title: Characterization based on the 56-Kda type-specific antigen gene of Orientia tsutsugamushi genotypes isolated from Leptotrombidium mites and the rodent host post-infection.
abstract: Abstract. Characterization of the 56-kDa type-specific antigen (TSA) genes of Orientia tsutsugamushi (OT) from three naturally infected, laboratory-reared mite colonies comprising three species (Leptotrombidium deliense [Ld], Leptotrombidium imphalum [Li], and Leptotrombidium chiangraiensis [Lc]) has revealed the presence of single and coexisting OT genotypes found in individual chiggers. The Karp genotype was found in all of the chiggers examined, whereas Gilliam and UT302 genotypes were only observed in combination with the Karp genotype. From analysis of these OT genotypes after transmission from chiggers to mice it was determined that with the Lc and Li mites, the OT genotype composition in the rodent spleens post-infection had not changed and therefore resembled that observed in the feeding chiggers. However, only the Karp genotype was found in rodents after feeding by Ld chiggers carrying Karp and Gilliam genotypes. The current findings reveal a complex association among the host, pathogen, and vector.
authors.affiliation: Department of Entomology, United States Army Medical Component - Armed Forces Research Institute of Medical Sciences, Bangkok, Thailand; Viral Diseases Branch, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, Maryland; Mahidol Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand; Viral and Rickettsial Diseases Department, Naval Medical Research Center, Silver Spring, Maryland; Entomology Branch, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, Maryland.
authors.forename: Ratree
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Takhampunya
authors.forename: Bousaraporn
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Tippayachai
authors.forename: Sommai
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Promsathaporn
authors.forename: Surachai
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Leepitakrat
authors.forename: Taweesak
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Monkanna
authors.forename: Anthony L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Schuster
authors.forename: Melanie C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Melendrez
authors.forename: Daniel H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Paris
authors.forename: Allen L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Richards
authors.forename: Jason H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Richardson
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial / Q000502:physiology; D005838:Genotype; D051379:Mice; D008813:Mice, Inbred ICR; D012285:Orientia tsutsugamushi / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D058974:Phylogeography; D012612:Scrub Typhus / Q000382:microbiology*; D014324:Trombiculidae / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D001426:Bacterial Proteins