Spiroplasma - an emerging arthropod-borne pathogen?

Spiroplasma is a genus of wall-less, low-GC, small Gram-positive bacteria of the internal contractile cytoskeleton, with helical morphology and motility. The genus is classified within the class Mollicutes. Spiroplasma / host interactions can be classified as commensal, pathogenic or mutualist. The...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Annals of Agricultural and Environmental Medicine 2015-01, Vol.22 (4), p.589-593
Main Authors: Cisak, Ewa, Wójcik-Fatla, Angelina, Zając, Violetta, Sawczyn, Anna, Sroka, Jacek, Dutkiewicz, Jacek
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Aquatic insects
Bacteria
Commensals
Communicable Diseases, Emerging - microbiology
Communicable Diseases, Emerging - transmission
Contractility
Crustacea
Crustaceans
Cytoskeleton
Diptera - microbiology
Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections - microbiology
Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections - transmission
Gram-positive bacteria
Humans
insects
pathogenicity
Pathogens
Plant bacterial diseases
plants
Salivary gland
Spiroplasma
Spiroplasma - classification
Spiroplasma - physiology
Spiroplasma spp
ticks
Ticks - microbiology
Transmissible spongiform encephalopathy
Vertebrates
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Description
Summary:Spiroplasma is a genus of wall-less, low-GC, small Gram-positive bacteria of the internal contractile cytoskeleton, with helical morphology and motility. The genus is classified within the class Mollicutes. Spiroplasma / host interactions can be classified as commensal, pathogenic or mutualist. The majority of spiroplasmas are found to be commensals of insects, arachnids, crustaceans or plants, whereas a small number of species are pathogens of plants, insects, and crustaceans. Insects are particularly rich sources of spiroplasmas. The bacteria are common in haematophagous arthropods: deerflies, horseflies, mosquitoes, and in ticks, where they may occur abundantly in salivary glands. The ability of spiroplasmas to propagate in rodents was experimentally proven, and Spiroplasma infections have been reported recently in humans. Some authors have purported an etiological role of Spiroplasma in causing transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs), but convincing proof is lacking. The possibility for humans and other vertebrates to be infected with Spiroplasma spp. in natural conditions is largely unknown, as well as the possibility of the transmission of these bacteria by ticks and haematophagous insects. Nevertheless, in the light of new data, such possibilities cannot be excluded.
ISSN:1232-1966
1898-2263
DOI:10.5604/12321966.1185758