title: PCR amplification and comparison of nucleotide sequences from the groESL heat shock operon of Ehrlichia species.
abstract: Degenerate PCR primers derived from conserved regions of the eubacterial groESL heat shock operon were used to amplify groESL sequences of Ehrlichia equi, Ehrlichia phagocytophila, the agent of human granulocytic ehrlichiosis (HGE), Ehrlichia canis, Bartonella henselae, and Rickettsia rickettsii. The groESL nucleotide sequences were less conserved than the previously determined 16S rRNA gene sequences of these bacteria. A phylogenetic tree derived from deduced GroEL amino acid sequences was similar to trees based on 16S rRNA gene sequences. Nucleotide sequences obtained from clinical samples containing E. equi, E. phagocytophila, or the HGE agent were very similar (99.9 to 99.0% identity), and the deduced amino acid sequences were identical. Some divergence was evident between nucleotide sequences amplified from samples originating from the United States (E. equi and the HGE agent) and sequences from the European species, E. phagocytophila. A single pair of PCR primers derived from these sequences was used to detect E. chaffeensis and HGE agent DNA in blood samples from human patients with ehrlichiosis.
authors.affiliation: Viral and Rickettsial Zoonoses Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia 30333, USA. jws3@cdc.gov
authors.forename: J W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Sumner
authors.forename: W L
authors.initials: WL
authors.lastname: Nicholson
authors.forename: R F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Massung
mesh_terms: D001483:Base Sequence; D018835:Chaperonin 10 / Q000235:genetics*; D018834:Chaperonin 60 / Q000235:genetics*; D017931:DNA Primers; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis*; D004536:Ehrlichia / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009876:Operon / Q000235:genetics*; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid
chemical_list: D018835:Chaperonin 10; D018834:Chaperonin 60; D017931:DNA Primers; D004269:DNA, Bacterial