Bartonella melophagi in blood of domestic sheep (Ovis aries) and sheep keds (Melophagus ovinus) from the southwestern US: Cultures, genetic characterization, and ecological connections.
Bartonella melophagi sp. nov. was isolated from domestic sheep blood and from sheep keds (Melophagus ovinus) from the southwestern United States. The sequence analyses of the reference strain performed by six molecular markers consistently demonstrated that B. melophagi relates to but differ from other Bartonella species isolated from domestic and wild ruminants. Presence of 183 genes specific for B. melophagi, being absent in genomes of other Bartonella species associated with ruminants also supports the separation of this bacterial species from species of other ruminants. Bartonella DNA was detected in all investigated sheep keds; however, culturing of these bacteria from sheep blood rejects a speculation that B. melophagi is an obligatory endosymbiont. Instead, the results support the hypothesis that the domestic sheep is a natural host reservoir for B. melophagi and the sheep ked its main vector. This bacterium was not isolated from the blood of bighorn sheep and domestic goats belonging to the same subfamily Caprinae. B. melophagi has also been shown to be zoonotic and needs to be investigated further.
Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 3156 Rampart Road, Fort Collins, CO 90521, USA. Electronic address: MCK3@CDC.GOV.
Michael
M
Kosoy
Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 3156 Rampart Road, Fort Collins, CO 90521, USA.
Ying
Y
Bai
Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 3156 Rampart Road, Fort Collins, CO 90521, USA.
Russell
R
Enscore
Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 3156 Rampart Road, Fort Collins, CO 90521, USA.
Maria Rosales
MR
Rizzo
Navajo Nation Veterinary Program, Department of Agriculture, The Navajo Nation, P.O. Box 1450, Window Rock, AZ 86515, USA.
Scott
S
Bender
University of Texas Medical Branch, 301 University Boulevard, Galveston, TX 77555-0609, USA.
Vsevolod
V
Popov
University of Texas Medical Branch, 301 University Boulevard, Galveston, TX 77555-0609, USA.
Levent
L
Albayrak
University of Texas Medical Branch, 301 University Boulevard, Galveston, TX 77555-0609, USA.
Yuriy
Y
Fofanov
Department of Population Health and Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
Bruno
B
Chomel
D000818:Animals; D001473:Bartonella / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000502:physiology*; D001474:Bartonella Infections / Q000382:microbiology / Q000635:transmission / Q000662:veterinary*; D001769:Blood / Q000382:microbiology*; D004175:Diptera / Q000382:microbiology*; D004197:Disease Reservoirs / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D005798:Genes, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D005819:Genetic Markers / Q000235:genetics; D016680:Genome, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000382:microbiology; D010802:Phylogeny; D012756:Sheep; D012757:Sheep Diseases / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000635:transmission; D015206:Southwestern United States; D013045:Species Specificity
D005819:Genetic Markers
Bartonellosis; Bighorn sheep; Domestic sheep; Genotyping; Sheep ked