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The Journal of Experimental Medicine logoLink to The Journal of Experimental Medicine
. 1925 May 31;41(6):817–830. doi: 10.1084/jem.41.6.817

A GROUP OF MICROORGANISMS TRANSMITTED HEREDITARILY IN TICKS AND APPARENTLY UNASSOCIATED WITH DISEASE

E V Cowdry 1
PMCID: PMC2130977  PMID: 19869029

Abstract

1. Pleomorphic, bacterium-like, Gram-negative, intracellular microorganisms, which stained much less intensely with ordinary dyes than most bacteria were found in sixteen species of ticks comprising examples of the Argasidæ and the Ixodidæ. 2. In six of these species studied intensively slight differences in the microorganisms were detected, sufficient to permit identification of the vectors by microscopic examination of the microorganism alone. 3. No evidence was seen of injury to the tissues of the arachnid hosts of the microorganisms other than that incident to mechanical distention of the cells containing them. 4. The detection of the microorganisms in the eggs of ten species, in the unfed larvæ of eight species, and at nearly related stages throughout the life cycle of three others leads to the conclusion that they are transmitted hereditarily.

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Selected References

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  1. Cowdry E. V. THE DISTRIBUTION OF RICKETTSIA IN THE TISSUES OF INSECTS AND ARACHNIDS. J Exp Med. 1923 Mar 31;37(4):431–456. doi: 10.1084/jem.37.4.431. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

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