Characterization of the first Bartonella henselae strain isolated from a cat in Italy.
Bartonella henselae has been identified and characterized for the first time in Italy. A strain, designed Pavia-1, was isolated from the blood of a cat whose owner developed cat scratch disease (CSD). Pavia-1 and two American B. henselae strains (Houston-1, ATCC 49882, type I and strain 269608, UC Davis, type II) were compared by whole-cell fatty analysis (CFA), sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) for protein profiles, Western immunoblotting (WB) for reactivity with polyclonal antibodies, polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP), type-specific 16S rRNA PCRs, and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Bartonella clarridgeiae (ATCC 51734) was also included for comparison. Pavia-1 was identified as a B. henselae type I. PFGE allowed differentiation between B. clarridgeiae and B. henselae and furthermore, between all the B. henselae strains. The fingerprints of PFGE observed for Pavia-1 were distinct from those of B. henselae type II and also of Houston-1, suggesting that the two type I strains derived from two different clones. These results show the capability of B. henselae to develop genotypic variability between genetically related strains.
Ciceroni
Lorenzo
L
Department of Bacteriology and Medical Mycology, Istituto Superiore de Sanita, Rome, Italy. ciceroni@iss.it
Fabbi
Massimo
M
Ciarrocchi
Simonetta
S
Pinto
Antonella
A
Ciervo
Alessandra
A
Kasten
Rickie W
RW
Chomel
Bruno B
BB
D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D001474:Bartonella Infections / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D018416:Bartonella henselae / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D015153:Blotting, Western / Q000662:veterinary; D002371:Cat Diseases / Q000382:microbiology*; D002372:Cat-Scratch Disease / Q000382:microbiology*; D002415:Cats; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D016521:Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field / Q000662:veterinary; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008297:Male; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000662:veterinary; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics
D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal; D005227:Fatty Acids; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S