Finding. Australian ticks that matter medically carry nutritional bacteria, and at least one Midichloria strain still looks genetically dressed for life inside mitochondria. Six metagenome-assembled genomes from four species include Coxiella-like endosymbionts, a Rickettsia, and Midichloria Ixholo1 and Ixholo2. They look like vitamin/heme partners, not pathogens. The Coxiella-likes keep shikimate genes that have been tied to tick serotonin and blood feeding. Midichloria pangenomics hint the genus is more than one species, and Ixholo2 kept the intramitochondrial gene set.
Why this paper matters
Tick microbiology is usually pathogens. This paper inventories the non-pathogenic majority and puts an intra-mitochondrial bacterium back on the Australian list. If you care about organelles as habitats, Midichloria is the exhibit.
What they actually measured
Shotgun MAGs, annotation, pangenome of Midichloria.
How to read the score
Around 70 as a Midichloria brief, mid-fifties as tick public health. Score 70.
What to do with it
If you work on Midichloria, intramitochondrial bacteria, or tick nutritional symbionts, pull Ixholo2 and the shikimate CLE genes. Do not treat MAG annotation as proof of intracellular address. The directional implication is that Australian tick endosymbionts are nutritional, and one Midichloria still encodes an intramitochondrial life.