Lesson 12: The Spirochetes and Miscellaneous Bacteria Flashcards
These are long, slender, “helically curved”, gram-negative bacilli with the unusual morphologic features of “axial fibrils” and an outer sheath
Spirochetes
These appear as slender with tight coils
Treponema
Spirochetes are distinguished from other bacterial phyla by the location of their flagella, sometimes called as ________, which cause a twisting motion that allows spirochetes to move about.
Axial filaments
This covers the whole organism of the Treponema pallidum
Outer periplast
Spirochetes are divided into two families which are?
Spirochaetaceae
Leptospiraceae
These are somewhat thicker with fewer and “looser” coils
Borrelia
These belong to a phylum of distinctive diderm(double membrane) bacteria, most of which have long, helically-coiled (corkscrew-shaped) cells
Spirochetes
True or False
Spirochetes are chemoheterotrophic
True
These organisms have 8-24 sharp and angular spirals, at regular intervals of about 1 micrometer
Treponemes
The periplast of the Treponema can be removed by digestion with what enzymes?
Trypsin or pepsin
One genus of Leptospiraceae that is a pathogenic species
Leptospira
These resembles Borrelia except for their hooked ends
Leptospira
True or False
There are no genes for catalase or superoxide dismutase for Spirochetes
True
These are obligate intracellular parasites (2)
Chlamydia and Rickettsia
Using the exudate from the chancre, the organism can be demonstrated by?
India ink or
Fontana’s silver impregnation method
What disease does Borrelia recurrentis cause?
Relapsing fever
Two genera of Spirochaetaceae that are pathogenic to man
Treponema
Borrelia
Dilution of Giemsa stain for T. pallidum
1:10 dilution
What disease does these 3 bacteria cause?
Borrelia burgdorferi
B. garinii
B. afzelii
Lyme disease
What disease do Treponema species cause?
Treponematoses
What disease do Leptospira species cause?
Leptospirosis
T. pallidum stained with Giemsa appears to be what color?
Pink
It was first discovered by German scientist Schaudinn in the primary sores(Chancres) of a syphilitic patient
Treponema pallidum
What disease does these 2 bacteria cause?
Brachyspira pilosicoli
Brachyspira aalborgi
Intestinal spirochaetosis
In tissues, spirochetes can be stained by this method which silver salts are allowed to penetrate the inside of the cells
Levaditi’s silver impregnation method
Using Levaditi’s silver impregnation method for T. pallidum, the metallic silver is then precipitated inside the spirochetes by means of a reducing solution. The organism will appear as?
Black against a yellow-black bacground
T. pallidum in preservation media lasts for?
18-21 days
Aside from Giemsa, what other stain can be used to visualize T. pallidum?
Dieterle stain
T. pallidum cannot be cultivated artificially, but the pathogenic strain __________ can be grown in TESTICLES of experimentally inoculated rabbit
Nichol’s strain
Other non-pathogenic strains like _________ can be cultivated under strict anaerobic conditions in Smith Noguchi medium
Reiter strain
3 Types of Antibodies of Treponema
Reagin antibodies
Group antigen
Polysaccharide antigen
After 6-12 weeks of appearance of the primary chancre, this develops with the “invasion of the blood stream” and widely distributed throughout the body
Secondary Syphilis
These antibodies of T. pallidum react in “standard” or “non-specific” test for syphilis
Reagin antibodies
True or False
Spirochetes are present in large numbers in the exudate of the primary chancre
True
This is found in pathogenic and non-pathogenic treponemes
Group antigen