title: Isolation and characterization of two European strains of Ehrlichia phagocytophila of equine origin.
abstract: We report the isolation and partial genetic characterization of two equine strains of granulocytic Ehrlichia of the genogroup Ehrlichia phagocytophila. Frozen whole-blood samples from two Swedish horses with laboratory-verified granulocytic ehrlichiosis were inoculated into HL-60 cell cultures. Granulocytic Ehrlichia was isolated and propagated from both horses. DNA extracts from the respective strains were amplified by PCR using primers directed towards the 16S rRNA gene, the groESL heat shock operon gene, and the ank gene. The amplified gene fragments were sequenced and compared to known sequences in the GenBank database. With respect to the 16S rRNA gene, the groESL gene, and the ank gene, the DNA sequences of the two equine Ehrlichia isolates were identical to sequences found in isolates from clinical cases of granulocytic ehrlichiosis in humans and domestic animals in Sweden. However, compared to amplified DNA from an American Ehrlichia strain of the E. phagocytophila genogroup, differences were found in the groESL gene and ank gene sequences.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Microbiology, Kalmar County Hospital, SE-391 85 Kalmar, Sweden. anneli.bjoersdorff@ltkalmar.se
authors.forename: Anneli
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bjöersdorff
authors.forename: Bodil
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bagert
authors.forename: Robert F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Massung
authors.forename: Asiya
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gusa
authors.forename: Ingvar
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Eliasson
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D018833:Chaperonins / Q000235:genetics; D004536:Ehrlichia / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D016873:Ehrlichiosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000662:veterinary*; D018922:HL-60 Cells; D006734:Horse Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000382:microbiology*; D006736:Horses; D006801:Humans; D012329:RNA, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000032:analysis; D013548:Sweden
chemical_list: D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; C097970:GroESL protein, Bacteria; D012329:RNA, Bacterial; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; C413306:ank protein, Ehrlichia; D018833:Chaperonins