Sodalis gen. nov. and Sodalis glossinidius sp. nov., a microaerophilic secondary endosymbiont of the tsetse fly Glossina morsitans morsitans

Abstract

A secondary intracellular symbiotic bacterium was isolated from the haemolymph of the tsetse fly Glossina morsitans morsitans and cultured in Aedes albopictus cell line C6/36. Pure-culture isolation of this bacterium was achieved through the use of solid-phase culture under a microaerobic atmosphere. After isolation of strain M1T, a range of tests was performed to determine the phenotypic properties of this bacterium. Considering the results of these tests, along with the phylogenetic position of this micro-organism, it is proposed that this intracellular symbiont from G. m. morsitans should be classified in a new genus Sodalis gen. nov., as Sodalis glossinidius gen. nov., sp. nov. Strain M1T is the type strain for this new species.