Exilispira thermophila gen. nov., sp. nov., an anaerobic, thermophilic spirochaete isolated from a deep-sea hydrothermal vent chimney.

A novel thermophilic, anaerobic bacterium, strain RASEN(T), was isolated from a deep-sea hydrothermal vent chimney sample collected in the Iheya North field, Okinawa Trough, Japan, at a water depth of 982 m. The cells were motile, Gram-negative and helical with hooked ends, 0.23-0.28x15-27 microm in size with an approximate wavelength of 1.1-1.5 microm. Growth of the strain was observed at 37-60 degrees C (optimum 50 degrees C), in 2.5-3.5 % (w/v) NaCl (optimum 2.5-3 % NaCl) and at pH 6.0-7.5 (optimum pH 7.0). The strain grew on yeast extract only of the substrates examined in this study. The G+C content of the genomic DNA was 27.1 mol%. Major fatty acids for the strain were C(16 : 0), C(18 : 1)(Delta9) trans, C(18 : 0) and C(18 : 1)(Delta9) cis. Based on comparative 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, strain RASEN(T) formed a deeply branching lineage within the phylum Spirochaetes and had only low levels of sequence similarity with other species of the phylum (range of similarity 72.1-80.6 %). Hence, we propose the name Exilispira thermophila gen. nov., sp. nov. The type strain of Exilispira thermophila is strain RASEN(T) (=JCM 14728(T) =NBRC 103205(T) =KCTC 5595(T)).

The organic acid profiles in the feces of pigs at Brachyspira hyodysenteriae- or B. pilosicoli-positive farms.

We observed a significant difference in the organic acid profile of diarrheal feces between pigs infected with and free from pathogenic spirochetes. Diarrhea and loose feces were collected from growing pigs, held at 15 different commercial farms. A total of 106 samples were measured for organic acid concentration by HPLC and were checked for the presence of B. hyodysenteriae and B. pilosicoli by PCR. B. hyodysenteriae was detected in 3 samples collected from one farm. B. pilosicoli was detected in 5 samples collected from another farm. Lower concentrations of iso-butyrate and iso-valerate were likely associated with development of pathogenic spirochete infection.

Lipoprotein computational prediction in spirochaetal genomes.

Lipoproteins are of great interest in understanding the molecular pathogenesis of spirochaetes. Because spirochaete lipobox sequences exhibit more plasticity than those of other bacteria, application of existing prediction algorithms to emerging sequence data has been problematic. In this paper a novel lipoprotein prediction algorithm is described, designated SpLip, constructed as a hybrid of a lipobox weight matrix approach supplemented by a set of lipoprotein signal peptide rules allowing for conservative amino acid substitutions. Both the weight matrix and the rules are based on a training set of 28 experimentally verified spirochaetal lipoproteins. The performance of the SpLip algorithm was compared to that of the hidden Markov model-based LipoP program and the rules-based algorithm Psort for all predicted protein-coding genes of Leptospira interrogans sv. Copenhageni, L. interrogans sv. Lai, Borrelia burgdorferi, Borrelia garinii, Treponema pallidum and Treponema denticola. Psort sensitivity (13-35 %) was considerably less than that of SpLip (93-100 %) or LipoP (50-84 %) due in part to the requirement of Psort for Ala or Gly at the -1 position, a rule based on E. coli lipoproteins. The percentage of false-positive lipoprotein predictions by the LipoP algorithm (8-30 %) was greater than that of SpLip (0-1 %) or Psort (4-27 %), due in part to the lack of rules in LipoP excluding unprecedented amino acids such as Lys and Arg in the -1 position. This analysis revealed a higher number of predicted spirochaetal lipoproteins than was previously known. The improved performance of the SpLip algorithm provides a more accurate prediction of the complete lipoprotein repertoire of spirochaetes. The hybrid approach of supplementing weight matrix scoring with rules based on knowledge of protein secretion biochemistry may be a general strategy for development of improved prediction algorithms.

