Microbes are widespread throughout our planet, residing in soils, oceans, and even beneath
the arctic glaciers. Most interact with each other and other life forms, and there is no known …

The medicinal leech is a developing experimental model of gut symbioses. Aeromonas
veronii and Mucinivorans hirudinis are core members of the gut microbial community in …

Digestive-tract microbiota exert tremendous influence over host health. Host-symbiont model
systems are studied to investigate how symbioses are initiated and maintained, as well as to …

Microbial transmission through mucosal-mediated mechanisms is widespread throughout
the animal kingdom. One example of this occurs with Hirudo verbana, the medicinal leech …

Transmission plays a key role in the evolution of symbiosis. Mixed mode transmission
combines horizontal and vertical mechanisms for symbiont acquisition. However, features …

Leeches are found in terrestrial, aquatic, and marine habitats on all continents.
Sanguivorous leeches have been used in medicine for millennia. Modern scientific uses …

Animals house a community of bacterial symbionts in their digestive tracts that contribute to
their well being. The medicinal leech, Hirudo verbana, has a remarkably simple gut …

The medicinal leech has established a long-term mutualistic association with Aeromonas
veronii, a versatile bacterium which can also display free-living waterborne and fish-or …

ABSTRACT The European medicinal leech, Hirudo verbana, harbors simple microbial
communities in the digestive tract and bladder. The colonization history, infection frequency …

Culture-based studies of the microbial community within the gut of the medicinal leech have
typically been focused on various Aeromonas species, which were believed to be the sole …