Spirochaete

Spirochaetes
Spirochaetes.  Numbered ticks are 11 µm apart.  Gram-stained.
Treponema pallidum spirochaetes.
Scientific classification
Domain: Bacteria
Phylum: Spirochaetes
Class: Spirochaetes Cavalier-Smith 2002
Order: Spirochaetales Buchanan 1917
Families & Genera
  • ?SphaerochaetaRitalahti et al. 2006
  • ?Exilispira Imachi et al. 2008
  • ?Brevinema Defosse et al. 1995
  • Brachyspiraceae
  • Leptospiraceae Hovind-Hougen 1979 emend. Levett et al. 2005
    • Leptonema Hovind-Hougen 1983
    • Leptospira Noguchi 1917 emend. Faine and Stallman 1982
    • Turneriella Levett et al. 2005
  • Spirochaetaceae Swellengrebel 1907
    • Borrelia Swellengrebel 1907
    • ClevelandinaBermudes et al. 1988
    • CristispiraGross 1910
    • Diplocalyx(ex Gharagozlou 1968) Bermudes et al. 1988
    • Hollandina(ex To et al. 1978) Bermudes et al. 1988
    • Pillotina(ex Hollande and Gharagozlou 1967) Bermudes et al. 1988
    • Spirochaeta Spirochaeta Ehrenberg 1835 emend. Pikuta et al. 2009
    • SpironemaTurk et al. 1999
    • Treponema Schaudinn 1905

Spirochaetes (also spelled spirochetes) belong to a phylum of distinctive Gram-negative bacteria, which have long, helically coiled (spiral-shaped) cells.[1] Spirochaetes are chemoheterotrophic in nature, with lengths between 5 and 250 µm and diameters around 0.1-0.6 µm.

Spirochaetes are distinguished from other bacterial phyla by the location of their flagella, sometimes called axial filaments, which run lengthwise between the bacterial inner membrane and outer membrane in periplasmic space. These cause a twisting motion which allows the spirochaete to move about. When reproducing, a spirochaete will undergo asexual transverse binary fission.

Most spirochaetes are free-living and anaerobic, but there are numerous exceptions.

Contents

Classification

The spirochaetes are divided into three families (Brachyspiraceae, Leptospiraceae, and Spirochaetaceae), all placed within a single order (Spirochaetales). Disease-causing members of this phylum include the following:

Cavalier-Smith has postulated that the Spirochaetes belong in a larger clade called Gracilicutes.[5]

Phylogeny

The currently accepted taxonomy is based on the List of Prokaryotic names with Standing in Nomenclature (LPSN) [6] and National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI)[7] and the phylogeny is based on 16S rRNA-based LTP release 106 by The All-Species Living Tree Project [8]


  ?Sphaerochaeta

S. globusRitalahti et al. 2006



S. pleomorphusRitalahti et al. 2006



  Leptospiraceae

Turneriella parva (Hovind-Hougen et al. 1982) Levett et al. 2005




Leptonema illini Hovind-Hougen 1983



Leptospira Noguchi 1917 emend. Faine and Stallman 1982




 



Brevinema andersonii Defosse et al. 1995



Exilispira thermophila Imachi et al. 2008




Brachyspira Hovind-Hougen et al. 1983



  Spirochaetaceae

?Clevelandina reticulitermitidisBermudes et al. 1988



?Cristispira pectinisGross 1910



?Diplocalyx calotermitidis(ex Gharagozlou 1968) Bermudes et al. 1988



?Hollandina pterotermitidis(ex To et al. 1978) Bermudes et al. 1988



?Pillotina calotermitidis(ex Hollande and Gharagozlou 1967) Bermudes et al. 1988



Spirochaeta [incl. Borrelia]



Spironema culicisTurk et al. 1999



Treponema [incl. Spirochaeta caldaria]





Notes:
♦ Type strain lost or not available
♪ Prokaryotes where no pure (axenic) cultures are isolated or available, i. e. not cultivated or can not be sustained in culture for more than a few serial passages
♠ Strains found at the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) but not listed in the List of Prokaryotic names with Standing in Nomenclature (LSPN)

Historical

Salvarsan, the first partially organic antimicrobial drug in medical history, was effective against spirochaetes only and was primarily used to cure syphilis.

See also

References

  1. ^ Ryan KJ; Ray CG (editors) (2004). Sherris Medical Microbiology (4th ed.). McGraw Hill. ISBN 0838585299. 
  2. ^ McBride A, Athanazio D, Reis M, Ko A (2005). "Leptospirosis". Curr Opin Infect Dis 18 (5): 376–86. doi:10.1097/01.qco.0000178824.05715.2c. PMID 16148523. 
  3. ^ Schwan T (1996). "Ticks and Borrelia: model systems for investigating pathogen-arthropod interactions". Infect Agents Dis 5 (3): 167–81. PMID 8805079. 
  4. ^ Amat Villegas I, Borobio Aguilar E, Beloqui Perez R, de Llano Varela P, Oquiñena Legaz S, Martínez-Peñuela Virseda JM (January 2004). "[Colonic spirochetes: an infrequent cause of adult diarrhea]" (in Spanish; Castilian). Gastroenterol Hepatol 27 (1): 21–3. PMID 14718105. 
  5. ^ Cavalier-Smith, T (2006). "Rooting the tree of life by transition analyses". Biology Direct 1 (19): 19. doi:10.1186/1745-6150-1-19. PMC 1586193. PMID 16834776. http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=1586193. 
  6. ^ J.P. Euzéby. "Spirochaetes". List of Prokaryotic names with Standing in Nomenclature (LPSN) [1]. http://www.bacterio.cict.fr/classifphyla.html#Spirochaetes. Retrieved 2011-11-17. 
  7. ^ Sayers et al.. "Spirochaetes". National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) taxonomy database [2]. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Taxonomy/Browser/wwwtax.cgi?mode=Undef&id=203691&lvl=6&lin. Retrieved 2011-06-05. 
  8. ^ All-Species Living Tree Project."16S rRNA-based LTP release 106 (full tree)". Silva Comprehensive Ribosomal RNA Database [3]. http://www.arb-silva.de/fileadmin/silva_databases/living_tree/LTP_release_106/LTPs106_SSU_tree.pdf. Retrieved 2011-11-17. 

External links