Large scale screening of digeneans for Neorickettsia endosymbionts using real-time PCR reveals new Neorickettsia genotypes, host associations and geographic records.

ABSTRACT: Digeneans are endoparasitic flatworms with complex life cycles including one or two intermediate hosts (first of which is always a mollusk) and a vertebrate definitive host. Digeneans may harbor intracellular endosymbiotic bacteria belonging to the genus Neorickettsia (order Rickettsiales, family Anaplasmataceae). Some Neorickettsia are able to invade cells of the digenean's vertebrate host and are known to cause diseases of wildlife and humans. In this study we report the results of screening 771 digenean samples for Neorickettsia collected from various vertebrates in terrestrial, freshwater, brackish, and marine habitats in the United States, China and Australia. Neorickettsia were detected using a newly designed real-time PCR protocol targeting a 152 bp fragment of the heat shock protei

SUBMITTER: Greiman SE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4049572 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature