Abstract
The genera Cristispira, Clevelandina, Diplocalyx, Hollandina, and Pillotina are morphologically complex, Gram-negative, motile, spirochetes (helical bacteria) in which the flagella are always entirely periplasmic (i.e., located between the inner [plasma] and the outer membrane typical of Gram-negative bacteria) (Fig. 1). (For a general discussion of the morphology of spirochetes, see Chapter 191.) All are obligate symbionts in the digestive system of mollusks or arthropods. These morphologically complex spirochetes have greater than 10 and sometimes as many as 300 flagella inserted at both ends of the cell and overlapping in the middle. If n is the number of flagella at one end of the cell and 2n the number of overlapping flagella in the middle of the cell, then the characteristic array is n:2n:n (e.g., 10:20:10 or 300:600:300). The coated membranes, distinctive cytoplasmic structures (including the sillon, a cell-length invagination or groove of the outer membrane in contact with the inner membrane), and relative proportions that distinguish these genera are depicted in Fig. 2, based on the morphometric analyses summarized in Table 1.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Literature Cited
Bermudes, D., Chase, D., and Margulis, L. 1988. Morphology as the basis of taxonomy in large spirochetes symbiotic in termites. Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol. 38: 291–302.
Bermudes, D., Fracek, S., Laursen, R., Margulis, L., Obar, R., and Tzerzinis, G. 1987. Tubulin-like protein from Spirochaeta bajacaliforniensis. Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 503: 515–527.
Bloodgood, R. A., and Fitzharris, T. P. 1976. Specific association of prokaryotes with symbiotic flagellate protozoa from the hindgut ofRet iculitermes and the wood-eating cockroach Cryptocercus. Cytobios 17: 103–122.
Breznak, J. A. 1984a. Genus H. Cristispira, (Gross 1910), p. 46–49. In: Krieg, N. R., and Holt, J. G. (ed.), Bergey’s manual of systematic bacteriology, vol. 1. The Williams & Wilkins Co., Baltimore.
Breznak, J. A. 1984b. Hindgut spirochetes of termites and Cryptocercus punctulatus, p. 67–70. In: Krieg, N. R., and Holt, J. G. (ed.), Bergey’s manual of systematic bacteriology, vol. 1. The Williams & Wilkins Co., Baltimore.
Certes, A. 1882. Les parasites et les commensaux de l’huitre. Soc. Zoologique de France Bulletin. 7: 347–353.
Cleveland, L. R., and Grimstone, A. V. 1964. The fine structure of the flagellate Mixotricha paradoxa and its associated microorganisms. Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B. Biol. Sci. 157: 668–683.
Czolij, R., Slaytor, M., and R. W. O’Brien. 1985. Bacterial flora of the mixed segment and the hindgut of the higher termite Nasutitermes exitiosus Hill (Termitidae, Nasutitermitinae). Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 49: 1226–1236.
Damon, F. 1925. A note on the spirochetes of termites. J. Bacteriol. 11: 31–36.
Dobell, C. 1912. Researches on the spirochetes and related organisms. Archiv fur Protistenkunde 26: 119–230.
Duboscq, O., and Grassé, P.-P. 1929. Sur quelques protistes d’un Calotermes des îles Loyalty. Protistologica (Archives de Zoologie Experimentale et Generale) 14 (68): 8–15.
Gharagozlou, I. D. 1968. Aspect infrastructural de Diplocalyx calotermitidis nov. gen., nov. sp., spirochaetale de l’intestin de Calotermes flavicollis. Compte. Rendu. Acad. Sci. Ser. D. 226: 494–496.
Grimstone, A. 1967. A note on the fine structure of a spirochete. Q. J. Microscopical Sci. 104: 145–153.
Grosovsky, B. D. D., and Margulis, L. 1982. Termite microbial communities, p. 519–532. In: Burns, R. G. and Slater, J. H. (ed.), Experimental microbial ecology, Ch. 30. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford.
Gross, J. 1910. Cristispira nov. gen. Ein Beitrag zur Spirochaetenfrage. Mittelungen aus der Zoologischen Station zu Neapel 20: 41–93.
Holdeman, L., and Moore, W. 1972. Anaerobe laboratory manual. Virginia Polytechnic Institute Anaerobe Laboratory. Blacksburg, Virginia.
Hollande, A. 1922. Les spirochetes des termites; processus de division: formation du schizoplaste. Arch. Zool. Expt. Gen. Notes Rev. 61: 23–28.
Hollande, A., and Gharagozlou, I. 1967. Morphologie infrastructurale de Pillotina calotermitidis nov. gen., nov. sp., spirochaetale de l’intestin de Calotermes praecox. Compte Rendu, Acad. Sci. Ser. D. 265: 1309.
Karimi, Y., Hovind-Hougen, K., Birch-Andersen, A., and Asmar, M. 1979. Borrelia persica and B. baltazardi sp. nov.: experimental pathogenicity for some animals and comparison of the ultrastructure. Ann. Inst. Pasteur (Paris) 130 B:157–168.
