HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via CrossRef Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Berghoff, J. Articles by Arvand, M. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Berghoff, J. Articles by Arvand, M. Agricola Articles by Berghoff, J. Articles by Arvand, M.

Bartonella henselae exists as a mosaic of different genetic variants in the infected host

¹ Institut für Medizinische Mikrobiologie, Virologie und Hygiene, Universität Rostock, Rostock, Germany
² Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA
³ Sezione Diagnostica di Pavia, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia, Pavia, Italy

Correspondence
Mardjan Arvand
mardjan.arvand{at}med.uni-rostock.de

Bartonella henselae is a fastidious bacterium associated with infections in humans and cats. The mechanisms involved in the long-term survival of bartonellae despite vigorous host immune responses are poorly understood. Generation of genetic variants is a possible strategy to circumvent the host specific immune responses. The authors have recently demonstrated the coexistence of different genetic variants within the progeny of three primary B. henselae isolates from Berlin by PFGE analysis. Aims of the present study were to determine whether coexistence of different variants is a common feature of B. henselae isolates worldwide and whether the genetic variants originally emerged in vivo. Thirty-four primary isolates from different geographical regions were analysed by subjecting multiple single-colony-derived cultures to PFGE analysis. Up to three genetic variants were detected within 20 (58.8 %) isolates, indicating that most primary isolates display a mosaic-like structure. The close relatedness of the genetic variants within an isolate was confirmed by multi-locus sequence typing. In contrast to the primary isolates, no genetic variants were detected within the progeny of 20 experimental clones generated in vitro from 20 primary isolates, suggesting that the variants were not induced in vitro during the procedure of PFGE analysis. Hence, the genetic variants within a primary isolate most likely originally emerged in vivo. Consideration of the mosaic structure of primary isolates is essential when interpreting typing studies on B. henselae.