| Species/Subspecies: | Legionella pneumophila subsp. pneumophila | ||||||||
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| Categories: | Motile; primarily of interest in human medicin; notifiable diseases and bacteria | ||||||||
| Etymology: | Genus name: small army. Species epithet: lung loving. Subspecies epithet: see Species epithet. | ||||||||
| Significance: | [Important] | ||||||||
| Taxonomy: | Class Gammaproteobacteria Order Legionellales Family Legionellaceae Genus Legionella |
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| Type Strain: | Philadelphia 1 = ATCC 33152 = CCUG 9568 = NCTC 11192. | ||||||||
| Macromorphology (smell):
| Greyish white mucous colonies (about 3 mm in diameter), which often forms a continuous streak. | ||||||||
| Micromorphology: | Thin rods (0,3-0,9 x 2 µm), which are motile (most common) by means of a single polar flagellum (the bacteria are monotrichous). | ||||||||
| Gram +/Gram -: | G- | ||||||||
| Metabolism: | Aerobic | ||||||||
| Catalase/Oxidase: | +/(+) | ||||||||
| Other Enzymes: | Hippuricase +, urease - | ||||||||
| Fermentation of carbohydrates: | L. pneumophila does not ferment carbohydrates since it is an obligate aerobic bacterium. | ||||||||
| Spec. Char.: | |||||||||
| Disease: | Legionellosis or Legionaires' disease |
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| Hosts: | Humans | ||||||||
| Clinical Picture: | High fever, chills, muscle aches, headaches and diarrhea. | ||||||||
| Virulence Factors: | L. pneumophila has a type IV secretion system, which can translocate about 50 different effector proteins that are important for intracellular survival of this bacterium. | ||||||||
| Genome Sequence: |
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| 16S rRNA Seq.: |
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| Taxonomy/phylogeny:
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About 60 species have been described within genus Legionella, which is related to to genus Coxiella (although not that close). | ||||||||
| Legislation: | The legionaires' disease is notifyable in Sweden. | ||||||||
| Updated: | 2023-03-29 |