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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, November 2003, p. 5033-5040, Vol. 41, No. 11
0095-1137/03/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JCM.41.11.5033-5040.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

High Diversity of ankA Sequences of Anaplasma phagocytophilum among Ixodes ricinus Ticks in Germany

Friederike D. von Loewenich,1 Birgit U. Baumgarten,1 Klaus Schröppel,1 Walter Geißdörfer,1 Martin Röllinghoff,1 and Christian Bogdan1,2*

Institute of Clinical Microbiology, Immunology and Hygiene, University of Erlangen, Erlangen,1 Institute of Medical Microbiology and Hygiene, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany2

Received 12 May 2003/ Returned for modification 8 July 2003/ Accepted 20 August 2003

In Germany humans with acute granulocytic ehrlichiosis have not yet been described. Here, we characterized three different genes of Anaplasma phagocytophilum strains infecting German Ixodes ricinus ticks in order to test whether they differ from strains in other European countries and the United States. A total of 1,022 I. ricinus ticks were investigated for infection with A. phagocytophilum by nested PCR and sequence analysis. Forty-two (4.1%) ticks were infected. For all positive ticks, parts of the 16S rRNA and groESL genes were sequenced. The complete coding sequence of the ankA gene could be determined in 24 samples. The 16S rRNA and groESL gene sequences were as much as 100% identical to known sequences. Fifteen ankA sequences were >=99.37% identical to sequences derived from humans with granulocytic ehrlichiosis in Europe and from a horse with granulocytic ehrlichiosis in Germany. Thus, German I. ricinus ticks most likely harbor A. phagocytophilum strains that can cause disease in humans. Nine additional sequences were clearly different from known ankA sequences. Because these newly described sequences have never been obtained from diseased humans or animals, their biological significance is currently unknown. Based on this unexpected sequence heterogeneity, we propose to use the ankA gene for further phylogenetic analyses of A. phagocytophilum and to investigate the biology and pathogenicity of strains that differ in the ankA gene.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Institut für Medizinische Mikrobiologie und Hygiene, Universität Freiburg, Hermann-Herder-Strasse 11, D-79104 Freiburg, Germany. Phone: 49-761-203-6531. Fax: 49-761-203-6651. E-mail: bogdancn{at}ukl.uni-freiburg.de.

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, November 2003, p. 5033-5040, Vol. 41, No. 11
0095-1137/03/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JCM.41.11.5033-5040.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



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