| Species/Subspecies: | Francisella tularensis subsp. tularensis | |||||||||
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| Categories: | Zoonotic; notifiable diseases and bacteria | |||||||||
| Etymology: | Genus name: named after the American bacteriologist Edward Francis, who has studied tularemia. Species epithet: refers to Tulare county in California, where the disease was first described in rodents in year 1912. Subspecies epithet: see Species epithet. | |||||||||
| Significance: | F. tularensis subsp. tularensis can only be found in North America. [Very important] |
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| Alternative Species Name(s): | Yersinia tularensis | |||||||||
| Taxonomy: | Class Gammaproteobacteria Order Thiotrichales Family Francisellaceae Genus Francisella |
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| Type Strain: | B-38 = ATCC 6223. | |||||||||
| Macromorphology (smell): | ||||||||||
| Micromorphology: | Coccoid or short nonmotile rods. | |||||||||
| Gram +/Gram -: | G- | |||||||||
| Metabolism: | Strikt aerob | |||||||||
| Catalase/Oxidase: | +/- | |||||||||
| Other Enzymes: | Tryptophanase - (= indole-), urease -. | |||||||||
| Fermentation of carbohydrates: | Glucose + | |||||||||
| Spec. Char.: | Optimal growth temperature: 37°C. Facultatively intracellular. May penetrate intact skin. | |||||||||
| Special Media: | ||||||||||
| Vector: | Mosquitoes and ticks. | |||||||||
| Disease: |
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| Virulence Factors: | The capsule can be a virulence factor. | |||||||||
| Genome Sequence: |
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| 16S rRNA Seq.: |
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| Taxonomy/phylogeny:
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Nine species have been described within genus Francisella and this genus is related to Coxiella spp. and Legionella spp. | |||||||||
| Legislation: | Tularemia is notifiable in Sweden. Francisella tularensis belongs to category A as a potential bioterrorism agent according to NIAID. | |||||||||
| Comment: | F. tularensis subsp. tularensis is the most virulent subspecies. | |||||||||
| Reference(s): | No. 25 | |||||||||
| Updated: | 2023-03-29 |