Treponema brennaborense sp. nov., a novel spirochaete isolated from a dairy cow suffering from digital dermatitis

Abstract

A novel Treponema species was isolated from an ulcerative lesion of a cow suffering from digital dermatitis (DD), a disease which causes painful ulcerations along the coronary band. Among other anaerobic bacteria, high numbers of spirochaetes have been regularly found in DD lesions. Here data are presented of a spirochaete isolated from a DD ulcer. By chemotaxonomy, protein analysis and comparative 16S rDNA sequence analysis this isolate was classified as a treponeme that differed from all Treponema species described previously. The only isolate, DD5/3T, for which the name Treponema brennaborense is proposed, is designated the type strain of the novel species. The strain is a small, highly motile spirochaete that has two periplasmc flagella, one flagellum being attached at each cell pole. Strain DD5/31 exhibits α-glucosidase and N-acetyl-β-glucosaminidase activity and growth is inhibited by rabbit serum. T. brennaborense was phylogenetically most closely related (89--5% 16S rRNA similarity) to Treponema maltophilum, an oral spirochaete isolated from a periodontitis patient.