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

1 Institut für Mikrobiologie und Tierseuchen der Freien Universität Berlin, Luisenstr. 56, D-10117 Berlin, Germany 2 Department of Oral Biology, Yonsei University, College of Dentistry, 134 Shinchon-Dong, 120--752 Seoul, Korea 3 Institut für Mikrobiologie und Tierseuchen der Freien Universität Berlin, Elektronenmikroskopie, Fabeckstr. 36a, D-14195 Berlin, Germany 4 Institut für Mikrobiologie und Hygiene, Universitätsklinikum Charité Humboldt-Universitat zu Berlin, Dorotheenstr. 96, D-10117 Berlin, Germany Author for correspondence: Ulf B. Göbel. Tel: +49 30 2093 4715. Fax: +49 30 2093 4703. e-mail: ulf.goebel{at}charite.de 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, DD5/3 T , 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 -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. Key Words: treponemes • digital dermatitis • cattle • 16S rRNA The GenBank/EMBL accession number for the 16S rDNA sequence of the novel isolate Treponema brennaborense is Y16568 .