{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,30]],"date-time":"2026-09-30T14:25:31Z","timestamp":1790778331045,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":28,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,5,24]],"date-time":"2024-05-24T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1716508800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"European Union - Next Generation EU","award":["Programme EXCELES, ID Project No. LX22NPO5103"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["Programme EXCELES, ID Project No. LX22NPO5103"]}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001824","name":"Grantov\u00e1 Agentura \u010cesk\u00e9 Republiky","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["Grant No. 23-07021"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["Grant No. 23-07021"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001824","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100006533","name":"Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","award":["project RO0518"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["project RO0518"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100006533","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS ONE"],"abstract":"<jats:p>In this work, we determined that <jats:italic>Treponema pallidum<\/jats:italic> subsp. <jats:italic>pallidum<\/jats:italic> (TPA) DAL-1 (belonging to Nichols-like group of TPA strains) grew 1.53 (\u00b1 0.08) times faster compared to TPA Philadelphia 1 (SS14-like group) during <jats:italic>in vitro<\/jats:italic> cultivations. In longitudinal individual propagation in rabbit testes (n = 12, each TPA strain), infection with DAL-1 manifested clinical symptoms (induration, swelling, and erythema of testes) sooner than Philadelphia 1 infection, which resulted in a significantly shorter period of the experimental passages for DAL-1 (median = 15.0 and 23.5 days, respectively; p &lt; 0.01). To minimize the confounding conditions during rabbit experiments, the growth characteristics of DAL-1 and Philadelphia 1 strains were determined during TPA co-infection of rabbit testes (n = 20, including controls). During two weeks of intratesticular co-infection, DAL-1 overgrew Philadelphia 1 in all twelve testes, regardless of inoculation ratio and dose (median of relative excess DAL-1 multiplication = 84.85\u00d7). Moreover, higher DAL-1 to Philadelphia 1 inoculum ratios appeared to increase differences in growth rates, suggesting direct competition between strains for available nutrients during co-infection. These experiments indicate important physiological differences between the two TPA strains and suggest growth differences between Nichols-like and SS14-like strains that are potentially linked to their virulence and pathogenicity.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0304033","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,5,24]],"date-time":"2024-05-24T17:33:51Z","timestamp":1716572031000},"page":"e0304033","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":6,"title":["Treponema pallidum subsp. pallidum strains DAL-1 and Philadelphia 1 differ in generation times in vitro as well as during experimental rabbit infection"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"19","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7136-8396","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Juraj","family":"Bos\u00e1k","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lenka","family":"Mikalov\u00e1","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mat\u011bj","family":"Hrala","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Petra","family":"Posp\u00ed\u0161ilov\u00e1","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5448-7235","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Martin","family":"Faldyna","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4176-3464","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"David","family":"\u0160majs","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,5,24]]},"reference":[{"key":"pone.0304033.ref001","first-page":"10","article-title":"Global estimates of the prevalence and incidence of four curable sexually transmitted infections in 2012 based on systematic review and global reporting.","author":"L Newman","year":"2015","journal-title":"PLoS One."},{"key":"pone.0304033.ref002","first-page":"3","article-title":"Syphilis.","author":"RW Peeling","year":"2017","journal-title":"Nat Rev Dis Prim"},{"key":"pone.0304033.ref003","first-page":"3","article-title":"Biology of the treponematoses based on studies carried out at the International Treponematosis Laboratory Center of the Johns Hopkins University under the auspices of the World Health Organization","volume":"35","author":"T Turner","year":"1957","journal-title":"Monogr Ser World Heal Organ"},{"key":"pone.0304033.ref004","first-page":"15","article-title":"Successful isolation of Treponema pallidum strains from patients\u2019 cryopreserved ulcer exudate using the rabbit model.","author":"LE Pereira","year":"2020","journal-title":"PLoS One."},{"key":"pone.0304033.ref005","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"645","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijmm.2014.04.007","article-title":"Syphilis-causing strains belong to separate SS14-like or Nichols-like groups as defined by multilocus analysis of 19 Treponema pallidum strains","volume":"304","author":"L Nechv\u00e1tal","year":"2014","journal-title":"Int J Med Microbiol"},{"key":"pone.0304033.ref006","first-page":"8","article-title":"Resequencing of Treponema pallidum ssp. pallidum strains Nichols and SS14: correction of sequencing errors resulted in increased separation of syphilis treponeme subclusters.","author":"H P\u011btro\u0161ov\u00e1","year":"2013","journal-title":"PLoS One."},{"key":"pone.0304033.ref007","first-page":"2","article-title":"Origin of modern syphilis and emergence of a pandemic Treponema pallidum cluster.","author":"N Arora","year":"2016","journal-title":"Nat Microbiol."},{"key":"pone.0304033.ref008","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"181","DOI":"10.1615\/ForumImmunDisTher.2017020184","article-title":"Why there are two genetically distinct syphilis-causing strains?","volume":"7","author":"D \u0160majs","year":"2016","journal-title":"Forum Immun Dis Ther"},{"key":"pone.0304033.ref009","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"92","DOI":"10.1016\/j.meegid.2018.03.015","article-title":"Genetics of human and animal uncultivable treponemal pathogens","volume":"61","author":"D \u0160majs","year":"2018","journal-title":"Infect Genet Evol"},{"key":"pone.0304033.ref010","first-page":"9","article-title":"Long-term in vitro culture of the syphilis spirochete Treponema pallidum subsp.","author":"DG Edmondson","year":"2018","journal-title":"pallidum. 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