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.
Department of Bacteriology and Medical Mycology, Istituto Superiore de Sanita, Rome, Italy. ciceroni@iss.it
Lorenzo
L
Ciceroni
Massimo
M
Fabbi
Simonetta
S
Ciarrocchi
Antonella
A
Pinto
Alessandra
A
Ciervo
Rickie W
RW
Kasten
Bruno B
BB
Chomel
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