''Leptonema illini'' is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of bacteria. It belongs to the

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

and it is the only species of the genus ''Leptonema''. It can be found in water and soil media.

Characteristics

''Leptonema'' are

Gram-negative bacteria Gram-negative bacteria are bacteria that do not retain the crystal violet stain used in the Gram staining method of bacterial differentiation. They are characterized by their cell envelopes, which are composed of a thin peptidoglycan cell wall ...

, very thin, helical bacteria of about 0.1-0.2 μm in diameter and 13 to 21 μm. length. They are usually unicellular, but can also be seen as short chains in growing cultures.

References

External links

Type strain of ''Leptonema illini'' at Bac''Dive'' - the Bacterial Diversity Metadatabase
Gram-negative bacteria Spirochaetes Bacteria described in 1983 {{spirochaetae-stub