Kirby, H., Jr. 1941. Organisms living on and in protozoa, p. 1009–1013. In: Calkins, G. N. and Summers, F. M. (ed.) Protozoa in biological research, Columbia University Press, New York.
Krishna, K. 1961. A generic revision and phylogenetic study of the family Kalotermitidae (Isoptera). Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 122: 303–408.
Kuhn, D. A. 1981. The genus Cristispira. In: Stolp, M. P., Trueper, H. G., Balows, A., and Schlegel, H. G. (ed.), The prokaryotes: a handbook on habitats, isolation, and identification of bacteria. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
Leidy, J. 1850. On the existence of entophyta in healthy animals, as a natural condition. Proc. Acad. Natur. Sci. Philadelphia 4: 225–229
Leidy, J. 1881. The parasites of the termites. Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences, New Series 8: 425–447.
Margulis, L. 1981. Symbiosis in cell evolution, p. xxii, 419. W. H. Freeman Publishing Co., San Francisco.
Margulis, L., Chase, D., and To, L. 1979. Possible evolutionary significance of spirochaetes. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B 204: 189–198.
Margulis, L., Hinkle, G., Stolz, J. F, Craft, F., Esteve, I., and Guerrero, R. 1990a. Mobilifilum chasei: Morphology and ecology of a spirochete from an intertidal stratified microbial mat community. Arch. Microbiolog. 153: 422–427.
Margulis, L., Nault, L., and Sieburth, J. 1991. Cristispira from oyster styles: Complex morphology of large symbiotic spirochetes. Symbiosis 11: 1–19.
Margulis, L., Olendzenski, L., and Afzelius, B. A. 1990b. Endosporeforming filamentous bacteria symbiotic in termites: ultrastructure and growth in culture of Arthromitus. Symbiosis 8: 95–116.
Margulis, L., and Schaadt, J. 1976. Spirochetes (16 mm film). Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts.
Margulis, L., To, L. P., and Chase, D. 1978. Microtubules in prokaryotes. Science 200: 1118–1124.
Margulis, L., To, L. P., and Chase, D. 1981. Microtubules, undulipodia and Pillotina spirochetes. Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 361: 356–368.
Morton, J. 1952. A preliminary study of the land operculate Murdochia pallidum (Cyclophoridae, Mesogastropoda). Trans. Proc. R. Soc. New Zealand 80: 69–79.
Noguchi, H. 1921. Cristispira in North American shellfish. A note on a spirillum found in oysters. J. Exp. Med. 34: 295–315.
Orton, J. 1922. Occurrence of a crystalline style in the American slipper limpet (Crepidula fornicata) and its allies. Nature 110: 149.
Pastor, B., and Canale-Parola, E. 1985. Treponerna saccharophilum sp. nov., a large pectinolytic spirochete from the bovine rumen. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 50: 212–219.
Ryter. M. A. and Pillot, J. 1965. Structure des spirochètes. II. Étude du genre Cristispira au microscope optique et au microscope électronique. Ann. Inst. Pasteur 109: 552–562.
Tauschel, H. 1985. ATPase and cytochrome oxidase activities at the polar organelle in swarm cells of Sphaerotilus natans: an ultrastructural study. Arch. fur Mikrobiol. 141: 303–308.
Terasaki, Y. 1960. Studies on Cristispira in the crystalline style of a fresh water snail, Semisulcospira bensoni (Philippi). II. On a cyst-like cell. Bulletin of the Suzugamine Women’s College 7: 1–5.
To, L. 1978. The large pillotina spirochetes of dry wood termites and their microtubules. Ph. D. Thesis, Boston University.
To, L., and Margulis, L. 1978. Ancient locomotion: prokaryotic motility systems. International Reviews of Cytology 54: 267–293.
To, L., Margulis, L., Chase, D., and Nutting, W. L. 1980. The symbiotic microbial community of the Sonoran Desert termite: Pterotermes occidentis. Bio Systems 13: 109–137.
To, L., Margulis, L., and Cheung, A. T. W. 1978. Pillotinas and Hollandinas: Distribution and behavior of large spirochetes symbiotic in termites. Microbios 22: 103–133.
Trager, W. 1934. The cultivation of a cellulose-digesting flagellate, Trichomonas termopsidis, and of certain other termite protozoa. Biological Bulletin (Woods Hole) 66: 182–190.
Wilson, E. 1971. The insect societies, p. 548. Belknap Press of Harvard University, Cambridge, MA.
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1992 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Margulis, L., Hinkle, G. (1992). Large Symbiotic Spirochetes: Clevelandina, Cristispira, Diplocalyx, Hollandina, and Pillotina . In: Balows, A., Trüper, H.G., Dworkin, M., Harder, W., Schleifer, KH. (eds) The Prokaryotes. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-2191-1_59
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-2191-1_59
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4757-2193-5
Online ISBN: 978-1-4757-2191-1
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive