{"id":{"repo_id":"gsu","oai_identifier":"oai:digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu:etd-1721"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/gsu/oai:digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu:etd-1721","repository":{"repo_id":"gsu","name":"Georgia Southern University","base_url":"https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/do/oai/"},"display":{"title":"Molecular Phylogenetic Analysis of Novel Spiroplasma Isolates","abstract":"Spiroplasmas are among the smallest self replicating organisms known. They are helical, motile descendents of Gram-positive bacteria that have evolved to occupy broad host ranges including plants, insects and crustaceans. Spiroplasmas are the causative agent of several economically important agricultural diseases, but most host-microbe interactions appear to be commensal. Given the ubiquitous nature of these microbes, a methodical approach that focused on serologically distinct isolates from a single host family was used as an initial step in understanding spiroplasma diversity and distribution. Tabanid-associated spiroplasmas represent the most thoroughly studied group to date, so this project examined a spiroplasma field isolate collection (>200 isolates) that was obtained from tabanid flies in Costa Rica, Ecuador, Australia, and the United States. The 16S rRNA, 23S rRNA, and rpoB genes and the 16S-23S rRNA spacer region were successfully used to establish evolutionary relationships of the closely related spiroplasma isolates. Phylogenetic analyses and non-genetic character mapping indicated that all study isolates belonged to the Apis clade; arginine hydrolysis was a strong indicator of evolutionary relatedness; surface serology and phylogenetic placement were congruent; and neither host specificity nor geographical ranges were strict.","abstract_html":"Spiroplasmas are among the smallest self replicating organisms known. They are helical, motile descendents of Gram-positive bacteria that have evolved to occupy broad host ranges including plants, insects and crustaceans. Spiroplasmas are the causative agent of several economically important agricultural diseases, but most host-microbe interactions appear to be commensal. Given the ubiquitous nature of these microbes, a methodical approach that focused on serologically distinct isolates from a single host family was used as an initial step in understanding spiroplasma diversity and distribution. Tabanid-associated spiroplasmas represent the most thoroughly studied group to date, so this project examined a spiroplasma field isolate collection (>200 isolates) that was obtained from tabanid flies in Costa Rica, Ecuador, Australia, and the United States. The 16S rRNA, 23S rRNA, and rpoB genes and the 16S-23S rRNA spacer region were successfully used to establish evolutionary relationships of the closely related spiroplasma isolates. Phylogenetic analyses and non-genetic character mapping indicated that all study isolates belonged to the Apis clade; arginine hydrolysis was a strong indicator of evolutionary relatedness; surface serology and phylogenetic placement were congruent; and neither host specificity nor geographical ranges were strict.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Jandhyam, Haritha Lakshmi"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science in Biology (M.S.)","degree_level":"Thesis (open access)","degree_discipline":"Department of Biology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Lorenza Beati","Oscar J. 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They are helical, motile descendents of Gram-positive bacteria that have evolved to occupy broad host ranges including plants, insects and crustaceans. Spiroplasmas are the causative agent of several economically important agricultural diseases, but most host-microbe interactions appear to be commensal. Given the ubiquitous nature of these microbes, a methodical approach that focused on serologically distinct isolates from a single host family was used as an initial step in understanding spiroplasma diversity and distribution. Tabanid-associated spiroplasmas represent the most thoroughly studied group to date, so this project examined a spiroplasma field isolate collection (>200 isolates) that was obtained from tabanid flies in Costa Rica, Ecuador, Australia, and the United States. The 16S rRNA, 23S rRNA, and rpoB genes and the 16S-23S rRNA spacer region were successfully used to establish evolutionary relationships of the closely related spiroplasma isolates. Phylogenetic analyses and non-genetic character mapping indicated that all study isolates belonged to the Apis clade; arginine hydrolysis was a strong indicator of evolutionary relatedness; surface serology and phylogenetic placement were congruent; and neither host specificity nor geographical ranges were strict."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Molecular Phylogenetic Analysis of Novel Spiroplasma Isolates"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Lorenza Beati","Oscar J. Pung"],"dc:creator":["Jandhyam, Haritha Lakshmi"],"dc:date.available":["2013-10-17T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Spiroplasmas are among the smallest self replicating organisms known. They are helical, motile descendents of Gram-positive bacteria that have evolved to occupy broad host ranges including plants, insects and crustaceans. Spiroplasmas are the causative agent of several economically important agricultural diseases, but most host-microbe interactions appear to be commensal. Given the ubiquitous nature of these microbes, a methodical approach that focused on serologically distinct isolates from a single host family was used as an initial step in understanding spiroplasma diversity and distribution. Tabanid-associated spiroplasmas represent the most thoroughly studied group to date, so this project examined a spiroplasma field isolate collection (>200 isolates) that was obtained from tabanid flies in Costa Rica, Ecuador, Australia, and the United States. The 16S rRNA, 23S rRNA, and rpoB genes and the 16S-23S rRNA spacer region were successfully used to establish evolutionary relationships of the closely related spiroplasma isolates. Phylogenetic analyses and non-genetic character mapping indicated that all study isolates belonged to the Apis clade; arginine hydrolysis was a strong indicator of evolutionary relatedness; surface serology and phylogenetic placement were congruent; and neither host specificity nor geographical ranges were strict."],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/721"],"dc:subject":["ETD","Mollicutes","Spiroplasma","Phylogenetics","Surface serology","Tabanids","Biodiversity","Host specificity","Prokaryotes","Bacteria","Horseflies"],"dc:title":["Molecular Phylogenetic Analysis of Novel Spiroplasma Isolates"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Department of Biology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis (open access)"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science in Biology (M.S.)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:27:19Z"}