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Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

Veterinary bacteriology: information about important bacteria
Veterinary bacteriology


Species/Subspecies: Treponema pallidum subsp. pallidum
Categories: Motile; primarily of interest in human medicin
Etymology: Genus name: A turning thread
Species epithet: Pale, pallid (referrs to the week Gram-staining)
Subspecies epithet: see Species epithet
Significance:T. pallidum subsp. pallidum is globally a very important human pathogen.
  [Very important]   
Taxonomy:
Phylum
Spirochaetota
Class
Spirochaetia
Order
Spirochaetales
Family
Treponemataceae 
Genus
Treponema
Type Strain: Not defined
Macromorphology (smell): Cannot be cultivated contiuously in articial media or cell cultures. Is, therfore, propagated intratesicularly in rabbits.
Micromorphology: Tightly coiled (0.1-0.18 x 6-20 µm). Has 2-4 periplasmic flagella at each end of the cell.
Gram +/Gram -:G-
Metabolism: Microaerophilic
Catalase/Oxidase:
Spec. Char.: Generation time: 24-30 h.
Special Media:
Disease:Syphilis, which is a sexually transmitted disease.
Hosts: Human
Clinical Picture:
Genome Sequence:
Acc-noStrainSize (bp)Genome
NC_000919 Nichols 1 138 011 1c + 0 
Three strains have been sequenced. None of the seems to carry plasmids.

16S rRNA Seq.:
Acc-noStrainNumber of NTOperon
M88726 Not defined 1 573 

Taxonomy/phylogeny:
Treponema pallidum  
About 30 different species have been described within the genus Treponema. T. pallidum consists of two additional subspecies: pertenue and endemicum, which both are human patogens. Some researchers regard all these subspecies as separate species, although they are very closely related from a phylogenetic point of view. See the phylogenetic tree (Fig. 100:1). T. paraluiscuniculi is very closely related to T. pallidum.
Legislation: Syphilis is classified in Sweden as a dangerous disease under the Communicable Diseases Act and shall be notified to the County Medical Officer in the County Council and to the Public Health Agency of Sweden.
Updated:2023-03-08

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