title: Molecular evidence of Wolbachia endosymbiosis in Mansonella perstans in Gabon, Central Africa.
abstract: The discovery of obligatory intracellular bacteria of the genus Wolbachia in filariae infecting humans led to the use of antibiotics as a potent treatment option. Mansonella perstans is the cause of the second most prevalent filariasis in Gabon, but so far reports on the presence of Wolbachia in this nematode have been inconsistent. We report on the presence of Wolbachia in M. perstans in patients from Gabon, which we identified using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with primer sets specific for 16S rDNA and ftsZ. Sequence analysis revealed a single consensus sequence, which could be phylogenetically assigned to Wolbachia of the supergroup F. Wolbachia could only be identified in 5 of 14 or 7 of 14 cases, depending on the investigated gene; detection of Wolbachia was associated with higher-level filaremia. Before generalizing the use of antibiotics for mansonellosis, further clarification of the obligatory nature of the endosymbiosis in this nematode is needed.
authors.affiliation: Centre de Recherches Médicales de Lambaréné (CERMEL), Gabon Institute of Tropical Medicine, University of Tübingen Institute of Tropical Medicine and International Health.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gehringer
authors.affiliation: Centre de Recherches Médicales de Lambaréné (CERMEL), Gabon Institute of Tropical Medicine, University of Tübingen.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kreidenweiss
authors.affiliation: Centre de Recherches Médicales de Lambaréné (CERMEL), Gabon.
authors.forename: Arnaud
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Flamen
authors.affiliation: Institute of Tropical Medicine, University of Tübingen.
authors.forename: Justin S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Antony
authors.affiliation: Centre de Recherches Médicales de Lambaréné (CERMEL), Gabon Institute of Tropical Medicine, University of Tübingen Center of Tropical Medicine and Travel Medicine, Department of Infectious Diseases, Division of Internal Medicine, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Martin P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Grobusch
authors.affiliation: Centre de Recherches Médicales de Lambaréné (CERMEL), Gabon Institute of Tropical Medicine, University of Tübingen Department of Pediatric Pneumology and Immunology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany Center of Tropical Medicine and Travel Medicine, Department of Infectious Diseases, Division of Internal Medicine, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Sabine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bélard
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D005681:Gabon; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008366:Mansonella / Q000382:microbiology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013559:Symbiosis; D020577:Wolbachia / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins; C071525:FtsZ protein, Bacteria; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S
keywords: Africa; Gabon; Mansonella perstans; Wolbachia; endosymbiosis; filariae