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We determined the distribution of microbial endosymbionts as possible agents of parthenogenesis in Oribatida. We screened mites from 20 species of 14 families suspected to be parthenogenetic from the absence or rarity of males. Our research included parthenogenesis-inducing bacteria Wolbachia spp., Cardinium spp., Rickettsia spp., and additionally Arsenophonus, Spiroplasma and microsporidia that can also manipulate host reproduction. We detected the endosymbionts by PCR-based methods and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) observation of fixed and stained preparations of host cells. We detected Wolbachia only in one Oribatida species, Oppiella nova, by identifying Wolbachia genes using PCR. TEM observations confirmed infection by the endosymbiont in O. nova and its lack in other Oribatida species. Sequence analysis of hcpA and fbpA genes showed that the Wolbachia strain from O. nova was different from strains characterized in some insects, crustaceans (Isopoda), mites (Tetranychidae), springtails (Hexapoda) and roundworms (Nematoda). The analysis strongly suggested that the Wolbachia sp. strain found in O. nova did not belong to supergroups A, B, C, D, E, F, H or M. We found that the sequences of Wolbachia from O. nova were clearly distantly related to sequences from the bacteria of the other supergroups. This observation makes O. nova a unique Wolbachia host in terms of the distinction of the strain. The role of these micro-organisms in O. nova remains unknown and is an issue to investigate.

Bromeliads accumulate water in the leaf axils (forming phytotelmata), which may then form a habitat for many animal species of both invertebrates and vertebrates. In temperate regions, bromeliads are commonly displayed in palm houses and distributed by florist wholesalers. Taking into account the fact that global plant trade can be a source of spreading alien species, the phytotelmata that had formed within the bromeliads were examined here in order to study the protists and invertebrates associated with this habitat. In the examined Bromeliaceae micro-reservoirs representatives of testate amoebae (Euglyphida and Arcellinida), Gastrotricha, Nematoda, Rotifera, Polychaeta, Cladocera, Copepoda and mites (Oribatida, Mesostigmata and Heterostigmatina) were found. Additionally, unidentified Nemertea, Turbellaria, Insecta larvae and single representative of Mollusca were also found. Thirty taxa are recorded for the first time from bromeliads micro-reservoirs. Among the identified taxa, the gastrotrich

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