Publication detail

The hare syphilis agent is related to, but distinct from, the treponeme causing rabbit syphilis

POSPÍŠILOVÁ, P. ČEJKOVÁ, D. BURŠÍKOVÁ, P. FEDROVÁ, P. MIKALOVA, L. NAJT, D. TOM, N. HISGEN, L. LUEERT, S. LUMEIJ, J. AGREN, E. KNAUF, S. ŠMAJS, D.

Original Title

The hare syphilis agent is related to, but distinct from, the treponeme causing rabbit syphilis

Type

journal article in Web of Science

Language

English

Original Abstract

The treponemes infecting lagomorphs include Treponema paraluisleporidarum ecovar Cuniculus (TPeC) and ecovar Lepus (TPeL), infecting rabbits and hares, respectively. In this study, we described the first complete genome sequence of TPeL, isolate V3603-13, from an infected mountain hare (Lepus timidus) in Sweden. In addition, we determined 99.0% of the genome sequence of isolate V246-08 (also from an infected mountain hare, Sweden) and 31.7% of the genome sequence of isolate Z27 A77/78 (from a European hare, Lepus europeaus, The Netherlands). The TPeL V3603-13 genome had considerable gene synteny with the TPeC Cuniculi A genome and with the human pathogen T. pallidum, which causes syphilis (ssp. pallidum, TPA), yaws (ssp. pertenue, TPE) and endemic syphilis (ssp. endemicum, TEN). Compared to the TPeC Cuniculi A genome, TPeL V3603-13 contained four insertions and 11 deletions longer than three nucleotides (ranging between 6 and2,932 nts). In addition, there were 25 additional indels, from one to three nucleotides long, altogether spanning 36 nts. The number of single nucleotide variants (SNVs) between TPeC Cuniculi A and TPeL V3603-13 were represented by 309 nucleotide differences. Major proteome coding differences between TPeL and TPeC were found in the tpr gene family, and (predicted) genes coding for outer membrane proteins, suggesting that these components are essential for host adaptation in lagomorph syphilis. The phylogeny revealed that the TPeL sample from the European brown hare was more distantly related to TPeC Cuniculi A than V3603-13 and V246-08.

Keywords

sexually transmitted disease, lagomorphs, hare, Lepus europaeus, Lepus timidus, disease, venereal disease, whole genome

Authors

POSPÍŠILOVÁ, P.; ČEJKOVÁ, D.; BURŠÍKOVÁ, P.; FEDROVÁ, P.; MIKALOVA, L.; NAJT, D.; TOM, N.; HISGEN, L.; LUEERT, S.; LUMEIJ, J.; AGREN, E.; KNAUF, S.; ŠMAJS, D.

Released

12. 8. 2024

Publisher

Public Library of Science

Location

USA

ISBN

1932-6203

Periodical

PLOS ONE

Year of study

19(8)

Number

e0307196

State

United States of America

Pages count

15

URL

BibTex

@article{BUT189702,
  author="Petra {Pospíšilová} and Darina {Čejková} and Pavla {Buršíková} and Pavla {Fedrová} and Lenka {Mikalova} and David {Najt} and Nikola {Tom} and Linda {Hisgen} and Simone {Lueert} and Johannes T. {Lumeij} and Erik O. {Agren} and Sascha {Knauf} and David {Šmajs}",
  title="The hare syphilis agent is related to, but distinct from, the treponeme causing rabbit syphilis",
  journal="PLOS ONE",
  year="2024",
  volume="19(8)",
  number="e0307196",
  pages="15",
  doi="10.1371/journal.pone.0307196",
  issn="1932-6203",
  url="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0307196"
}