Identification of the causative agent of granulocytic ehrlichiosis in Swedish dogs and horses by direct solid phase sequencing of PCR products from the 16S rRNA gene.
Abstract: Seven Swedish isolates of Ehrlichia species from the blood of four dogs and three horses with clinical granulocytic ehrlichiosis, were identified by direct solid phase DNA sequencing of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) products from the 16S rRNA gene. The amplified DNA fragments were produced with primers complementary to the universal regions, U1, U2, U5 and U8 of the 16S rRNA molecule. Identical sequences were obtained from all seven isolates. This nucleotide sequence was similar to the sequences deposited in GenBank for Ehrlichia phagocytophila and E equi. The sequence of the Swedish ehrlichiae differed in two nucleotide positions from the E phagocytophila sequence and in three positions from the E equi sequence, and it is tentatively proposed that it is a subspecies of one of these two. The alignment of the sequence of the Swedish isolates with a recently deposited sequence from human cases of ehrlichiosis in the USA revealed 100 per cent identity in a segment of about 1400 bp.
Publication Date: 1995-03-01 PubMed ID: 7539151DOI: 10.1016/0034-5288(95)90061-6Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
- Research Support
- Non-U.S. Gov't
Summary
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This research article discusses the identification of the bacteria causing granulocytic ehrlichiosis in Swedish dogs and horses utilizing solid phase DNA sequencing of polymerase chain reaction products from a specific gene.
Procedure and Findings
- The researchers collected seven samples from Swedish dogs and horses infected with granulocytic ehrlichiosis, a tick-borne disease caused by bacteria of the Ehrlichia species.
- They used a method called polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to amplify DNA fragments from the 16S rRNA gene of the Ehrlichia bacteria found in the blood samples. This gene was chosen because it is present and relatively similar in all bacteria, making it an ideal tool for identification purposes.
- The PCR products were directly sequenced using a solid-phase DNA sequencing method.
- Sequence comparison proved that the sequences from all seven samples were identical, indicating they were all caused by the same bacterial strain.
Sequence Comparison
- The Swedish Ehrlichia sequences were compared to those available in the GenBank sequence database, specifically to the sequences of Ehrlichia phagocytophila and E. equi known to be prevalent in other parts of the world.
- The 16S rRNA sequence of the Swedish samples differed in two nucleotide positions from E. phagocytophila and in three positions from E. equi. This suggests that the Swedish strain could possibly be a subspecies of either E. phagocytophila or E. equi.
Comparison with Human Cases
- The sequence of the Swedish Ehrlichia strain was also compared to a sequence recently deposited from human cases of ehrlichiosis in the USA.
- Surprisingly, the sequence from the Swedish strain showed 100% identity in a segment of about 1400 base pairs with the sequence from the US human cases. This finding could potentially indicate a zoonotic aspect of the disease, meaning it can be transmitted from animals, like dogs and horses, to humans.
Cite This Article
APA
Johansson KE, Pettersson B, Uhlén M, Gunnarsson A, Malmqvist M, Olsson E.
(1995).
Identification of the causative agent of granulocytic ehrlichiosis in Swedish dogs and horses by direct solid phase sequencing of PCR products from the 16S rRNA gene.
Res Vet Sci, 58(2), 109-112.
https://doi.org/10.1016/0034-5288(95)90061-6 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- National Veterinary Institute, Uppsala, Sweden.
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Base Sequence
- Dog Diseases / microbiology
- Dogs
- Ehrlichia / classification
- Ehrlichia / genetics
- Ehrlichiosis / microbiology
- Ehrlichiosis / veterinary
- Granulocytes
- Horse Diseases / microbiology
- Horses
- Molecular Sequence Data
- Polymerase Chain Reaction / veterinary
- RNA, Bacterial / genetics
- RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / genetics
- Sweden
Citations
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