#spirochaetota

[bacteriashowdown]

Spirochaetota vs. Abditibacteriota

Spirochaetota propaganda here

Abditibacteriota propaganda here

Spirochaetota vs. Abditibacteriota

Spirochaetota

Abditibacteriota

Voting ended onMar 8, 2024

[bacteriashowdown]

Spirochaetota

Group: Hydrobacteria

Gram-stain: Negative

Etymology: For Spirochaeta plicatilis. From the Greek "speira", meaning "coil", and "chaete", meaning "hair". The reason for this should be obvious upon looking at the image below.

About: While most bacteria are round or rod-shaped, Spirochaetota stand out for their distinctive spiral form. Rather than moving with external flagella, they use "endoflagella": long filaments, anchored at each tip of the bacterium, that twist around in the periplasmic space between the cell membranes. By twisting the endoflagella, the bacteria are able to move about. This style of movement is what justifies the unique corkscrew shape.

These tightly coiled bacteria are pretty, but they may also be deadly. Some Spirochaetota are pathogenic, and the phylum contains both lyme disease (Borrelia burgdorferi) and syphilis (Treponema pallidum). Syphilis is a neurodegenerative and disfiguring STI, and is highly transmissible. Someone exposed to only 57 individual T. pallidum bacteria already has a 50% chance of contracting the disease. Lyme disease, meanwhile, is best known for its characteristic bulls-eye rash. While not present in all cases, the rash is a result of the bacteria expanding outwards from the infection site, whilst clearing at the center.