New Intranuclear Symbiotic Bacteria from Macronucleus of Paramecium putrinum—'Candidatus Gortzia Yakutica'

Holospora-like bacteria (HLB) are obligate intracellular Alphaproteobacteria, inhabiting nuclei of Paramecium and other ciliates such as &ldquo
Candidatus Hafkinia&rdquo
is in Frontonia. The HLB clade is comprised of four genera, Holospora, Preeria, &ldquo
Candidatus Gortzia&rdquo
and &ldquo
These bacteria have a peculiar life cycle with two morphological forms and some degree of specificity to the host species and the type of nucleus they inhabit. Here we describe a novel species of HLB&mdash
&ldquo
Candidatus Gortzia yakutica&rdquo
sp. nov.&mdash
a symbiont from the macronucleus of Paramecium putrinum, the first described HLB for this Paramecium species. The new endosymbiont shows morphological similarities with other HLB. The phylogenetic analysis of the SSU rRNA gene places it into the &ldquo
clade.