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Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

Veterinary bacteriology: information about important bacteria
Veterinary bacteriology


Species/Subspecies: Legionella pneumophila subsp. pneumophila
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:
Phylum
Pseudomonadota
Class
Gammaproteobacteria
Order
Legionellales
Family
Legionellaceae 
Genus
Legionella
Type Strain: Philadelphia 1 = ATCC 33152 = CCUG 9568 = NCTC 11192.
Macromorphology (smell):
Legionella pneumophila  Legionella pneumophila  
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 -:
Legionella pneumophila  
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.:
Special Media:
Disease:Legionellosis or Legionaires' disease
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:
Acc-noStrainSize (bp)Genome
NC_002942 Philadelphia 1T 3 397 754 1l + 0 
Totally 4 strains have been sequenced and 0-1 circular plasmids have been found.

16S rRNA Seq.:
Acc-noStrainNumber of NTOperon
M59157 ATCC 33152T 1544 

Taxonomy/phylogeny:
Legionella pneumophila  
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

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