[Amplification and typing of Sta56 gene of Orientia tsutsugamushi from Shandong province].
OBJECTIVE
To clarify the gene type of Orientia tsutsugamushi (Ot) from Shandong province.


METHODS
Nested-polymerase chain reaction (nPCR) was used to identify the gene type of 23 isolated Ot strains, 2 pools of homogenized leptotrombidium (L.) scutellare, 10 blood specimens of scrub typhus patients, and at the same time to compare with the international reference strains Gilliam, Karp, Kato. Sequencing analysis of the Sta56 gene was also used to further identify the precise gene types.


RESULTS
Of the 35 samples, 33 had the same products in the amplification of template Ot-DNA. They all belonged to Kawasaki strains endemic in Japan while 2 (FXS4 and LHGM2 strain) belonged to Karp strains. The Sta56 gene sequence homologies to Japan Kawasaki strain of the 2 representative strains (B-16 and FXS2 strain) of the 33 samples were 94.22%, 95.21% respectively, but they were less than 75.87% to other prototype strains; The homologies to Karp strain of FXS4 and LHGM2 strain were 83.03%, 96.45% respectively. B-16 and FXS2 strain were designated as of types strain Japan Kawasaki, FXS4 and LHGM2 as Karp strain.


CONCLUSIONS
The results indicated that the dominant Ot strains in Shandong Province were similar to Kawasaki strains, but Karp strains also existed.
Liu
Yun-Xi
YX
School of Public Health, Shandong University, Jinan 250012, China.
Gao
Yuan
Y
Zhao
Zhong-Tang
ZT
Zhang
Jing-Lan
JL
Yang
Zhan-Qing
ZQ
Bu
Xiu-Ping
XP
Su
Jing-Jing
JJ
D000818:Animals; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics*; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D012285:Orientia tsutsugamushi / Q000235:genetics*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; D012612:Scrub Typhus / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D017385:Sequence Homology; D012703:Serotyping
D004269:DNA, Bacterial