Skip to main content
PMC home page
Journal of Clinical Microbiology logoLink to Journal of Clinical Microbiology
. 1993 Jan;31(1):16–21. doi: 10.1128/jcm.31.1.16-21.1993

Human intestinal spirochetes are distinct from Serpulina hyodysenteriae.

J I Lee 1, A J McLaren 1, A J Lymbery 1, D J Hampson 1
PMCID: PMC262613  PMID: 8417025

Abstract

Twenty-nine intestinal spirochetes isolated from Australian aboriginal children and six strains from Italian adults (HRM1, -2, -4, -5, -7, and -14) were genetically examined at 15 enzyme loci by using multilocus enzyme electrophoresis. Results were compared with those previously obtained for 188 porcine intestinal spirochetes. DNA from human strain HRM7 and porcine strain Serpulina hyodysenteriae P18A were also radioactively labeled and hybridized with DNA from 12 other human and porcine intestinal spirochetes. Both the multilocus enzyme electrophoresis and hybridization techniques demonstrated that the human spirochetes were not S. hyodysenteriae. They belonged to another distinct genetic group of spirochetes that included P43/6/78, the bacterium recovered from the first recorded case of porcine intestinal spirochetosis. Bacteria in this distinct group also differed from Serpulina spp. in possessing only four, five, or occasionally six axial filaments, being slightly thinner, and having more pointed ends. These findings add further weight to the possibility that human intestinal spirochetes may act as enteric pathogens.

Full text

PDF
16

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Barrett S. P. Intestinal spirochaetes in a Gulf Arab population. Epidemiol Infect. 1990 Apr;104(2):261–266. doi: 10.1017/s0950268800059434. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Coene M., Agliano A. M., Paques A. T., Cattani P., Dettori G., Sanna A., Cocito C. Comparative analysis of the genomes of intestinal spirochetes of human and animal origin. Infect Immun. 1989 Jan;57(1):138–145. doi: 10.1128/iai.57.1.138-145.1989. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Combs B., Hampson D. J., Mhoma J. R., Buddle J. R. Typing of Treponema hyodysenteriae by restriction endonuclease analysis. Vet Microbiol. 1989 Apr;19(4):351–359. doi: 10.1016/0378-1135(89)90100-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Crucioli V., Busuttil A. Human intestinal spirochaetosis. Scand J Gastroenterol Suppl. 1981;70:177–179. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Dettori G., Amalfitano G., Polonelli L., Rossi A., Grillo R., Plaisant P. Electron microscopy studies of human intestinal spirochetes. Eur J Epidemiol. 1987 Jun;3(2):187–195. doi: 10.1007/BF00239758. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Harris D. L., Glock R. D., Christensen C. R., Kinyon J. M. Inoculation of pigs with Treponema hyodysenteriae (new species) and reproduction f the disease. Vet Med Small Anim Clin. 1972 Jan;67(1):61–64. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Hunter D., Wood T. An evaluation of the API ZYM system as a means of classifying spirochaetes associated with swine dysentery. Vet Rec. 1979 Apr 28;104(17):383–384. doi: 10.1136/vr.104.17.383. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Jacques M., Girard C., Higgins R., Goyette G. Extensive colonization of the porcine colonic epithelium by a spirochete similar to Treponema innocens. J Clin Microbiol. 1989 May;27(5):1139–1141. doi: 10.1128/jcm.27.5.1139-1141.1989. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Jones M. J., Miller J. N., George W. L. Microbiological and biochemical characterization of spirochetes isolated from the feces of homosexual males. J Clin Microbiol. 1986 Dec;24(6):1071–1074. doi: 10.1128/jcm.24.6.1071-1074.1986. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Kunkle R. A., Harris D. L., Kinyon J. M. Autoclaved liquid medium for propagation of Treponema hyodysenteriae. J Clin Microbiol. 1986 Oct;24(4):669–671. doi: 10.1128/jcm.24.4.669-671.1986. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Lee F. D., Kraszewski A., Gordon J., Howie J. G., McSeveney D., Harland W. A. Intestinal spirochaetosis. Gut. 1971 Feb;12(2):126–133. doi: 10.1136/gut.12.2.126. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Lee J. I., Hampson D. J. Intestinal spirochaetes colonizing aborigines from communities in the remote north of Western Australia. Epidemiol Infect. 1992 Aug;109(1):133–141. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Lymbery A. J., Hampson D. J., Hopkins R. M., Combs B., Mhoma J. R. Multilocus enzyme electrophoresis for identification and typing of Treponema hyodysenteriae and related spirochaetes. Vet Microbiol. 1990 Mar;22(1):89–99. doi: 10.1016/0378-1135(90)90127-h. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Mathan M. M., Mathan V. I. Rectal mucosal morphologic abnormalities in normal subjects in southern India: a tropical colonopathy? Gut. 1985 Jul;26(7):710–717. doi: 10.1136/gut.26.7.710. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Nei M. Estimation of average heterozygosity and genetic distance from a small number of individuals. Genetics. 1978 Jul;89(3):583–590. doi: 10.1093/genetics/89.3.583. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Ramadass P., Marshall R. B., Jarvis B. D. Species differentiation of Leptospira interrogans serovar hardjo strain Hardjobovis from strain Hardjoprajitno by DNA slot blot hybridisation. Res Vet Sci. 1990 Sep;49(2):194–197. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Rigby P. W., Dieckmann M., Rhodes C., Berg P. Labeling deoxyribonucleic acid to high specific activity in vitro by nick translation with DNA polymerase I. J Mol Biol. 1977 Jun 15;113(1):237–251. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(77)90052-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Ruane P. J., Nakata M. M., Reinhardt J. F., George W. L. Spirochete-like organisms in the human gastrointestinal tract. Rev Infect Dis. 1989 Mar-Apr;11(2):184–196. doi: 10.1093/clinids/11.2.184. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Selander R. K., Caugant D. A., Ochman H., Musser J. M., Gilmour M. N., Whittam T. S. Methods of multilocus enzyme electrophoresis for bacterial population genetics and systematics. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1986 May;51(5):873–884. doi: 10.1128/aem.51.5.873-884.1986. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Stanton T. B. Proposal to change the genus designation Serpula to Serpulina gen. nov. containing the species Serpulina hyodysenteriae comb. nov. and Serpulina innocens comb. nov. Int J Syst Bacteriol. 1992 Jan;42(1):189–190. doi: 10.1099/00207713-42-1-189. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Taylor D. J., Simmons J. R., Laird H. M. Production of diarrhoea and dysentery in pigs by feeding pure cultures of a spirochaete differing from Treponema hyodysenteriae. Vet Rec. 1980 Apr 12;106(15):326–332. doi: 10.1136/vr.106.15.326. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. de Wergifosse P., Coene M. M. Comparison of the genomes of pathogenic treponemes of human and animal origin. Infect Immun. 1989 May;57(5):1629–1631. doi: 10.1128/iai.57.5.1629-1631.1989. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Clinical Microbiology are provided here courtesy of American Society for Microbiology (ASM)

RESOURCES