Molecular and ultrastructural characterization of porcine hippurate-negative Brachyspira pilosicoli.

Brachyspira pilosicoli, the causative agent of porcine intestinal spirochetosis, usually has hippurate-cleaving capacity. We have regularly isolated hippurate-negative B. pilosicoli from cases of porcine diarrhea. In this study, we show that these biochemically atypical B. pilosicoli isolates can be classified as B. pilosicoli. 16S ribosomal DNA was partially sequenced from eight hippurate-negative and two hippurate-positive B. pilosicoli-like isolates from seven herds. The differences in nucleotide sequence with B. pilosicoli P43/6/78 type strain were not associated with hippurate cleavage. In 877 bp, the hippurate-negative isolates had a similarity of 98.63 to 100% to the type strain, with the corresponding figures for the two hippurate-positive isolates being 98.86 and 100%. The nucleotide sequences of hippurate-positive isolates were identical to the respective sequences of hippurate-negative isolates from one herd. The DNA macrorestriction patterns of a total of 20 hippurate-negative and -positive B. pilosicoli isolates were diverse, and no clustering in conjunction with the hippurate reaction was found. In two herds, hippurate-positive and -negative B. pilosicoli isolates had a common macrorestriction pattern. The ultrastructure of hippurate-negative isolates was similar to the type strain. In conclusion, B. pilosicoli can be either hippurate positive or negative and, thus, the scheme for biochemical differentiation of porcine Brachyspira should be revised to include identification of hippurate-negative B. pilosicoli.

[Collagen-binding proteins of human oral spirochetes].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate pathogenic effect of the collagen-binding proteins(CBP) of human oral spirochetes. METHODS: Immunoblot analysis, immunoelectron microscopy and other experiments had been used. RESULTS: It was showed that: type I, IV and V CBP were detected in heated and unheated preparations from Treponema denticola(Td) ATCC 33520 and Treponema socranskii (Ts) ATCC 35534. Few CBP, however, were detected in heated and unheated preparations from a recently characterized isloate, Treponema medium(Tm) strain G7201. 27,000 type V CBP of Td, 110,000 type I of Ts and 95,000 type IV of Tm were located on the envelopes of the individual cells. The adherence of Td to the collagen-coated surface was significantly greater than that of Tm. CONCLUSION: The CBP on the oral spirochetal cells play an important role in their adherence to collagen-rich connective tissues of the host.

[The isolation and results of the study of the protein structure of spirochetes isolated from I. ricinus ticks in Byelarus]. / Izoliatsiia i rezul'taty izucheniia belkovoi struktury spirokhet, vydelennykh v Belorussii ot kleshchei I. ricinus.

Four hundred and eighty Ixodes ricinus (278 female and 202 male) samples collected in the natural biotopes of 13 administrative districts in southwest Byelarus were studied via DSK-H medium (Sigma) inoculation. Twenty-four spirochetes isolates (3, 2, 1, and 18 in the Brest, Gomel, Mogilev, and Grodno regions, respectively) were obtained on the territory of Byelarus. After adapted to the medium, most isolates (as many as 7 x 10(6)-5 x 10(7) microbial cells per ml) in the stationary phase. All the obtained isolates were cryoconserved at the level of 2-6 passages and after -70 degrees C storage during 4-6 months (a followup period) they were able to recover their initial reproductive activity in the fresh BSK-H medium. Proceeding from preidentification using a comparative electrophoretic analysis of the molecular mass of polypeptides, the pattern of their specific reactivity with polyclonal serum antibodies from the rabbit immunized with cultured Borrelia afzelii (Ip21 strain), in immunoblotting and indirect immunofluorescence assay, I. ricinus spirochetes were referred to Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato isolates.

Heterogeneity of human intestinal spirochaetes demonstrated by one-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of proteins visualised by (35)S-methionine labelling and Coomassie blue staining.

