Abstract
SYMBIONTS of Glossina previously described by Wigglesworth1 as Gram-negative intracellular bacteroids are located in a group of specialised cells, the mycetome, in the midgut. Their intracellular nature is well known from studies with the light1–3 and electron4 microscopes (see Fig. 4). Roubaud3 demonstrated bacteroids in the mycetome of the larval midgut of G. palpalis. He was unable to determine the mode of transmission, but suspected the involvement of the milk gland, as have other authors5,6. Recent work on the ultra-structure of the milk gland has demonstrated that bacteroids occur extracellularly in the lumen of the gland7, thus adding support to the notion that transmission from one generation to the next may occur through the secretions of the milk gland. Bacteroids have not, however, been located in the cells of the milk gland, and it remains uncertain whether this route of transmission is used.
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References
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HUEBNER, E., DAVEY, K. Bacteroids in the ovaries of a tsetse fly. Nature 249, 260–261 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1038/249260a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/249260a0
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