Presence of a novel Ehrlichia sp. in Ixodes granulatus found in Okinawa, Japan.
Ehrlichia-specific DNA fragments of Ehrlichia omp-1 and groEL genes were found in two I. granulatus ticks which had been collected from wild small mammals in a subtropical zone in Japan. The DNA sequences of groEL and 16SrDNA of the suspected Ehrlichia were clustered into a group of E. chaffeensis, E. muris, and Ehrlichia sp. HF565 found in I. ovatus, but were distinctly different. Therefore the Ehrlichia strain was designated as a novel Ehrlichia sp. 360. The Ehrlichia sp. 360 was detected in I. granulatus but not in any other ticks. This suggests that I. granulatus is a probable vector of Ehrlichia sp. 360 in Japan.
Takano
Ai
A
Department of Bacteriology, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, Japan.
Ando
Shuji
S
Kishimoto
Toshio
T
Fujita
Hiromi
H
Kadosaka
Teruki
T
Nitta
Yoshiki
Y
Kawabata
Hiroki
H
Watanabe
Haruo
H
D000818:Animals; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D004536:Ehrlichia / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D018884:Ixodes / Q000382:microbiology*; D007564:Japan; D010802:Phylogeny; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S