title: Organization, structure, and variability of the rRNA operon of the Whipple's disease bacterium (Tropheryma whippelii).
abstract: Whipple's disease is a systemic disorder associated with a cultivation-resistant, poorly characterized actinomycete, Tropheryma whippelii. We determined a nearly complete rRNA operon sequence of T. whippelii from specimens from 3 patients with Whipple's disease, as well as partial operon sequences from 43 patients. Variability was observed in the 16S-23S rRNA spacer sequences, leading to the description of five distinct sequence types. One specimen contained two spacer sequence types, raising the possibility of a double infection. Secondary structure models for the primary rRNA transcript and mature rRNAs revealed rare or unique features.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Microbiology and Immunology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California 94305, USA.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Maiwald
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: von Herbay
authors.forename: P W
authors.initials: PW
authors.lastname: Lepp
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Relman
mesh_terms: D000192:Actinomycetales / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D001483:Base Sequence; D014644:Genetic Variation; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D009876:Operon; D010802:Phylogeny; D012335:RNA, Ribosomal / Q000235:genetics*; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D012338:RNA, Ribosomal, 23S / Q000235:genetics; D012341:RNA, Ribosomal, 5S / Q000235:genetics; D013045:Species Specificity; D008061:Whipple Disease / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: D012335:RNA, Ribosomal; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; D012338:RNA, Ribosomal, 23S; D012341:RNA, Ribosomal, 5S