comparative genomics of two intranuclear bacteria, “Candidatus Berkiella cookevillensis” and “Candidatus Berkiella aquae”

Citation
Kidane et al. (2022). PLOS ONE 17 (12)
Names
Ca. Berkiella aquae Ca. Berkiella cookevillensis
Abstract
“Candidatus Berkiella cookevillensis” (strain CC99) and “Candidatus Berkiella aquae” (strain HT99), belonging to the Coxiellaceae family, are gram-negative bacteria isolated from amoebae in biofilms present in human-constructed water systems. Both bacteria are obligately intracellular, requiring host cells for growth and replication. The intracellular bacteria-containing vacuoles of both bacteria closely associate with or enter the nuclei of their host cells. In this study, we analyzed the genom

The ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma mali’ effector protein SAP11CaPm interacts with MdTCP16, a class II CYC/TB1 transcription factor that is highly expressed during phytoplasma infection

Citation
Mittelberger et al. (2022). PLOS ONE 17 (12)
Names
Ca. Phytoplasma asteris Ca. Phytoplasma mali
Abstract
’Candidatus Phytoplasma mali’, is a bacterial pathogen associated with the so-called apple proliferation disease in Malus × domestica. The pathogen manipulates its host with a set of effector proteins, among them SAP11CaPm, which shares similarity to SAP11AYWB from ’Candidatus Phytoplasma asteris’. SAP11AYWB interacts and destabilizes the class II CIN transcription factors of Arabidopsis thaliana, namely AtTCP4 and AtTCP13 as well as the class II CYC/TB1 transcription factor AtTCP18, also known

Rapid visual Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus detection (citrus greening disease) using simple alkaline heat DNA lysis followed by loop-mediated isothermal amplification coupled hydroxynaphthol blue (AL-LAMP-HNB) for potential local use

Citation
Thoraneenitiyan et al. (2022). PLOS ONE 17 (10)
Names
Ca. Liberibacter asiaticus
Abstract
An outbreak of citrus greening or Huanglongbing disease bacteria occurs in many areas. We sampled and identified an ongoing ~year 2020 orange tree endemic in northern Thailand as Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus. We thereby developed a plant greening disease (C. Liberibacter asiaticus) detection assay using simple alkaline heat DNA lysis and loop-mediated isothermal amplification coupled hydroxynaphthol blue (AL-LAMP-HNB), and evaluated the developed assay for its feasibility as point-of-care d

Olive fruit fly and its obligate symbiont Candidatus Erwinia dacicola: Two new symbiont haplotypes in the Mediterranean basin

Citation
Nobre (2021). PLOS ONE 16 (9)
Names
Ca. Erwinia dacicola
Abstract
The olive fruit fly, specialized to become monophagous during several life stages, remains the most important olive tree pest with high direct production losses, but also affecting the quality, composition, and inherent properties of the olives. Thought to have originated in Africa is nowadays present wherever olive groves are grown. The olive fruit fly evolved to harbor a vertically transmitted and obligate bacterial symbiont -Candidatus Erwinia dacicola- leading thus to a tight evolutionary hi

Multiplex detection of “Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus” and Spiroplasma citri by qPCR and droplet digital PCR

Citation
Maheshwari et al. (2021). PLOS ONE 16 (3)
Names
Ca. Liberibacter asiaticus
Abstract
“Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus” (CLas) and Spiroplasma citri are phloem-limited bacteria that infect citrus and are transmitted by insect vectors. S. citri causes citrus stubborn disease (CSD) and is vectored by the beet leafhopper in California. CLas is associated with the devastating citrus disease, Huanglongbing (HLB), and is vectored by the Asian citrus psyllid. CLas is a regulatory pathogen spreading in citrus on residential properties in southern California and is an imminent threat to