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Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

Veterinary bacteriology: information about important bacteria
Veterinary bacteriology


Species/Subspecies: Rickettsia helvetica
Category: Primarily of interest in human medicin
Etymology: Genus name: Named after Howard T. Ricketts, who showed which organism caused Rocky Mountain spotted fever, which resulted in his death
Species epithet:from Switzerland.
Significance:  [Of minor importance]   
Taxonomy:
Phylum
Pseudomonadota
Class
Alphaproteobacteria
Order
Rickettsiales
Family
Rickettsiaceae 
Genus
Rickettsia
Type Strain: C3 = ATCC VR-1375
Macromorphology (smell): Cannot be cultivated on cell free substrates (for instance agar plates).
Micromorphology: Pleomorphic rods (0.3-0.5 x 0.8-2.0 µm).
Gram +/Gram -:
Catalase/Oxidase:
Spec. Char.:
Special Media:
Vector: Tick (Ixodes ricinus).
Disease:Tick borne rickettsiosis
Hosts: Humans
Clinical Picture:
Genome Sequence:
Acc-noStrainSize (bp)Genome
CM001467 C9P9 1 369 927 1c + 1c 

16S rRNA Seq.:
Acc-noStrainNumber of NTOperon
CM001467 (region 522930-524428) C9P9 1499 

Taxonomy/phylogeny:
Rickettsia helvetica  
About 30 species have been described within the genus Ricketsia. This genus is relatively closely related to other genera within the orderRickettsialas (Anaplasma, Ehrlichia and Neorickettsia).
Comment:An evolutionary interesting bacterium, because its ancestors invaded cells and formed the mitochondria by endosymbiosis.
Updated:2023-03-22

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