Saint Girons I, Norris S J, Göbel U, Meyer J, Walker E M, Zuerner R
Unité de Bactériologie Moléculaire et Médicale, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France.
Res Microbiol. 1992 Jul-Aug;143(6):615-21. doi: 10.1016/0923-2508(92)90119-9.
The genome structures of several pathogenic spirochetes have recently been determined. The genomes of Borrelia species consist of a linear chromosome of approximately one million base pairs (Mb) and various linear and circular plasmids. Analysis of restriction fragment length polymorphisms and 16S ribosomal RNA sequence data indicate the division of Borrelia burgdorferi into at least three distinct genetic groups. Leptospira interrogans has a circular chromosome 5 Mb in size and a 0.35 Mb extrachromosomal element. Repetitive sequence elements similar to insertion sequences have been identified in the Leptospira interrogans genome. The chromosome of Treponema pallidum subsp. pallidum is circular and has a size of approximately one Mb. Genetic studies conducted to date indicate that B. burgdorferi and L. interrogans have a high degree of genetic diversity, whereas remarkably few genetic differences have been observed among the pathogenic Treponema. Knowledge of the genomic structure of these organisms will serve as a basis for future genetic studies.
最近已确定了几种致病性螺旋体的基因组结构。疏螺旋体属的基因组由一条约一百万个碱基对（Mb）的线性染色体以及各种线性和环状质粒组成。对限制性片段长度多态性和16S核糖体RNA序列数据的分析表明，伯氏疏螺旋体至少可分为三个不同的遗传组。问号钩端螺旋体有一条大小为5 Mb的环状染色体和一个0.35 Mb的染色体外元件。在问号钩端螺旋体基因组中已鉴定出与插入序列相似的重复序列元件。梅毒螺旋体苍白亚种的染色体是环状的，大小约为1 Mb。迄今为止进行的遗传学研究表明，伯氏疏螺旋体和问号钩端螺旋体具有高度的遗传多样性，而致病性梅毒螺旋体之间观察到的遗传差异极少。了解这些生物体的基因组结构将为未来的遗传学研究奠定基础。
