1887

Abstract

A novel bacterium that infects laboratory rats was isolated from wild rats in Japan. Transmission electron microscopy of the spleen tissue revealed small cocci surrounded by an inner membrane and a thin, rippled outer membrane in a membrane-bound inclusion within the cytoplasm of endothelial cells. Phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequence of the bacterium found in rats and ticks in Japan revealed that the organism represents a novel clade in the family , which includes the Schotti variant found in ticks in the Netherlands and the -like strain found in rats from China. The novel clade was confirmed by phylogenetic analysis of sequences found in rats and ticks in Japan. No serological cross-reactivity was detected between this bacterium and members of the genera , or in the family . It is proposed that this new cluster of bacteria should be designated ‘ Neoehrlichia mikurensis’.

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2004-09-01
2024-03-29
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