| Species/Subspecies: | Rickettsia prowazekii | ||||||||
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| 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: named after Stanislav von Prowazek, who worked with the etiology of typhus and also died after having contracted the disease. | ||||||||
| Significance: | [Of minor importance] | ||||||||
| Taxonomy: | Class Alphaproteobacteria Order Rickettsiales Family Rickettsiaceae Genus Rickettsia |
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| Type Strain: | ATCC VR-142. | ||||||||
| Macromorphology (smell): | Cannot be cultivated on cell free substrates (for instance agar plates). | ||||||||
| Micromorphology: | Short (0.3-0.5 x 0.8-2.0 µm) rods | ||||||||
| Gram +/Gram -: | G- | ||||||||
| Metabolism: | Aerobic | ||||||||
| Catalase/Oxidase: | |||||||||
| Fermentation of carbohydrates: | Is not used for identification of Rickettsia spp. | ||||||||
| Spec. Char.: | Is obligate intracellular because the plasma membrane is leaky and the bacteria require correct osmolarity and constant supply of nutrients | ||||||||
| Special Media: | |||||||||
| Vector: | Human body louse (Pediculus humanus corporis), which can transmit the disease through its feces | ||||||||
| Disease: | Thyphus |
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| Hosts: | Man | ||||||||
| Clinical Picture: | |||||||||
| Genome Sequence: |
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| 16S rRNA Seq.: |
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| Taxonomy/phylogeny:
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About 30 species have been described within the genus Rickettsia. This genus is relatively closely related to other genera within the orderRickettsialas (Anaplasma, Ehrlichia and Neorickettsia). | ||||||||
| Legislation: | Rickettsia prowazekii belongs to category B as a potential bioterrorism agent according to NIAID | ||||||||
| Comment: | Obligat intracellular pathogen, which lives in the cytoplasm of the cell. An evolutionary interesting bacterium, because its ancestors invaded cells and formed the mitochondria by endosymbiosis. Can use ATP from the hostcell, but also synthesize ATP by oxidative phosphorylation. | ||||||||
| Reference(s): | No. 83 | ||||||||
| Updated: | 2023-03-22 |