Cole R M, Richards C S, Popkin T J
J Bacteriol. 1977 Dec;132(3):950-66. doi: 10.1128/jb.132.3.950-966.1977.
Nodules found in the superficial tissues of laboratory-maintained snails (Bulinus jousseaumei) contained a bacterium of two forms. This nonmotile microorganism occurred in intracellular packets as a simple gram-negative rod that appeared to undergo intrapacket transition to a cephalotrichous form. The latter is characterized by a "head" from which emerge long, thick, rigid, flagella-like, helically constituted filamentous organelles with a core and an outer component that is not an extension of the bacterial envelope. Neither form was successfully cultured, but clean snails derived from eggs removed before hatching developed nodules within 1 to 3 months of exposure to infected snails. The infectivity was specific for the host snail, and no transmission occurred to snails of 5 other genera tested. The presence of nodules did not interfere with longevity or reproduction of infected snails. Details of infectivity, transition, and taxonomic position of the bacterium remain to be explored, but it is reported because of unique morphological and ultrastructural features not previously known.
在实验室饲养的蜗牛(Bulinus jousseaumei)浅表组织中发现的结节含有一种具有两种形态的细菌。这种不运动的微生物以细胞内小体的形式存在,呈简单的革兰氏阴性杆菌,似乎在小体内转变为头毛菌形态。后者的特征是有一个“头部”,从该“头部”伸出长的、粗的、刚性的、类似鞭毛的、螺旋状构成的丝状细胞器,其具有一个核心和一个不是细菌包膜延伸的外部成分。两种形态均未成功培养,但从未孵化前取出的卵中获得的未感染蜗牛在接触感染蜗牛后的1至3个月内长出了结节。感染具有宿主特异性,未发生感染到其他5个受试属蜗牛的情况。结节的存在不影响感染蜗牛的寿命或繁殖。该细菌的感染性、转变和分类地位的细节仍有待探索,但因其具有以前未知的独特形态和超微结构特征而被报道。