牛附红细胞体16SrRNA基因的克隆测序及分析

无菌采集自然感染附红细胞体的牛血液,提取全血基因组,用血营养菌16S rRNA基因的通用引物进行PCR扩增,得到长约1 500 bp的扩增片段,将其克隆到pMD18-T载体后进行测序和分析.结果,所克隆的牛附红细胞体基因片段大小为1 454 bp,GenBank登录号为FJ375309(丰都株).序列比对结果显示,牛附红细胞体丰都株与武汉株(AY946266)最高,达99.7%,与支原体科代表种同源性为60.7%～76.2%,而与立克次氏体科的立克次氏体和无形体科的无形体同源性仅为51.4%～56.4%,表明牛附红细胞体应归为支原体科,附红细胞体属,而不应属于立克次氏体目,无浆体科.对国内外牛温氏附红细胞体的亲缘关系分析表明,牛温氏附红细胞体无明显的地域性差别趋势.     

温氏附红细胞体部分16S rRNA基因的序列测定和分析

从确诊为附红细胞体感染的黄牛无菌采集血样，抽提附红细胞体基因组DNA，用实验设计的能扩增多种动物血营养菌部分16SrRNA基因的通用引物进行PCR扩增，结果扩增出大小约为370bp的DNA片段。PCR产物序列测定和系统进化分析显示，实验获得的核苷酸序列为温氏附红细胞体的16SrRNA基因，与国外报道的温氏附红细胞体的同源性为97％。反映出不同地理株的温氏附红细胞体存在一定的遗传差异，为牛附红细胞体病的诊断和分子流行病学研究提供科学依据。     

奶牛温氏支原体16SrRNA基因的PCR扩增、克隆及分析

目的对奶牛温氏支原体16SrRNA基因进行PCR扩增及克隆分析。方法从自然感染体的广西奶牛无菌采集血液,分离温氏支原体并提取病原基因组,用血营养菌的16SrRNA基因的通用引物进行PCR扩增,将扩增产物克隆到PGEM-Teasy载体后进行溺,I序和分析,并与Genebank上搜索的温氏支原体相应序列进行比较,建立系统发育树。结果PCR扩增得到长约1．5kb的扩增片段,测序结果显示该片段全长为1453bp,同源性分析表明该序列与Neimark公布的温氏支原体（前称温氏附红细胞体）（AF016546）的16SrRNA基因序列同源性达到97．4％,与系统发育进化树表明本株温氏支原体同本地株的关系较近,而与国外株的新缘关系较远。国内公布的广西株同源性为99．8％。结论结果表明证实该病原为温氏支原体,从分子生物学水平证实了温氏支原体在广西的存在。由于本试验分离得到的牛温氏支原体与国外发表的牛温氏支原体核苷酸序列相差2．6％,因此两者的基因型存在一定的差异,这对该病的分子流行病学分析具有一定的意义。     

奶牛附红细胞体16S rRNA基因的克隆、测序及系统发育进化树的建立

为了从分子水平上证实奶牛附红细胞体的存在及研究其分类学地位,利用原核生物16S rRNA基因通用引物对分离纯化的疑似奶牛附红细胞体进行16S rRNA基因的PCR扩增及克隆测序。结果扩增出长约1.5 kb的目的片段,测序结果表明:目的片段长度为1 439 bp,其核苷酸序列与国外已发表的牛温氏附红细胞体(E.wenyoni)的16SrRNA基因片段同源性高达97.1%,暂称为中国广西株(E.wenyoniCGX)。系统发育进化树显示:E.wenyoni和其他血营养菌在系统进化关系上组成了一个大的进化分支,与支原体科、支原体属的病原最接近(75%),而与立克次体科的病原较远(55%)。分析结果支持了Nei mark等和Messick等提出的将这类血营养菌划归支原体科、支原体属的建议。     

