title: Characterization of Bartonella strains isolated from black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus).
abstract: Thirty bartonella strains were isolated from the blood of black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus) from Boulder County, Colorado, USA. The bacteria appeared as small, fastidious, aerobic, Gram-negative rods. The partial sequences of the citrate synthase gene (gltA) demonstrated five unique genetic variants. Phylogenetic analysis based on sequences of gltA, 16S rRNA, rpoB, ftsZ, and ribC showed that the black-tailed prairie dog-related Bartonella variants comprise a distinct monophyletic clade that is closely related to Bartonella washoensis, a species isolated from a human patient and subsequently from ground squirrels. These variants, however, are grouped together in 100% of the bootstrapped trees. These variants were not found in other small mammals trapped during the same study, showing some evidence of host specificity. We believe that the group being described here is typical of the black-tailed prairie dog. We propose to name the bacteria Candidatus Bartonella washoensis subsp. cynomysii. The type strain is CL8606co(T)(=ATCC BAA-1342(T) = CCUG 53213(T)), which is the representative isolate of the dominant variant of the characterized group.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA. bby5@cdc.gov
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Bai
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kosoy
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ray
authors.forename: Kelly
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sheff
authors.forename: Linda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chalcraft
authors.forename: Sharon K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Collinge
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001473:Bartonella / Q000145:classification* / Q000201:enzymology / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D001474:Bartonella Infections / Q000635:transmission; D001483:Base Sequence; D002950:Citrate (si)-Synthase / Q000235:genetics*; D003120:Colorado; D017931:DNA Primers; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005784:Gene Amplification; D014644:Genetic Variation; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012589:Sciuridae / Q000097:blood / Q000382:microbiology*; D016415:Sequence Alignment
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D002950:Citrate (si)-Synthase