{{Short description|Genus of bacteria}} {{Italic title}} {{Automatic_taxobox | taxon = Verminephrobacter | authority = Pinel et al. 2012<ref name=Verminephrobacter/> | subdivision_ranks = Species | subdivision = ''V. aporrectodeae''<ref name=Verminephrobacter>{{cite journal|last1=Parte|first1=A.C.|title=Verminephrobacter|website=LPSN|url=https://lpsn.dsmz.de/genus/verminephrobacter}}</ref><br> ''V. eiseniae''<ref name=Verminephrobacter/> }}
'''''Verminephrobacter''''' is a genus of Gram-negative bacteria that colonize the nephridia of earthworms within the family Lumbricidae. The first species in the genus, ''V. eiseniae'', was isolated from the earthworm ''Eisenia foetida'', and its description published in 2008.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Pinel N, Davidson SK, Stahl DA |title=''Verminephrobacter eiseniae'' gen. nov., sp. nov., a nephridial symbiont of the earthworm ''Eisenia foetida'' (Savigny) |journal=Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol. |volume=58 |issue=9 |pages=2147–57 |year=2008 |pmid=18768621 |doi=10.1099/ijs.0.65174-0 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Their closest free-living relatives are bacteria of the genus ''Acidovorax''.
Reports of bacteria inhabiting the nephridia of earthworms first appeared in 1926.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Knop, J. |title=Bakterien und Bakteroiden bei Oligochäten |journal=Z. Morphol. Ökol. Tiere |volume=6 |pages=588–624 |year=1926 |doi=10.1007/BF00464431 |issue=3 }}</ref> Their approximate identity was determined in 2003.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Schramm A, Davidson SK, Dodsworth JA, Drake HL, Stahl DA, Dubilier N |title=''Acidovorax''-like symbionts in the nephridia of earthworms |journal=Environ. Microbiol. |volume=5 |issue=9 |pages=804–9 |year=2003 |pmid=12919416 |doi=10.1046/j.1462-2920.2003.00474.x }}</ref> While the function of the bacteria inside the nephridia remains unknown, several lines of evidence suggest this association as a stable symbiosis. Chiefly among them is the vertical transmission of the bacteria, meaning that the bacteria are deposited by the parent earthworm inside the egg-capsule, and colonize the developing embryo via specialized anatomical features.<ref>{{ cite journal |vauthors=Davidson SK, Stahl DA |title=Selective recruitment of bacteria during embryogenesis of an earthworm |journal=ISME J. |volume=2 |issue=5 |pages=510–8 |year=2008 |pmid=18273064 |doi=10.1038/ismej.2008.16 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Colonization of the nephridia cannot occur after the eggs hatch.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Davidson SK, Stahl DA |title=Transmission of Nephridial Bacteria of the Earthworm Eisenia fetida |journal=Appl. Environ. Microbiol. |volume=72 |issue=1 |pages=769–75 |year=2006 |pmid=16391117 |doi=10.1128/AEM.72.1.769-775.2006 |pmc=1352274 }}</ref> DNA belonging to members of the genus has not been recovered from surveys of soil samples even in the presence of high densities of earthworms, suggesting that ''Verminephrobacter'' species are confined to their earthworm hosts. Observations for comparative analyses of the genome sequence of ''V. eiseniae'' suggest that this organisms shares features associated with the transition from a free-living to a host-associated lifestyle.<ref>{{cite web |title=Genome Sequences of ''Verminephrobacter eiseniae'' and two closely related bacteria |url=http://stahl.ce.washington.edu/genomes }}</ref>
== References ==
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{{Portal bar|Biology}} {{Taxonbar|from=Q7921643}}
Category:Gram-negative bacteria Category:Bacteria genera