猪附红细胞体16S rRNA基因的序列测定和系统进化分析

从确诊为猪附红细胞体感染的猪场，无菌采集血样，抽提猪附红细胞体基因组DNA，采用真细菌的通用引物进行16S rRNA基因扩增，对扩增产物进行克隆和测序。从3个地理位置不同的猪场均成功地扩增出长度为1469bp的核苷酸序列。系统进化分析表明，3个猪场样品所测序列一致性达99．52％以上，具有相同的基因型，但与国外报道的猪附红细胞体Illinois株同源性为95％，属于同一基因群，但基因型不同；所有种类的附红细胞体和血巴尔通氏体组成同一进化分支，这类血营养菌与支原体科，支原体属的病原最靠近(75％)，而与立克次氏体目的病原较远(70％)。上述研究证实，广东所流行的猪附红细胞体是一种新基因型的猪附红细胞体，建议命名为猪附红细胞体广东株型；为反映进化关系，猪附红细胞体和其它血营养菌应划归于支原体科的支原体属。     

奶牛温氏附红细胞体16S rRNA基因的克隆及系统进化分析

无菌采集感染温氏附红细胞体(E.wenyoni)的牛血液,抽提E.wenyoni基因组DNA,参考GenBank发表的E.wenyoni 16S rRNA基因序列(AF016546),设计1对特异性引物,扩增并克隆E.wenyoni 16S rRNA部分基因,基因产物大小为1 005 bp.序列比较结果显示,所测序列与参考序列(AF016546)同源性最高.达97.9%.系统发育分析表明,所测序列与支原体属病原代表种的序列接近.同源性约为70%,而与无浆体科病原代表种的序列相差较远,同源性约为50%.可见,E.wenyoni应归为支原体属,而不应属于立克次氏体目、无浆体科.     

猪附红细胞体病诊断方法研究进展

附红细胞体病(eperythrozoonsis)是由附红细胞体(eperythrozoon)感染动物机体后,寄生于宿主红细胞表面、血浆及骨髓等处引起的一种以发热、黄疸、贫血为主要临床特征的人畜共患传染病(Kreier等,1976).附红细胞体在<伯杰细菌鉴定手册>中列为立克次体目,无浆体科,附红细胞体属(Gwaltney等,1995).近几年对猪附红细胞体病原基因进行序列分析研究认为,猪附红细胞体应更名为猪嗜血性支原体或猪支原体.     

温氏附红细胞体PCR检测方法的建立

本研究旨在建立1种快速准确检测温氏附红细胞体感染的分子生物学诊断方法。根据温氏附红细胞体的16S rRNA基因参考序列的保守区,利用软件Primer Premier 5.0设计合成了1对特异性引物,对温氏附红细胞体的基因组DNA进行PCR检测。结果表明,扩增出1段985bp的DNA序列,EcoRⅠ酶切鉴定得到2条500bp左右的条带,与预期结果一致,说明该方法扩增出了温氏附红细胞体的特异性条带。通过敏感性、特异性、重复性和临床样品检测试验证明,该方法具有特异、灵敏、快速的优点。结果提示,所建立的方法具有较高的特异性和灵敏性,可用于牛附红细胞体病诊断和流行情况监测。     

猪附红细胞体特异性基因的克隆和PCR诊断方法的建立

根据2003年Hoelzle发表的猪附红细胞体的基因组序列（AJ504999）设计一对特异性引物,对病料样品进行PCR扩增并将其产物克隆到pMD18-T载体后测序,结果表明扩增出的片段为603bp,同源性分析表明该序列与参考基因组序列同源性为100％,反映出我国分离株与国外株其基因无差异,特异性和敏感性试验表明,所建立的PCR诊断方法与常见的支原体、细菌及原虫无交叉反应,能检测到猪附红细胞体血液基因组DNA最低量为0．65ng／mL,该方法具有快速、特异、敏感等特点,为猪附红细胞体病的快速诊断及流行病学调查提供了新的手段。     

猪附红细胞体检测方法研究进展

猪附红细胞体病是由猪附红细胞体寄生在猪红细胞表面而引起的感染性疾病,以高热和急性黄疸性贫血为典型临床症状.有关该病原的分类地位国内外一直不统一.<伯吉氏细菌鉴定手册>第八版将其归属于立克次氏体目无形体科附红细胞体属.依据对各种附红细胞体16S rRNA基因序列的系统进化分析结果,Neimark等[1-2]认为附红细胞体16S rRNA基因序列与支原体属生物16S rRNA基因序列的亲缘关系较近,提议将其划入支原体属.目前,绝大多数英文学术论文已将附红细胞体属归为支原体属.我国学者对流行于国内的病原的遗传学和分子生物学特征尚未进行系统研究,因而仍然沿用附红细胞体的命名.     

边缘无浆体MSP5基因片段的克隆与原核表达

目的克隆边缘无浆体MSP5基因,构建重组质粒,并进行表达与鉴定。方法根据GenBank公布的边缘无浆体MSP 5基因序列(AY714547)设计一对引物,无菌颈静脉采集边缘无浆体阳性的牛血,用PCR方法从4血的DNA模板中扩增MSP 5基因582bp的片断。将该片段克隆到原核表达载体pGEX-KG中,构建原核表达载体KG-MSP5,转化BL21,经IPTG的诱导表达蛋白。利用BugBuster GST Bind Purification Kit将其纯化,经Western blotting进行分析。结果重组质粒KG-MSP5,转化BL21,在IPTG的诱导下表达大小约46 kPa蛋白。western blotting分析表明其具有很好的免疫原性。结论本研究为边缘无浆体的血清学诊断试剂盒的研制奠定了基础。     

Serologic and molecular characterization of Anaplasma species infection in farm animals and ticks from Sicily

Although Anaplasma marginale was known to be endemic in Italy, the diversity of Anaplasma spp. from this area have not been characterized. In this study, the prevalence of Anaplasma spp. antibodies in randomly selected farm animals collected on the island of Sicily was determined by use of a MSP5 cELISA for Anaplasma spp. and an immunofluorescence test specific for Anaplasma phagocytophilum. Genetic variation among strains of Anaplasma spp. from animals and ticks was characterized using the A. marginale msp1alpha and the Anaplasma spp. msp4 genes. Eight species of ticks were collected and tested by PCR. Seropositivity for Anaplasma spp. and A. phagocytophilum was detected in bovine and ovine samples. All the donkeys were seropositive for A. phagocytophilum but not for Anaplasma spp. Four A. marginale genotypes were identified by msp4 sequences from bovine and tick samples. Two new genotypes of Anaplasma ovis were characterized in sheep. The sequences of A. phagocytophilum from three donkeys proved to be identical to the sequence of the MRK equine isolate from California. Six A. marginale genotypes were found in cattle and one tick using the A. marginale msp1alpha sequences. All genotypes had four repeated sequences in the N-terminal portion of the MSP1a, except for one that had five repeats. The Italian strains of A. marginale contained three repeat sequences that were not reported previously. Definition of the diversity of Anaplasma spp. in Sicily reported, herein is fundamental to development of control strategies for A. marginale, A. ovis and A. phagocytophilum in Sicily.     

Detection of Ehrlichia chaffeensis in Brazilian marsh deer (Blastocerus dichotomus)

Ehrlichia chaffeensis was detected for the first time in blood samples from Brazilian marsh deers (Blastocerus dichotomus) captured in the marshes of Parana River in Southeast Brazil in 1998. Seven EDTA-blood samples from deers were analyzed by PCR and nested PCR for presence of Ehrlichia chaffeensis, Ehrlichia ewingii, Ehrlichia canis, Neoriickettsia risticii, Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Anaplasma marginale. Three samples showed positive reactions for E. chaffeensis and Anaplasma marginale. None contained detectable A. phagocytophilum, E. ewingii, E. canis or Neorickettsia risticii DNA. In Brazil, the wild marsh deer may be a natural reservoir of the agents that cause human monocytotropic ehrlichiosis and ruminant erythrocytic anaplasmosis.     

A msp1alpha polymerase chain reaction assay for specific detection and differentiation of Anaplasma marginale isolates

Anaplasma marginale is the causative agent of bovine anaplasmosis, a disease which can be protected by vaccination with the less pathogenic Anaplasma species, A. centrale. Currently, there is no polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay available which differentiates between different species of Anaplasma or which can differentiate isolates of A. marginale within outbreaks and between different countries. A molecular test specific for A. marginale would be ideal for the identification of Anaplasma species in wild ruminants, as possible reservoirs of anaplasmosis, and to differentiate between A. marginale from A. centrale. A PCR assay was designed to amplify the major surface protein 1alpha gene of the rickettsial bovine pathogen, A. marginale both as an inter- and intra-specific test. The test did not amplify A. centrale or A. ovis, and discriminated A. marginale by amplifying repeat regions within the msp1alpha gene which vary in number between many isolates. The nested A. marginale amplicons varied in size from 630 to 1190bp representing one to eight internal repeats. All 22 Australian isolates tested amplified a 630bp product (one repeat) in contrast to all 19 non-Australian isolates tested. Eight sequences from Australian isolates from different geographical regions confirmed the conserved nature of the Australian A. marginale msp1alpha genes. The Australian 'repeat unit' MSP1a deduced amino acid sequence has been designated as Australian type 1. The msp1alpha PCR method developed here enabled the amplification and comparison of A. marginale isolates originating from North and South America, Africa, Israel and Australia. The method is sensitive and specific for A. marginale. Although additional msp1alpha products were amplified from at least two Australian isolates, the results suggest limited introduction of A. marginale into Australia.     

