Molecular characterization reveals distinct genospecies of Anaplasma phagocytophilum from diverse North American hosts.

ABSTRACT: Anaplasma phagocytophilum is an emerging tick-borne pathogen that infects humans, domestic animals and wildlife throughout the Holarctic. In the far-western United States, multiple rodent species have been implicated as natural reservoirs for A. phagocytophilum. However, the presence of multiple A. phagocytophilum strains has made it difficult to determine which reservoir hosts pose the greatest risk to humans and domestic animals. Here we characterized three genetic markers (23S-5S rRNA intergenic spacer, ank and groESL) from 73 real-time TaqMan PCR-positive A. phagocytophilum strains infecting multiple rodent and reptile species, as well as a dog and a horse, from California. Bayesian and maximum-likelihood phylogenetic analyses of all three genetic markers consistently identified two ma

SUBMITTER: Rejmanek D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3352158 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature