42
Spirochetes, as well as an endospore of a possible filamentous intestinal
bacterium, were reported from a fossil termite, Mastotermes electrodominicus, in
Dominican amber, however whether these bacteria represented pathogens or symbiotes is unclear (Wier et al. 2002).
Ticks are known to vector a number of rickettsial pathogens and evidence in
amber shows that this association dates back at least 100 million years. The gastric
Fig. 2.17 Larva
Amblyomma sp. (Ixodidae)
tick in Dominican amber
infected with the
spirochete Palaeoborrelia
dominicana. Scale
bar = 200 μm
Fig. 2.18 Spirochetes of
Palaeoborrelia dominicana
infecting the larval
Amblyomma sp. tick shown
in Fig. 2.17. Scale
bar = 6.4 μm
G. Poinar
Spirochetes, as well as an endospore of a possible filamentous intestinal
bacterium, were reported from a fossil termite, Mastotermes electrodominicus, in
Dominican amber, however whether these bacteria represented pathogens or symbiotes is unclear (Wier et al. 2002).
Ticks are known to vector a number of rickettsial pathogens and evidence in
amber shows that this association dates back at least 100 million years. The gastric
Fig. 2.17 Larva
Amblyomma sp. (Ixodidae)
tick in Dominican amber
infected with the
spirochete Palaeoborrelia
dominicana. Scale
bar = 200 μm
Fig. 2.18 Spirochetes of
Palaeoborrelia dominicana
infecting the larval
Amblyomma sp. tick shown
in Fig. 2.17. Scale
bar = 6.4 μm
G. Poinar