In vitro cultivation of a south African isolate of an Anaplasma sp. in tick cell cultures

This paper describes the first successful in vitro cultivation of a South African isolate of an Anaplasma sp., initially thought to be Anaplasma marginale, in the continuous tick cell line IDE8. Blood from a bovine naturally infected with A. marginale kept on the farm Kaalplaas (28 degrees 08' E, 25 degrees 38' S) was collected, frozen, thawed and used as inoculum on confluent IDE8 cell cultures. Twenty days after culture initiation small intracellular colonies were detected in a Cytospin smear prepared from culture supernatant. Cultures were passaged on Day 34. Attempts to infect IRE/CTVM18 cell cultures with the Kaalplaas isolate derived from IDE8 cultures failed, whereas a reference stock of A. marginale from Israel infected IRE/CTVM18 tick cell cultures. Attempts to infect various mammalian cell lines (BA 886, SBE 189, Vero, L 929, MDBK) and bovine erythrocytes, kept under various atmospheric conditions, with tick cell-derived Anaplasma sp. or the Israeli strain of A. marginale failed. Molecular characterization revealed that the blood inoculum used to initiate the culture contained both A. marginale and Anaplasma sp. (Omatienne) whereas the organisms from established cultures were only Anaplasma sp. (Omatjenne).     

Phylogenetic analysis of the erythrocytic Anaplasma species based on 16S rDNA and GroEL (HSP60) sequences of A. marginale,A. centrale,and A. ovis and the specific detection of A. centrale vaccine strain

Phenotypic criteria for the identification of erythrocytic ruminant Anaplasma species has relied on subjective identification methods such as host pathogenicity (virulence for cattle or sheep) and/or the location of Anaplasma inclusion bodies within the host's red cells. Sequence comparisons of new and available GenBank Accessions were investigated to elucidate the relationships among these closely related Anaplasma species. Twenty-one 16S rDNA and GroEL (HSP60) sequences from 13 Anaplasma marginale (South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Israel, USA, Australia and Uruguay), three A. centrale (South Africa and Japan), two A. ovis (USA and South Africa), and two unknown Anaplasma species isolated from wild ruminants (South Africa), were compared. 16S rDNA maximum-likelihood and distance trees separated all A. marginale (and the two wild ruminant isolates) from the two South African A. centrale (including original vaccine strain, Theiler, 1911). The Japanese A. centrale (Aomori) demonstrated the lowest sequence identity to the remaining erythrocytic Anaplasma species. A. ovis inter-species relationships could not be resolved through the 16S rDNA analyses, whereas strong bootstrap branch support is demonstrated in the GroEL distance tree using A. ovis OVI strain. All erythrocytic Anaplasma species and isolates were confirmed to belong to the same cluster showing strong branch support to Anaplasma (Ehrlichia) phagocytophilum with Ehrlichia (Cowdria) ruminantium and Rickettsia rickettsii serving as appropriate out-groups. Based on groEL sequences, a specific PCR method was developed which amplified A. centrale vaccine (Theiler, 1911) specifically. This study confirms the suitability of 16S rDNA sequences to define genera and demonstrates the usefulness of GroEL sequences for defining species of erythrocytic Anaplasma.     

