title: Coxiella burnetii plasmid types QpDG and QpH1 are closely related and likely identical.
abstract: Strains and isolates of Coxiella burnetii, an obligate intracellular bacterium, carry a single plasmid or a plasmid-homologous sequence integrated into the chromosome. The plasmids QpH1, QpRS, QpDV and the chromosome-integrated plasmid-homologous region have been completely sequenced, whereas no sequence data are available for the QpDG plasmid. In this study, we used total genomic DNA from reference strain C. burnetii Dugway 5J108-111 to demonstrate and characterize the QpDG plasmid by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and Southern hybridization. Primers derived from regions shared among C. burnetii plasmids were used to construct a physical map of the QpDG plasmid by extra long (XL) PCR. Both approaches, Southern hybridization and XL PCR indicated that QpDG and QpH1 represent a closely related and likely identical plasmid.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Hygiene and Infectious Diseases of Animals, Justus Liebig University, Frankfurter Str. 87-91, 35392 Giessen, Germany. cornelie.jaeger@vetmed.uni-giessen.de
authors.forename: Cornelie
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Jäger
authors.forename: Silke
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lautenschläger
authors.forename: Hermann
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Willems
authors.forename: Georg
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Baljer
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015139:Blotting, Southern / Q000662:veterinary; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D016997:Coxiella burnetii / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D016521:Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field / Q000662:veterinary; D000882:Haplorhini; D010957:Plasmids / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000662:veterinary; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA / Q000662:veterinary
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial