Treponema pallidum subsp. pertenue
Yaws
T. pallidum subsp. pertenue causes the disease yaws, which starts as a skin infection but can be invasive and systemic. This fastidious spirochete has many properties in common with the syphilis causing subspecies pallidum: it is an obligate parasite of humans and is closely related to organisms that cause endemic syphilis (T. pallidum subsp. endemicum), syphilis (T. pallidum subsp. pallidum), and pinta (T. carateum). These organisms have greater than 95% sequence identity as judged by hybridization yet cause distinct diseases. The question is how nearly identical genomes produce such different phenotypes.
To this end, we are sequencing several different isolates of subsp. pertenue including Gauthier, CDC2, and Samoa D.
Contacts
| Name | Affiliation |
|---|---|
| Patrick Minx | The Genome Institute, Washington University School of Medicine |