Concomitant infection of cattle with the vaccine strain Anaplasma marginale ss centrale and field strains of A. marginale

Bovine anaplasmosis, caused by Anaplasma marginale, the intraerythrocytic rickettsia, is controlled by vaccination with live Anaplasma marginale ss centrale (A. centrale), a subspecies of relatively low pathogenicity. We have experimentally demonstrated that an animal primarily infected with A. marginale, or with the related vaccine subspecies A. centrale can be infected with the heterologous subspecies, and carries both bacteria. The co-infection was detected in experimentally cross-infected calves for up to 3 months after the last inoculation with the heterologous subspecies. The occurrence of characteristic cyclic rickettsemia of A. centrale and A. marginale was observed by examination of Giemsa-stained blood smears, or by the presence of specific rickettsial DNA confirmed in PCR assays based on specific msp1a and msp4 for A. marginale, and on specifically designed msp3 and msp4 primers for A. centrale. Sequence analysis of msp4-specific fragments for each subspecies revealed the presence of dual infection in both calves on days 30 and 60 after cross-inoculation with the heterologous Anaplasma subspecies. The experimental cross-infection of calves clearly demonstrated that the concept of "infection exclusion" does not apply to Anaplasma infection in cattle; as there was no infection exclusion of A. marginale in A. centrale-infected cattle, and vice versa. The present results confirmed our previous findings that cattle grazing in an anaplasmosis-endemic field were subject to concomitant infection with both the vaccine A. centrale and the field A. marginale strains.     

Amplification of 16S rRNA genes of Anaplasma species in China for phylogenetic analysis

In this study, a phylogenetic tree was inferred through comparing five 16S rRNA gene sequences of four isolates of Anaplasma ovis and one of Anaplasma marginale in China with all nineteen 16S rRNA gene sequences deposited in GenBank (12 A. marginale, 3 A. ovis and 4 Anaplasma centrale derived from America, Uruguay, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Australia, Isreal and Japan). The analysis showed that all A. ovis isolated in China were separated into an A. ovis cluster, while the A. marginale in China was separated into an A. marginale cluster (see Fig. 1). This analysis demonstrated that there are at least two different Anaplasma species widespread among ruminants in North China.     

Adhesion of outer membrane proteins containing tandem repeats of Anaplasma and Ehrlichia species (Rickettsiales: Anaplasmataceae) to tick cells

Infection of cells by tick-borne rickettsiae appears to be mediated by outer membrane proteins that allow pathogens to adhere to host cells. Major surface protein (MSP) 1a of Anaplasma marginale, the type species for the genus Anaplasma, was shown previously to be an adhesin for tick cells. The A. marginale MSP1a has a variable number of tandem 28 or 29 amino acid repeats located in the amino terminal region of the protein that contains an adhesion domain that is necessary and sufficient for infection of tick cells. The MSP1a studies demonstrated the importance of combining structural and functional characteristics for identification of adhesive proteins. In the present study other outer membrane proteins containing tandem repeats were selected from organisms of the family Anaplasmataceae and studied for their adhesive properties to tick cells. The adhesive properties and protein characteristics were then analyzed in order to provide a predictor of the adhesion function of proteins identified from genome sequences. Proteins selected included the A. marginale MSP1a, A. phagocytophilum 100 and 130 kDa, Ehrlichia chaffeensis 120 kDa, E. canis 140 kDa and E. ruminantium "mucin", which were all cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli and then tested as adhesins for cultured IDE8 cells. Of the proteins studied, the A. marginale MSP1a and the E. ruminantium "mucin" were found to be adhesins for tick cells. Although all of these recombinant outer membrane proteins were glycosylated, the A. marginale MSP1a and E. ruminantium "mucin" adhesins shared a common feature of having a high Ser/Thr content in the tandem repeats. The results reported herein provide new information on the role of E. ruminantium "mucin" as an adhesin for tick cells and also suggest a role of glycans in adhesin molecules.     

A case of apparent suppression of Anaplasma marginale infection by eperythrozoonosis (Eperythrozoon teganodes)

The apparent suppression of Anaplasma marginale infection by Eperythrozoon teganodes in a splenectomized calf has been reported. A splenectomized calf, inoculated with 500 ml of blood having 23% erythrocytes infected with A. marginale, developed eperythrozoonosis on the fourth day post inoculation. A. marginale parasitaemia remained very low during the patent eperythrozoonosis. A. marginale parasites started to increase in number only after E. teganodes infection had been controlled with neoarsphenamine. A splenectomized calf treated identically, but not showing E. teganodes parasites in the peripheral blood, developed clinical anaplasmosis and fulminant parasitaemia within 3-4 days post inoculation.