''Leptospira alstonii'' is a

gram negative Gram-negative bacteria are bacteria that, unlike gram-positive bacteria, do not retain the crystal violet stain used in the Gram staining method of bacterial differentiation. Their defining characteristic is that their cell envelope consists of ...

, mobile,

spirochete A spirochaete () or spirochete is a member of the phylum Spirochaetota (also called Spirochaetes ), which contains distinctive diderm (double-membrane) Gram-negative bacteria, most of which have long, helically coiled (corkscrew-shaped or ...

. It is flexible, helical, and motile by means of two periplasmic

flagella A flagellum (; : flagella) (Latin for 'whip' or 'scourge') is a hair-like appendage that protrudes from certain plant and animal sperm cells, from fungal spores ( zoospores), and from a wide range of microorganisms to provide motility. Many pr ...

(axial fibrils). It is obligately

aerobic Aerobic means "requiring air," in which "air" usually means oxygen. Aerobic may also refer to * Aerobic exercise, prolonged exercise of moderate intensity * Aerobics, a form of aerobic exercise * Aerobic respiration, the aerobic process of cellu ...

and

oxidase positive The oxidase test is used to determine whether an organism possesses the cytochrome c oxidase enzyme. The test is used as an aid for the differentiation of '' Neisseria'', '' Moraxella'', '' Campylobacter'' and '' Pasteurella'' species (oxidase posi ...

. It was named after J. M. Alston, a British

microbiologist A microbiologist (from Greek ) is a scientist who studies microscopic life forms and processes. This includes study of the growth, interactions and characteristics of microscopic organisms such as bacteria, algae, fungi, and some types of par ...

who made significant contributions to the study of ''Leptospirosis''. It is one of nine human or animal pathogenic species of ''

Leptospira ''Leptospira'' () is a genus of spirochaete bacteria, including a small number of pathogenic and saprophytic species. ''Leptospira'' was first observed in 1907 in kidney tissue slices of a leptospirosis victim who was described as having died ...

''. It was originally isolated from material submitted to the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory at

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricult ...

during an outbreak of swine abortion in 1983. It has been isolated and stored in

liquid nitrogen Liquid nitrogen (LN2) is nitrogen in a liquid state at cryogenics, low temperature. Liquid nitrogen has a boiling point of about . It is produced industrially by fractional distillation of liquid air. It is a colorless, mobile liquid whose vis ...

or Ellinghausen-McCullough-Johnson-Harris medium.Alexander, A. D., E. F. Lessel, L. B. Evans, E. Franck, and S. S. Green. 1972. Preservation of leptospiras by liquid-nitrogen refrigeration. Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol. 22:165-169. It also has been isolated in China from a frog. The strain is also available from culture collections of the WHO collaborating centers.

Lipase In biochemistry, lipase ( ) refers to a class of enzymes that catalyzes the hydrolysis of fats. Some lipases display broad substrate scope including esters of cholesterol, phospholipids, and of lipid-soluble vitamins and sphingomyelinases; howe ...

is not produced by this species.

NaCl Sodium chloride , commonly known as edible salt, is an ionic compound with the chemical formula NaCl, representing a 1:1 ratio of sodium and chloride ions. It is transparent or translucent, brittle, hygroscopic, and occurs as the mineral hali ...

is not required for growth. Growth is inhibited by 8-azaguanine at 225 μg/mL or 2,6-diaminopurine (10 μg/mL) and

copper sulfate Copper sulfate may refer to: * Copper(II) sulfate, CuSO4, a common, greenish blue compound used as a fungicide and herbicide * Copper(I) sulfate, Cu2SO4, an unstable white solid which is uncommonly used {{chemistry index Copper compounds ...

. It contains

serovar A serotype or serovar is a distinct variation within a species of bacteria or virus or among immune cells of different individuals. These microorganisms, viruses, or cells are classified together based on their shared reactivity between their ...

s from the serogroup ranarum. DNA

G+C content G, or g, is the seventh letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages, and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''gee'' (pronounced ), plural ''gees''. The lower ...

is 39±8 mol%.

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q47175006, from2=Q60185224 alstonii