CIL:12653, Insect host: Dalbulus maidis (Hemiptera, Cicadellidae), epithelial cell, bacteria. In Cell Image Library

Spiroplasmas are bacteria in the Class Mollicutes that are frequently associated with insects and/or plants. This confocal laser scanning micrographs show aggregates of symbiotic/ commensal spiroplasma-like organisms (SLOs) in the midgut (mg) and filter chamber (fc) of a leafhopper, Dalbulus maidis. Large accumulations of these SLOs (bright red areas, asterisks) were found in the gut lumen, but unlike the plant-pathogenic mollicutes, they did not seem to invade the gut epithelium or other tissues in their insect hosts. This image is related to Fig. 3 in Arch. Microbiol (2011) 193:35-44.

螺原体属（Spiroplasma）属于柔膜菌纲（Mollicutes）细菌，常与昆虫及/或植物伴生。本共聚焦激光扫描显微图像展示了玉米叶蝉（Dalbulus maidis）中肠（mg）与滤室（fc）内的共生/共栖类螺原体生物（SLOs）聚集体。研究人员在肠腔内发现了大量这类SLOs聚集体（亮红色区域，星号标记）；与植物致病性柔膜菌不同的是，这类生物似乎并未入侵其昆虫宿主的肠上皮或其他组织。本图像对应发表于《微生物学档案》（Arch. Microbiol，2011年，第193卷，第35-44页）中的图3。