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The Japanese common broad-headed bugs Riptortus clavatus and Leptocorisa chinensis possess a number of crypts in the posterior region of the midgut, whose lumen contains a copious amount of bacterial cells. We characterized the gut symbiotic bacteria by using molecular phylogenetic analysis, light and electron microscopy, in situ hybridization, and PCR-based detection techniques. Restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of 16S rRNA gene clones suggested that a single bacterium dominated the microbiota in the crypts of the both bug species. The predominant 16S rRNA gene sequences obtained from different individuals and species of the bugs were not identical but were very similar to each other. Homology searches in the DNA databases revealed that the sequences showed the highest levels of similarity (96% to 99%) to the sequences of Burkholderia spp. belonging to the β subdivision of …