title: Characterization of Bacillus anthracis-like bacteria isolated from wild great apes from Cote d'Ivoire and Cameroon.
abstract: We present the microbiological and molecular characterization of bacteria isolated from four chimpanzees and one gorilla thought to have died of an anthrax-like disease in Côte d'Ivoire and Cameroon. These isolates differed significantly from classic Bacillus anthracis by the following criteria: motility, resistance to the gamma phage, and, for isolates from Cameroon, resistance to penicillin G. A capsule was expressed not only after induction by CO(2) and bicarbonate but also under normal growth conditions. Subcultivation resulted in beta-hemolytic activity and gamma phage susceptibility in some subclones, suggesting differences in gene regulation compared to classic B. anthracis. The isolates from Côte d'Ivoire and Cameroon showed slight differences in their biochemical characteristics and MICs of different antibiotics but were identical in all molecular features and sequences analyzed. PCR and Southern blot analyses confirmed the presence of both the toxin and the capsule plasmid, with sizes corresponding to the B. anthracis virulence plasmids pXO1 and pXO2. Protective antigen was expressed and secreted into the culture supernatant. The isolates possessed variants of the Ba813 marker and the SG-749 fragment differing from that of classic B. anthracis strains. Multilocus sequence typing revealed a close relationship of our atypical isolates with both classic B. anthracis strains and two uncommonly virulent Bacillus cereus and Bacillus thuringiensis isolates. We propose that the newly discovered atypical B. anthracis strains share a common ancestor with classic B. anthracis or that they emerged recently by transfer of the B. anthracis plasmids to a strain of the B. cereus group.
authors.affiliation: Robert Koch Institut, Centre for Biological Safety 2, Nordufer 20, 13353 Berlin, Germany. KleeS@rki.de
authors.forename: Silke R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Klee
authors.forename: Muhsin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ozel
authors.forename: Bernd
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Appel
authors.forename: Christophe
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Boesch
authors.forename: Heinz
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ellerbrok
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Jacob
authors.forename: Gudrun
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Holland
authors.forename: Fabian H
authors.initials: FH
authors.lastname: Leendertz
authors.forename: Georg
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pauli
authors.forename: Roland
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Grunow
authors.forename: Herbert
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nattermann
mesh_terms: D000483:Alleles; D000818:Animals; D000881:Anthrax / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000378:metabolism; D018420:Ape Diseases / Q000382:microbiology*; D017103:Bacillus Phages / Q000502:physiology; D001408:Bacillus anthracis / Q000145:classification / Q000187:drug effects / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000502:physiology / Q000821:virology; D016667:Bacterial Capsules / Q000235:genetics; D002163:Cameroon; D007560:Cote d'Ivoire; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial; D005260:Female; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D006071:Gorilla gorilla / Q000382:microbiology*; D006460:Hemolysin Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D002679:Pan troglodytes / Q000382:microbiology*; D010400:Penicillin G / Q000494:pharmacology; D010802:Phylogeny; D010957:Plasmids; D013045:Species Specificity; D014118:Toxins, Biological / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D006460:Hemolysin Proteins; D014118:Toxins, Biological; D010400:Penicillin G