Leptospira is a genus of bacteria in the family Leptospiraceae which are aerobic (use oxygen), are able to move by themselves (are motile), and are classified as spirochetes (they are shaped like coils or corkscrews).
There are free-living types which live in soil and in freshwater and marine environments. Other species are parasitic pathogens of humans and other animals; the most notable disease they cause is leptospirosis.
Pathogenic strains commonly studied in laboratories include:
- Leptospira interrogans
- Leptospira kirshneri
- Leptospira noguchii
- Leptospira santarosai
- Leptospira borgpetersenii
- Leptospira weilii
- Leptospira wolbachii
- Leptonema illini
- Leptospira inadai
- Leptospira meyeri
- Leptospira biflexa
The information in this writeup was taken from the science dictionary at http://biotech.icmb.utexas.edu/; I oversaw the development of the dictionary (the website was mothballed in 1998) and I believe I wrote the entry this is based on.