This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Paster, B. J.
Right arrow Articles by Breznak, J. A.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Paster, B. J.
Right arrow Articles by Breznak, J. A.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Paster, B. J.
Right arrow Articles by Breznak, J. A.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Appl. Environ. Microbiol., 02 1996, 347-352, Vol 62, No. 2
Copyright © 1996, American Society for Microbiology

Phylogeny of not-yet-cultured spirochetes from termite guts

BJ Paster, FE Dewhirst, SM Cooke, V Fussing, LK Poulsen and JA Breznak
Department of Molecular Genetics, Forsyth Dental Center, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.

Comparisons of 16S rDNA sequences were used to determine the phylogeny of not-yet-cultured spirochetes from hindguts of the African higher termite, Nasutitermes lujae (Wasmann). The 16S rRNA genes were amplified directly from spirochete-rich hindguts by using universal primers, and the amplified products were cloned into Escherichia coli. Clones were screened with a spirochete-specific DNA probe. Analysis of 1,410 base positions of the 16S rDNA insert from one spirochete clone, designated NL1, supported its assignment to the genus Treponema, with average interspecies similarities of ca. 85%. The sequence of NL1 was most closely related (ca. 87 to 88% similarity) to sequences of Spirochaeta stenostrepta and Spirochaeta caldaria and to a previously published sequence (ca. 87% similarity) of spirochetal clone MDS1 from the Australian lower termite, Mastotermes darwiniensis (Froggatt). On the basis of 16S rRNA sequence comparisons and individual base signatures, clones NL1 and MDS1 clearly represent two novel species of Treponema, although specific epithets have not yet been proposed. The gross morphology of NL1 was determined from in situ hybridization experiments with an NL1-specific, fluorescently labeled oligonucleotide probe. Cells were approximately 0.3 to 0.4 by 30 microns in size, with a wavelength and amplitude of about 10 microns and 0.8 to 1.6 micron, respectively. Moreover, electron microscopy of various undulate cells present in gut contents confirmed that they possessed ultrastructural features typical of spirochetes, i.e., a wavy protoplasmic cylinder, periplasmic flagella, and an outer sheath. The sequence data suggest that termite gut spirochetes may represent a separate line of descent from other treponemes and that they constitute a significant reservoir of previously unrecognized spirochetal biodiversity.


This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Droge, S., Rachel, R., Radek, R., Konig, H. (2008). Treponema isoptericolens sp. nov., a novel spirochaete from the hindgut of the termite Incisitermes tabogae. Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol. 58: 1079-1083 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Hongoh, Y., Deevong, P., Hattori, S., Inoue, T., Noda, S., Noparatnaraporn, N., Kudo, T., Ohkuma, M. (2006). Phylogenetic Diversity, Localization, and Cell Morphologies of Members of the Candidate Phylum TG3 and a Subphylum in the Phylum Fibrobacteres, Recently Discovered Bacterial Groups Dominant in Termite Guts. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 72: 6780-6788 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Droge, S., Frohlich, J., Radek, R., Konig, H. (2006). Spirochaeta coccoides sp. nov., a Novel Coccoid Spirochete from the Hindgut of the Termite Neotermes castaneus. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 72: 392-397 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Graber, J. R., Breznak, J. A. (2005). Folate Cross-Feeding Supports Symbiotic Homoacetogenic Spirochetes. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 71: 1883-1889 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Graber, J. R., Breznak, J. A. (2004). Physiology and Nutrition of Treponema primitia, an H2/ CO2-Acetogenic Spirochete from Termite Hindguts. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 70: 1307-1314 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Broderick, N. A., Raffa, K. F., Goodman, R. M., Handelsman, J. (2004). Census of the Bacterial Community of the Gypsy Moth Larval Midgut by Using Culturing and Culture-Independent Methods. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 70: 293-300 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Egert, M., Wagner, B., Lemke, T., Brune, A., Friedrich, M. W. (2003). Microbial Community Structure in Midgut and Hindgut of the Humus-Feeding Larva of Pachnoda ephippiata (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae). Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 69: 6659-6668 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Salmassi, T. M., Leadbetter, J. R. (2003). Analysis of genes of tetrahydrofolate-dependent metabolism from cultivated spirochaetes and the gut community of the termite Zootermopsis angusticollis. Microbiology 149: 2529-2537 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Noda, S., Ohkuma, M., Yamada, A., Hongoh, Y., Kudo, T. (2003). Phylogenetic Position and In Situ Identification of Ectosymbiotic Spirochetes on Protists in the Termite Gut. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 69: 625-633 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Sakamoto, M., Takeuchi, Y., Umeda, M., Ishikawa, I., Benno, Y. (2003). Application of terminal RFLP analysis to characterize oral bacterial flora in saliva of healthy subjects and patients with periodontitis. J Med Microbiol 52: 79-89 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Hill, J. E., Seipp, R. P., Betts, M., Hawkins, L., Van Kessel, A. G., Crosby, W. L., Hemmingsen, S. M. (2002). Extensive Profiling of a Complex Microbial Community by High-Throughput Sequencing. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 68: 3055-3066 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Breznak, J. A. (2002). Phylogenetic Diversity and Physiology of Termite Gut Spirochetes. Integr. Comp. Biol. 42: 313-318 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Lilburn, T. G., Kim, K. S., Ostrom, N. E., Byzek, K. R., Leadbetter, J. R., Breznak, J. A. (2001). Nitrogen Fixation by Symbiotic and Free-Living Spirochetes. Science 292: 2495-2498 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Bull, A. T., Ward, A. C., Goodfellow, M. (2000). Search and Discovery Strategies for Biotechnology: the Paradigm Shift. Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev. 64: 573-606 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Suau, A., Bonnet, R., Sutren, M., Godon, J.-J., Gibson, G. R., Collins, M. D., Doré, J. (1999). Direct Analysis of Genes Encoding 16S rRNA from Complex Communities Reveals Many Novel Molecular Species within the Human Gut. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 65: 4799-4807 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Ohkuma, M., Noda, S., Kudo, T. (1999). Phylogenetic Diversity of Nitrogen Fixation Genes in the Symbiotic Microbial Community in the Gut of Diverse Termites. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 65: 4926-4934 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Leadbetter, J. R., Schmidt, T. M., Graber, J. R., Breznak, J. A. (1999). Acetogenesis from H2 Plus CO2 by Spirochetes from Termite Guts. Science 283: 686-689 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Santo Domingo, J. W., Kaufman, M. G., Klug, M. J., Tiedje, J. M. (1998). Characterization of the Cricket Hindgut Microbiota with Fluorescently Labeled rRNA-Targeted Oligonucleotide Probes. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 64: 752-755 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»