This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Iredell, J.
Right arrow Articles by Birtles, R. J.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Iredell, J.
Right arrow Articles by Birtles, R. J.
Right arrowPubmed/NCBI databases
*Protein

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, November 2003, p. 5071-5079, Vol. 41, No. 11
0095-1137/03/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JCM.41.11.5071-5079.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Characterization of the Natural Population of Bartonella henselae by Multilocus Sequence Typing

J. Iredell,1* D. Blanckenberg,1 M. Arvand,2 S. Grauling,2 E. J. Feil,3 and R. J. Birtles4

Centre for Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, Westmead Hospital, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia,1 Hygiene-Institut, Universität Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany,2 Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Bath, Bath,3 Centre for Comparative Infectious Diseases, University of Liverpool, Leahurst, Neston, United Kingdom4

Received 13 May 2003/ Returned for modification 10 August 2003/ Accepted 14 August 2003

Investigations of the population genetics of Bartonella henselae have demonstrated a high level of diversity among strains, and the delineation of isolates into one of two subtypes, type I (Houston) and type II (Marseille), represented by specific 16S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) sequences, has long been considered the most significant genotypic division within the species. This belief is challenged by recent work suggesting a role for horizontal gene exchange in generating intraspecies diversity. We attempted to resolve this issue and extend exploration of the population structure of B. henselae by using multilocus sequence typing (MLST) to examine the distribution of polymorphisms within nine different genes in a sample of 37 human and feline isolates. MLST distinguished seven sequence types (STs) that resolved into three distinct lineages, suggesting a clonal population structure for the species, and support for these divisions was obtained by macrorestriction analysis using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. The distribution of STs among isolates recovered from human infections was not random, and such isolates were significantly more often associated with one particular ST, lending further support to the suggestion that specific genotypes contribute disproportionately to the disease burden in humans. All but one isolate lay on lineages that bore the representative strain of either the Houston or Marseille subtype. However, the distribution of the two 16S rDNA alleles among the isolates was not entirely congruent with their lineage allocations, indicating that this is not a sensitive marker of the clonal divisions within the species. The inheritances of several of the genes studied could not be reconciled with one another, providing further evidence of horizontal gene transfer among B. henselae strains and suggesting that recombination has a role in shaping the genetic character of bartonellae.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Centre for Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, Westmead Hospital, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2145, Australia. Phone: 61 2 9845 6255. Fax: 61 2 9891 5317. E-mail: joni{at}icpmr.wsahs.nsw.gov.au.

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, November 2003, p. 5071-5079, Vol. 41, No. 11
0095-1137/03/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JCM.41.11.5071-5079.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Viezens, J., Arvand, M. (2008). Simultaneous presence of two different copies of the 16S rRNA gene in Bartonella henselae. Microbiology 154: 2881-2886 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Abbot, P., Aviles, A. E., Eller, L., Durden, L. A. (2007). Mixed Infections, Cryptic Diversity, and Vector-Borne Pathogens: Evidence from Polygenis Fleas and Bartonella Species. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 73: 6045-6052 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Berghoff, J., Viezens, J., Guptill, L., Fabbi, M., Arvand, M. (2007). Bartonella henselae exists as a mosaic of different genetic variants in the infected host. Microbiology 153: 2045-2051 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Monteil, M., Durand, B., Bouchouicha, R., Petit, E., Chomel, B., Arvand, M., Boulouis, H.-J., Haddad, N. (2007). Development of discriminatory multiple-locus variable number tandem repeat analysis for Bartonella henselae. Microbiology 153: 1141-1148 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Lindroos, H., Vinnere, O., Mira, A., Repsilber, D., Naslund, K., Andersson, S. G. E. (2006). Genome Rearrangements, Deletions, and Amplifications in the Natural Population of Bartonella henselae. J. Bacteriol. 188: 7426-7439 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Li, W., Chomel, B. B., Maruyama, S., Guptil, L., Sander, A., Raoult, D., Fournier, P.-E. (2006). Multispacer Typing To Study the Genotypic Distribution of Bartonella henselae Populations.. J. Clin. Microbiol. 44: 2499-2506 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Pendle, S., Ginn, A., Iredell, J. (2006). Antimicrobial susceptibility of Bartonella henselae using Etest methodology. J Antimicrob Chemother 57: 761-763 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Dillon, B., Iredell, J., Breitschwerdt, E. B., Maggi, R. G. (2005). Potential Limitations of the 16S-23S rRNA Intergenic Region for Molecular Detection of Bartonella Species. J. Clin. Microbiol. 43: 4921-4922 [Full Text]  
  • Foucault, C., La Scola, B., Lindroos, H., Andersson, S. G. E., Raoult, D. (2005). Multispacer Typing Technique for Sequence-Based Typing of Bartonella quintana. J. Clin. Microbiol. 43: 41-48 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Dillon, B, Iredell, J (2004). DdeI RFLP for 16S rDNA typing in Bartonella henselae. J Med Microbiol 53: 1263-1265 [Full Text]  
  • Walsh, D. A., Bapteste, E., Kamekura, M., Doolittle, W. F. (2004). Evolution of the RNA Polymerase B' Subunit Gene (rpoB') in Halobacteriales: a Complementary Molecular Marker to the SSU rRNA Gene. Mol Biol Evol 21: 2340-2351 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Pretorius, A.-M., Beati, L., Birtles, R. J. (2004). Diversity of bartonellae associated with small mammals inhabiting Free State province, South Africa. Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol. 54: 1959-1967 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Rodrick, D., Dillon, B., Dexter, M., Nicholson, I., Marcel, S., Dickeson, D., Iredell, J. (2004). Culture-Negative Endocarditis Due to Houston Complex Bartonella henselae Acquired in Noumea, New Caledonia. J. Clin. Microbiol. 42: 1846-1848 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»