The relatedness of strains of a human intestinal spirochaete was investigated by comparison of electrophoretic protein profiles produced by Coomassie Blue staining of proteins separated by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) of lysed organisms and by examination of autoradiographs following PAGE of lysed (35)S-methionine-labelled organisms. A wide diversity of strains was revealed by both techniques but clustering of strains was different by the two methods. These findings support the view that the human intestinal spirochaetes comprise a group of bacteria of considerable heterogeneity.

Characterization of new periodontal and endodontic isolates of spirochetes.

Gas chromatographic analysis of cellular fatty acids (CFA), biochemical reactions, electrophoresis of soluble cellular proteins, as well as immunodiffusion were used to discriminate between 16 fresh spirochete isolates from periodontal and endodontic infections. CFA patterns were compared by the Hewlett Packard MIDI library to all available reference strains, and results of the biochemical tests were compared to VPI's records for treponemal strains. The electrophoretograms of soluble proteins of the fresh isolates were compared to those of previously well described strains of Treponema denticola, T. pectinovorum, T. vincentii, T. socranskii subsp. socranskii, T. socranskii subsp. paredis, T. socranskii subsp. buccale, and T. socranskii 04. Immunodiffusion was carried out by using adsorbed polyclonal rabbit antibodies to representative strains of the species mentioned. These methods separated most clinical strains from approved species strains, suggesting that new species had been isolated.

Solid-phase synthesis of biologically active lipopeptides as analogs for spirochetal lipoproteins.

Bacterial lipoproteins, which are of particular interest because of their immunomodulatory activities, share a common N-terminal structural motif that consists of an N-acyl-S-diacylglyceryl cysteine residue. Synthetic tripalmitoylated analogs of the N-terminal sequences of several bacterial lipopetides have been found to reproduce the immunological activities of the corresponding intact lipoproteins. Methods for the synthesis of lipopeptide analogs of bacterial lipoproteins have hitherto relied upon the coupling of peptide moieties, lacking the N-terminal cystienyl residue, with a tripalmitoylglyceryl cysteine moiety synthesized separately in solution. A method is described here by which rapid and convenient synthesis of the entire lipopeptide is accomplished by solid-phase methods in which the N-terminal cysteinyl derivative is assembled stepwise while attached to the completed peptide moiety prior to cleavage from the resin. The method has been used to synthesize two lipohexapeptides representing the N-terminal sequences of the 47-kDa membrane lipoprotein of the syphilis spirochete, Treponema pallidum, and the outer surface protein A (OspA) of the Lyme disease spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi. These lipopeptides, which were synthesized without detectable endotoxin contamination, exhibit macrophage-stimulating activity that is not expressed by the corresponding non-acylated hexapeptides. The data indicate that synthetic lipopeptides based on spirochetal lipoproteins are appropriate substitutes for the intact lipoproteins in immunological studies.

The periplasmic flagella of Serpulina (Treponema) hyodysenteriae are composed of two sheath proteins and three core proteins.

The major components of the periplasmic flagella of the spirochaete Serpulina (Treponema) hyodysenteriae strain C5 were purified and characterized. We demonstrate that the periplasmic flagella are composed of five major proteins (molecular masses 44, 37, 35, 34 and 32 kDa) and present their location, N-terminal amino acid sequence and immunological relationship. The 44 kDa and the 35 kDa protein are on the sheath of the periplasmic flagellum, whereas the 37, 34 and 32 kDa protein reside in the periplasmic flagellar core. The two sheath flagellar proteins are immunologically related but have different N-terminal amino acid sequences. The N-terminus of the 44 kDa protein shows homology with the sheath flagellins of other spirochaetes, but the 35 kDa protein does not. The three core proteins are immunologically cross-reactive and their N-terminal amino acid sequences are almost, but not completely, identical, indicating that the core proteins are encoded by three distinct genes. The core proteins show extensive N-terminal sequence similarities and an immunological relationship with periplasmic flagellar core proteins of other spirochaetes.