Page "Treponema pallidum" Paragraph 12

In the 17 July 1998 issue of the journal Science, a group of biologists reported how they sequenced the genome of T. pallidum.

The recent sequencing of the genomes of several spirochetes permits a thorough analysis of the similarities and differences within this bacterial phylum.

Treponema pallidum subsp.

pallidum has one of the smallest bacterial genomes at 1. 14 million base pairs ( Mb ), and has limited metabolic capabilities, reflecting its adaptation through genome reduction to the rich environment of mammalian tissue.