Streptobacillus moniliformis
| Streptobacillus moniliformis | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Bacteria |
| Phylum: | Fusobacteria |
| Class: | Fusobacteria |
| Order: | Fusobacteriales |
| Family: | Leptotrichiaceae |
| Genus: | Streptobacillus |
| Species: | S. moniliformis |
| Binomial name | |
|
Streptobacillus moniliformis |
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Streptobacillus moniliformis is a non-motile, Gram-negative rod-shaped bacterium that is a member of the family Leptotrichiaceae. The genome of S. moniliformis is one of two completed sequences of the order Fusobacteriales. Its name comes the Greek word streptos for "curved" or "twisted", and the Latin words bacillus meaning "small rod" and moniliformis for "necklace".S. moniliformis is microaerophilic, requiring less oxygen than is present in the atmosphere for its growth.
S. moniliformis was first isolated from a rat-bitten man in 1914 by German microbiologist H. Schottmüller, who described it as Streptothrix muris ratti. In the United States during the year 1916, S. moniliformis was determined to be the causative source of rat-bite fever.
Some isolates of S. moniliformis have been collected from the upper respiratory tract of domestic and wild rats. Two known variants of S. moniliformis have been identified. The bacillary type is pathogenic. In contrast, the spontaneously occurring L form, which lacks a cell wall and whose colonies grow in a "fried egg" formation, is non-pathogenic.
S. moniliformis has frequently been observed in the form of filamentous, non-branching chains and is highly pleomorphic. For example, the normally straight rod can develop lateral bulbar swellings. The bacteria vary in size from 0.1 to 0.5 μm by 2.0 to 5.0 μm, and can potentially grow up to 10 to 15 μm, with long, curved segments from 100 to 150 μm.
S. moniliformis was previously classified under the Fusobacteriaceae family. It was later regrouped with three other genera including Sebaldella, Sneathia, and Leptotrichia. These four genera were classified under the family Leptotrichiaceae following comparative analyses of the 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequences and 16S-23S rDNA internal transcribed spacer sequences among members of the phylum Fusobacteria. Identification of conserved signature indels unique to Fusobacteria and its primary clades as well as phylogenetic analysis of members of Fusobacteria based on concatenated sequences of 17 conserved proteins further support the distinction between the two families.
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