Leptospira wolffii sp. nov., isolated from a human with suspected leptospirosis in Thailand.
A single Leptospira strain (designated Khorat-H2(T)) was isolated from the urine of an adult male patient with suspected leptospirosis from the province of Nakornrachasima, Thailand. The isolate showed typical Leptospira motility and morphology under dark-field microscopy. Cells were 10-13 mum long and 0.2 mum in diameter, with a wavelength of 0.5 mum and an amplitude of approximately 0.3 mum. Phenotypically, strain Khorat-H2(T) did not grow at 13 degrees C but grew at 30 and 37 degrees C and in the presence of 8-azaguanine. Serological identification using the microscopic agglutination test revealed that strain Khorat-H2(T) had no cross-reaction with any recognized Leptospira serogroups. Phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequence placed the novel strain within the radiation of the genus Leptospira, with sequence similarities of 88.1-97.7 % to recognized Leptospira species. DNA-DNA hybridization against the type strains of the three most closely related Leptospira species was used to confirm the results of the 16S rRNA sequence analysis. The G+C content of strain Khorat-H2(T) was 41.8 mol%. On the basis of phenotypic, serological and phylogenetic data, strain Khorat-H2(T) represents a novel species of the genus Leptospira, for which the name Leptospira wolffii sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is Khorat-H2(T) (=WHO LT1686(T) =KIT Khorat-H2(T)).
Slack
Andrew T
AT
WHO/FAO/OIE Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Leptospirosis, Western Pacific Region, Communicable Diseases, Queensland Health Forensic and Scientific Services, Brisbane, Australia.
Kalambaheti
Thareerat
T
Symonds
Meegan L
ML
Dohnt
Michael F
MF
Galloway
Renee L
RL
Steigerwalt
Arnold G
AG
Chaicumpa
Wanpen
W
Bunyaraksyotin
Gaysorn
G
Craig
Scott
S
Harrower
Bruce J
BJ
Smythe
Lee D
LD
D000328:Adult; D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques; D001482:Base Composition; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D020459:Genes, rRNA; D006801:Humans; D007919:Leptospira / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D007922:Leptospirosis / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000652:urine; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010641:Phenotype; D010802:Phylogeny; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013785:Thailand
D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S