Treponema denticola
| Treponema denticola | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Bacteria |
| Phylum: | Spirochaetes |
| Order: | Spirochaetales |
| Family: | Spirochaetaceae |
| Genus: | Treponema |
| Species: | T. denticola
|
| Binomial name | |
| Treponema denticola (ex Flügge 1886) Chan et al. 1993[1]
| |
Treponema denticola is a Gram-negative, obligate anaerobic, motile and highly proteolytic spirochete bacterium. It is one of four species of oral spirochetes to be reliably cultured, the others being Treponema pectinovorum, Treponema socranskii and Treponema vincentii[2]. T. denticola dwells in a complex and diverse microbial community within the oral cavity and is highly specialized to survive in this environment. T. denticola is associated with the incidence and severity of human periodontal disease. Treponema Denticola is one of three bacteria that form the Red Complex, the other two being Porphyromonas gingivalis and Tannerella forsythia. Together they form the major virulent pathogens that cause chronic periodontitis.[3] Having elevated T. denticola levels in the mouth is considered one of the main etiological agents of periodontitis.[4][5] T. denticola is related to the syphilis-causing obligate human pathogen, Treponema pallidum subsp. pallidum. It has also been isolated from women with bacterial vaginosis.[6]
Genome[]
The first genome of T. denticola to be sequenced was strain 35405 which was initially isolated and designated as the type strain by Chan et al.[7] The 2,843,201-bp genome sequence encodes 2,786