| Species/Subspecies: | Lawsonia intracellularis | ||||||||
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| Category: | Motile | ||||||||
| Etymology: | Genus name: named after the Scottish veterinarian Gordon H.K. Lawson, who discovered the organism. Species epithet: within the cell (intracellularly). | ||||||||
| Significance: | A very common infection that is spread all over the world. [Very important] |
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| Taxonomy: | Class Deltaproteobacteria Order Desulfovibroniales Family Desulfovibrionaceae Genus Lawsonia |
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| Type Strain: | 1482/89 = NCTC 12656. | ||||||||
| Macromorphology (smell): | Cannot be grown on solid media. | ||||||||
| Micromorphology: | Rods (0.3-0.4 x 1.5-2.0 µm), which are usually curved (vibroid-shaped). Darting motility by means of one polar flagellum has been observed in certain preparations. | ||||||||
| Gram +/Gram -: | G- | ||||||||
| Metabolism: | Microaerophilic | ||||||||
| Catalase/Oxidase: | |||||||||
| Fermentation of carbohydrates: | Is not used for identification of Lawsonia spp. because it may be difficult to differentiate the metabolism between the bacterium and the host cell. Furthermore, many intracellular bacteria lack enzymes for carbohydrate metabolism because of evolutionary gene reduction. | ||||||||
| Spec. Char.: | Optimal growth temperature: 35-37°C. Celldependent and can be co-cultivated with intestinal epithelial cells. | ||||||||
| Disease: | Ileitis |
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| Hosts: | gris | ||||||||
| Clinical Picture: | Cement-like diarrhea and wasting. | ||||||||
| Genome Sequence: |
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| 16S rRNA Seq.: |
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| Taxonomy/phylogeny:
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Only one species has been described within the genus Lawsonia and it is also the only species within the class Deltaproteobacteria, which is of importance in veterinary medicine. | ||||||||
| Comment: | Obligately intracellular and therefore difficult to culture. | ||||||||
| Reference(s): | No. 11 | ||||||||
| Updated: | 2017-06-14 |