Treponema primitia

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Classification

Kingdom: Bacteria

Phylum: Spirochaetes

Class: Spirochaetia

Order: Spirochaetales

Family: Spirochaetaceae

Genus: Treponema

Species: Treponema primitia

The name "primitia", meaning "first fruits" in Latin, refers to its discovery as the first Spirochete isolated from termite guts.

Description and Significance

T. primitia is a microorganism that lives in the hindgut of the termite Zootermopsis angusticolis and synthesizes acetate, the primary source of energy of their insect host, from the H2 and CO2 generated by protozoa during the fermentation of wood polysaccharides. (3) T. primitia is a motile gram-negative microorganism which its motion can best be described as a rigid helix with no noticeable gyrations or deformations. (5) T. primitia relies on a chemosensory system to help guide it to favorable environmental conditions. (6) Methyl-accepting chemotaxis proteins (MCPs) are transmembrane chemoreceptors that T. primitia depends on to complete the process of chemotaxis. (6) Similar to E. Coli, T. primitia exhibits a chemoreceptor array system that is polar. (6)

Genomic Information

The genome of T. primitia has 3523 protein encoding genes across a genome of 4.1 megabase pairs. (1)

Related Species

Within the Genus

The genus of Treponema has a lot of variety contained within it. Included in this genus are both symbionts (like Treponema primitia) and pathogens. One pathogen is T. pallidum which is divided into subspecies pallidum, pertenue, and endemicum which cause venereal syphilis, yaws, and endemic syphilis respectively. (4)

Symbiotic Acetogens

Metabolism

Treponema primitia is an anaerobic organism with the ability to survive for only a short period of time in contact with the outside atmosphere. (3)

References

(1) Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes. Treponema primitia. LINK: http://www.kegg.jp/kegg-bin/show_organism?org=T01507

(2) Leadbetter, J., Schmidt, T., Graber, J., Breznak, J. "Acetogenesis from H-2 plus CO2 by spirochetes from termite guts." Science , 1999, DOI:10.1126/science.283.5402.686

(3) Murphy, G. E., Matson, E. G., Leadbetter, J. R., Berg, H. C., Jensen, G. J. "Novel ultrastructures of treponema primitia and their implications for motility." Molecular Microbiology, 2008, 67(6), 1184–1195, DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2958.2008.06120.x.

(4) Radolf, J. "Chapter 36: Treponema". Medical Microbiology, 4th edition. Galveston, Texas: University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, 1996, ISBN-10: 0-9631172-1-1.

(5) Wolgemuth, C., Goldstein, S. F., & Charon, N. W. "Electron cryotomography reveals novel structures of a recently cultured termite gut spirochete." Molecular Microbiology, 2008, 67(6), 1181–1183.DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2958.2008.06111.x

(6) Briegel, A., Ortega, D.R., Tocheva, E.I., Wuichet, K., Li, Z., Chen, S., Müller, A., Iancu, C.V., Murphy, G.E., Dobro, M.J., Zhulin, I.B., Jensen, G.J., “Universal architecture of bacterial chemoreceptor arrays.” PANS, 2009, 106(40), 17181-17186, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0905181106

(7)