"Tropheryma" | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Bacteria |
Phylum: | Actinomycetota |
Class: | Actinomycetia |
Order: | Micrococcales |
Family: |
"Tropherymataceae" Nouioui et al. 2018 [2] |
Genus: | "Tropheryma" La Scola et al. 2001
[1]
|
Species: | "T. whipplei"
|
Binomial name | |
"Tropheryma whipplei" La Scola et al. 2001
[1]
| |
Synonyms [3] | |
|
"Tropheryma whipplei" is a bacterium that is the causative organism of Whipple's disease, [1] and rarely, endocarditis.
While "T. whipplei" is categorized with the Gram-positive Actinomycetota, the organism is commonly found to be Gram-positive or Gram-indeterminate when stained in the laboratory. [1] Whipple himself probably observed the organisms as rod-shaped structures with silver stain in his original case. [4]
No name was given to the organism until 1991, when the name "Tropheryma whippelii" was proposed after sections of the bacterial genome were sequenced. [5] [6] The name was changed to "Tropheryma whipplei" in 2001 (correcting the spelling of Whipple's name) when the organism was deposited in bacterial collections. [1]
As of 2008, the species, genus, and family name are considered to be invalid due to irregularities in the deposition of type material, and are thus styled in quotation marks. [7]
Several strains of "T. whipplei" have been sequenced. [8] [9]
Genomes of intracellular or parasitic bacteria undergo massive reduction compared to their free-living relatives. With a genome size of less than 1 Mb, "T. whipplei" is a prime example of genome reduction among Actinomycetota. Other such examples include Mycoplasma for Bacillota (the low G+C content Gram-positive), Rickettsia for Alphaproteobacteria, and Wigglesworthia and Buchnera for Gammaproteobacteria. [8]
Some of the largest virions like Megavirus chilensis, Pandoravirus, Pithovirus and mimivirus are comparable in size to miniature bacteria like "T. whipplei" and Rickettsia conorii.