Physical map of the genome of Treponema pallidum subsp. pallidum (Nichols)

Abstract

A physical map of the chromosome of Treponema pallidum subsp. pallidum (Nichols), the causative agent of syphilis, was constructed from restriction fragments produced by NotI, SfiI, and SrfI. These rare-cutting restriction endonucleases cleaved the T. pallidum genome into 16, 8, and 15 fragments, respectively. Summation of the physical lengths of the fragments indicates that the chromosome of T. pallidum subsp. pallidum is approximately 1,030 to 1,080 kbp in size. The physical map was constructed by hybridizing a variety of probes to Southern blots of single and double digests of T. pallidum genomic DNA separated by contour-clamped homogeneous electric field electrophoresis. Probes included cosmid clones constructed from T. pallidum subsp. pallidum genomic DNA, restriction fragments excised from gels, and selected genes. Physical mapping confirmed that the chromosome of T. pallidum subsp. pallidum is circular, as the SfiI and SrfI maps formed complete circles. A total of 13 genes, including those encoding five membrane lipoproteins (tpn47, tpn41, tpn29-35, tpn17, and tpn15), a putative outer membrane porin (tpn50), the flagellar sheath and hook proteins (flaA and flgE), the cytoplasmic filament protein (cfpA), 16S rRNA (rrnA), a major sigma factor (rpoD), and a homolog of cysteinyl-tRNA synthetase (cysS), have been localized in the physical map as a first step toward studying the genetic organization of this noncultivable pathogen.