Detection of a Yersinia pestis gene homologue in rodent samples.
A homologue to a widely used genetic marker, pla, for Yersinia pestis has been identified in tissue samples of two species of rat (Rattus rattus and Rattus norvegicus) and of mice (Mus musculus and Apodemus sylvaticus) using a microarray based platform to screen for zoonotic pathogens of interest. Samples were from urban locations in the UK (Liverpool) and Canada (Vancouver). The results indicate the presence of an unknown bacterium that shares a homologue for the pla gene of Yersinia pestis, so caution should be taken when using this gene as a diagnostic marker.
School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham, Loughborough, Leicestershire, United Kingdom.
Timothy A
TA
Giles
Department of Wildlife Diseases, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research,Berlin,Germany; Department of Veterinary Medicine, Freie Universität Berlin,Berlin,Germany.
Alex D
AD
Greenwood
Department of Wildlife Diseases, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research,Berlin,Germany; Department of Translational Genetics, Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics,Nicosia,Cyprus.
Kyriakos
K
Tsangaras
The Advanced Data Analysis Centre, University of Nottingham, Leicestershire, United Kingdom.
Tom C
TC
Giles
School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham, Loughborough, Leicestershire, United Kingdom.
Paul A
PA
Barrow
School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham, Loughborough, Leicestershire, United Kingdom.
Duncan
D
Hannant
School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham, Loughborough, Leicestershire, United Kingdom.
Abu-Bakr
AB
Abu-Median
School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham, Loughborough, Leicestershire, United Kingdom.
Lisa
L
Yon
Microarray; Rodents; Screening; Yersinia pestis