Image created at DOME featured on the cover of STAR Protocols
Ticks are home to a diverse mix of microbial communities – some harmless or even beneficial, others pathogenic. A striking microscopy image by Adnan Hodžić and Martin Kunert (DOME | CeMESS) captures this hidden world and was selected as the cover image of the current issue of STAR Protocols (Volume 6, Issue 4).
The cover shows a 3D visualization of the endosymbiont Candidatus Midichloria mitochondrii within the ovaries of the tick Ixodes ricinus (in red), detected using DOPE-FISH, a highly specific fluorescence labeling method. Host cell nuclei are counterstained with DAPI (in blue).
This unique endosymbiont is maternally transmitted and primarily localized within the mitochondria of ovarian cells, though it can also be found in other tick tissues. Midichloria is thought to support tick physiology by providing essential nutrients, enhancing reproductive fitness, and contributing to antioxidant defenses and energy production.
The image accompanies a protocol by Hodžić et al. describing how to visualize, identify, and spatially map bacterial species within tick tissues using whole-mount fluorescence in situ hybridization (DOPE-FISH).
