Treponema bryantii sp. nov., a rumen spirochete that interacts with cellulolytic bacteria

Abstract

A saccharolytic spirochete that associated and interacted with cellulolytic bacteria was isolated from bovine rumen fluid. Isolation was accomplished by means of a procedure involving serial dilution of a sample of rumen fluid into a cellulose-containing agar medium. Clear zones appeared within the medium as a result of cellulose hydrolysis by rumen bacteria. The saccharolytic spirochete and a cellulolytic bacterium later identified as a strain of Bacteroides succinogenes were isolated from the clear zones. The spirochete did not utilize cellulose, but grew in coculture with the cellulotytic bacterium in cellulose-containing media. When cocultured in these media the spirochete used, as fermentable substrates, soluble sugars released from cellulose by the cellulolytic bacterium. In cellulose-containing agar medium the spirochete enhanced cellulose breakdown by the B. succinogenes strain. Electron microscopy showed that the helical spirochete cells possessed an outer sheath, a protoplasmic cylinder, and two periplasmic fibrils. Under a CO2 atmosphere, in a reduced medium containing inorganic salts, rumen fluid, glucose, and NaHCO3, the spirochete grew to a final density of 1.9 X 10(9) cells/ml. Succinate, acetate, and formate were products of the fermentation of glucose by growing cells. CO2 (HCO3-), branched short-chain fatty acids, folic acid, biotin, niacinamide, thiamine, pyridoxal, and a carbohydrate were required for growth of the spirochete. The results of this study indicated that the rumen spirochete represents a new species of Treponema. It is proposed that the new species be named Treponema bryantii.

Diet-Dependent Shifts in the Bacterial Population of the Rumen Revealed with Real-Time PCR

“…The saccharolytic spirochete T. bryantii has been shown to be associated with the fibrolytic bacteria of the rumen and, albeit not possessing any fibrolytic activity, could enhance fiber degradation in a coculture with fibrolytic bacteria (16,30). In our experiment, the quantification of this bacterial DNA demonstrated kinetics similar to those of two fibrolytic bacteria, F. succinogenes and R. flavefaciens.…”

Rumen prokaryotic communities of ruminants under different feeding paradigms on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

“…The degradation of plant polysaccharides also accelerated cellulose and hemicellulose degradation [69]. In addition, in vitro studies have shown a beneficial interaction of Treponema bryantii with the cellulolytic bacterium Fibrobacter succinogenes [70]. The five main fibrolytic bacteria and plant polysaccharide degradation bacteria examined here represented 3.47% of the total genera reads.…”

Reclassification of Treponema hyodysenteriae and Treponema innocens in a New Genus, Serpula gen. nov., as Serpula hyodysenteriae comb. nov. and Serpula innocens comb. nov.

“…In accordance with our proposal to designate a new genus for T. hyodysenteriae and T. innocens, the names Serpula hyodysenteriae and Serpula innocens are used in Table 1 and below. The conditions used for culturing and maintaining bacteria and additional strain characteristics have been described elsewhere (6,23,24,35,46,47). Cells were harvested during the exponential phase of growth.…”