International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology, Vol 51, 955-962, Copyright © 2001 by Society for General Microbiology

Treponema parvum sp. nov., a small, glucuronic or galacturonic acid-dependent oral spirochaete from lesions of human periodontitis and acute necrotizing ulcerative gingivitis

C Wyss, FE Dewhirst, R Gmur, T Thurnheer, Y Xue, P Schupbach, B Guggenheim and BJ Paster
Institut fur Orale Mikrobiologie und Allgemeine Immunologie, Zentrum fur Zahn-, Mund- und Kieferheilkunde der Universitat Zurich, Plattenstrasse 11, CH-8028 Zurich, Switzerland

Small oral spirochaetes with a strict dependence on either glucuronic acid (GluA) or galacturonic acid (GalA) were isolated from European patients with periodontitis and from Chinese patients with either gingivitis or acute necrotizing ulcerative gingivitis (ANUG). Thirteen such isolates were similar phenotypically to Treponema pectinovorum ATCC 33768(T) and this classification was confirmed by 16S rRNA sequencing. However, four isolates differed from T. pectinovorum by their small cell size, by a prominent beta-glucuronidase activity, by a distinct protein and antigen profile, by an inability to grow on pectin as sole source of carbohydrate and by a markedly enhanced growth rate when supplied with a second carbohydrate (L-arabinose, D-galactose, D-glucose, D-fructose, D-mannitol, D-mannose, pectin, D-ribose or D-xylose) in addition to the essential GluA/GalA. By 16S rRNA sequencing these four isolates clustered in the recently described phylotype 'Smibert-2'. T. pectinovorum (14 strains) and 'Smibert-2' (four isolates with beta-glucuronidase activity) could each be subdivided into two serotypes based on immunoblot reactivity with two mAbs. Representatives of the two groups, including T. pectinovorum ATCC 33768(T), showed a 1:2:1-type periplasmic flagellar arrangement. 'Smibert-2' is described as a novel species, Treponema parvum sp. nov., with isolate OMZ 833(T) (=ATCC 700770(T)) proposed as the type strain and OMZ 842 (=ATCC 700773) as reference strain for a second serotype.

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