Morphological characteristics of a spirochete present in activated sludge

A free-living spirochete has been found in the activated sludge of purification plants in Amsterdam. A partial enrichment of the spirochete could be obtained with a passage through a thin layer of water agar. The morphology of this spirochetal strain does not fit into one of the described genera in Bergey's Manual. The cells have many regular primary coils on which broad secondary coils are superimposed and the protoplasmic cylinder is tightly wound around an axistyle,