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Genome size and genetic map of Cowdria ruminantium

Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute, Onderstepoort, 0110, Republic of South Africa¹
Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USA²

Author for correspondence: E. P. de Villiers. Tel: +31 30 253 6923. Fax: +31 30 254 0784. e-mail: e.devilliers{at}vet.uu.nl

Cowdria ruminantium is the cause of a serious tick-borne disease of domestic ruminants, known as heartwater or cowdriosis. The organism belongs to the tribe Ehrlichieae, which contains obligate intracellular pathogens, causing several important animal and human diseases. Although a few C. ruminantium genes have been cloned and sequenced, very little is known about the size, gross structure and organization of the genome. This paper presents a complete physical map and a preliminary genetic map for C. ruminantium. Chromosomal C. ruminantium DNA was examined by PFGE and Southern hybridization. PFGE analysis revealed that C. ruminantium has a circular chromosome approximately 1576 kb in size. A physical map was derived by combining the results of PFGE analysis of DNA fragments resulting from digestion of the whole genome with KspI, RsrII and SmaI and Southern hybridization analysis with a series of gene probes and isolated macrorestriction fragments. A genetic map for C. ruminantium with a mean resolution of 290 kb was established, the first for a member of the Ehrlichieae. A total of nine genes or cloned C. ruminantium DNA fragments were mapped to specific KspI, RsrII and SmaI fragments, including the major antigenic protein gene, map-1.

Keywords: Cowdria ruminantium, Rickettsiales, genome size, genetic map

Abbreviations: MACS, magnetic cell separation

^a Present address: Division of Parasitology and Tropical Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, PO Box 80.165, 3508 TD Utrecht, The Netherlands.

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