Selected phenotypic features of BR91, a unique spirochaetal strain isolated from the Culex pipiens mosquito.
Growth temperature range, resistance to selective antibiotics, activities of 23 enzymes, protein fingerprints and fatty acids composition of the spirochaetal strain BR91, isolated from the Culex pipiens mosquito, were tested. The spirochaetes were grown in BSK-H Complete liquid medium. The optimal in vitro growth temperature of the strain was 33 °C. Strain BR91 was sensitive to trimethoprim, nalidixic acid, 5-fluorouracil, and tolerated phosphomycin. The strain produced acid and alkaline phosphatase, esterase (C4), esterase-lipase (C8), leucine arylamidase, naphthol-AS-BI-phosphohydrolase and α-fucosidase. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) assay revealed several major proteins in the size range of 13-16 kDa, 22-30 kDa and 37-131 kDa. Fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) analysis showed that C₁₄:₀, C₁₆:₀, C₁₈:₁ ω9c and summed feature 5 (C₁₈:₂ ω6,9c and/or C₁₈:₀ anteiso) are major fatty acids. This study highlights certain phenotypic differences between strain BR91 and the Lyme disease spirochaete Borrelia burgdorferi, and supports the hypothesis that strain BR91 represents a unique taxonomical entity in a system of spirochaetal species.
Institute of Vertebrate Biology, v.v.i., Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Květná 8, 603 65 Brno, Czech Republic.
Silvie
S
Šikutová
Tomas Bata University, Faculty of Technology, Department of Environmental Protection and Engineering, náměstí T. G. Masaryka 275, 762 72 Zlin, Czech Republic.
Leona
L
Bunková
Institute of Public Health, Department of Bacteriology, Partyzánské náměstí 7, 702 00 Ostrava, Czech Republic.
Eva
E
Krejčí
Institute of Vertebrate Biology, v.v.i., Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Květná 8, 603 65 Brno, Czech Republic.
Jiří
J
Halouzka
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, WM Keck Centre for Comparative & Functional Genomics, Urbana, IL 61801, USA.
Yibayiri O
YO
Sanogo
Institute of Vertebrate Biology, v.v.i., Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Květná 8, 603 65 Brno, Czech Republic; Masaryk University, Department of Experimental Biology, Section of Microbiology, Kotlářská 2, 611 37 Brno, Czech Republic. Electronic address: rudolf@ivb.cz.
Ivo
I
Rudolf
D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000032:analysis; D025065:Borrelia burgdorferi; D003465:Culex / Q000382:microbiology*; D009033:Culicidae; D003470:Culture Media / Q000737:chemistry; D004798:Enzymes / Q000032:analysis; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000032:analysis; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D013143:Spirochaetaceae / Q000737:chemistry / Q000145:classification* / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000502:physiology; D013696:Temperature
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D003470:Culture Media; D004798:Enzymes; D005227:Fatty Acids
Culex pipiens; Enzyme activity; FAME; SDS-PAGE; Spirochaete