title: Genetic typing, based on the 56-kilodalton type-specific antigen gene, of Orientia tsutsugamushi strains isolated from chiggers collected from wild-caught rodents in Taiwan.
abstract: Orientia tsutsugamushi is the etiological agent of scrub typhus, a mite-borne, febrile illness that occurs in the Asia-Pacific region. We conducted strain characterization of O. tsutsugamushi isolates from chiggers obtained from rodents based the nucleotide sequence of the 56-kDa outer membrane protein gene. With the use of PCR, a total of 68 DNA sequences of 56-kDa antigen genes were amplified. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that there were at least six definable clusters among the 68 isolates: 37% Karp-related strains (25/68), 27% TA763 strains (18/68), 12% JG-related strains (8/68), 19% Kato-related strains (13/68), 4% divergent strains (3/68), and 1% representing a Gilliam prototype strain (1/68). Overall, the O. tsutsugamushi genotypes exhibited a high degree of diversity, similar to that seen in strains from the rest of the areas where scrub typhus is endemic. Moreover, the 56-kDa protein sequence similarity between O. tsutsugamushi isolates from mites and those from human patients (H. Y. Lu et al., Am. J. Trop. Med. Hyg. 83:658-663, 2010) were striking, thus highlighting potential risk factors for this emerging zoonotic disease.
authors: Institute of Preventive Medicine, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors: Pey-Ru
authors: PR
authors: Lin
authors: Hui-Ping
authors: HP
authors: Tsai
authors: Pei-Yi
authors: PY
authors: Tsui
authors: Ming-Hui
authors: MH
authors: Weng
authors: Ming-Der
authors: MD
authors: Kuo
authors: Hung-Chi
authors: HC
authors: Lin
authors: Kuo-Ching
authors: KC
authors: Chen
authors: Dar-Der
authors: DD
authors: Ji
authors: Der-Ming
authors: DM
authors: Chu
authors: Wen-Tssann
authors: WT
authors: Liu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics*; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005838:Genotype; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D058889:Molecular Typing; D012285:Orientia tsutsugamushi / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics; D010802:Phylogeny; D012377:Rodentia / Q000469:parasitology*; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013624:Taiwan; D014324:Trombiculidae / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins; D004269:DNA, Bacterial