Bartonella alsatica sp. nov., a new Bartonella species isolated from the blood of wild rabbits

doi:10.1099/00207713-49-1-283

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Bartonella alsatica sp. nov., a new Bartonella species isolated from the blood of wild rabbits

Rémy Heller¹, Maryline Kubina¹, Philippe Mariet¹, Philippe Riegel¹, Gilles Delacour², Christoph Dehio³, François Lamarque², Rick Kasten⁴, Henri-Jean Boulouis⁵, Henri Monteil¹, Bruno Chomel³ and Yves Piémont¹

¹Institut de Bactériologie de la Faculté de Médecine, Université Louis-Pasteur, Hôpitaux Universitaires de Strasbourg, 3 rue Koeberlé, 67000 Strasbourg, France
²Office National de la Chasse, Gerstheim, France
³Max-Planck-Institut für Biologie, Tübingen, Germany
⁴Department of Population Health and Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
⁵Departement de Microbiologie, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire d'Alfort, Maisons-Alfort, France

Author for correspondence: Rémy Heller. Tel: +33 3 88 21 19 70. Fax: +33 3 88 25 11 13. e-mail: yves.piemont{at}medecine.u-strasbg.fr

ABSTRACT

Bartonella species are considered as emerging human pathogens,with at least six different species pathogenic or possibly pathogenicfor humans. However, little is known about Bartonella distribution,species polymorphism and pathogenicity in mammalian species.The objective of this work was to determine the presence, thefrequency and the distribution of Bartonella species in wildrabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) caught in warrens in Alsace,France. Humans may come into contact with wild rabbits whenhunting, especially when they are picked up with bare handsand at time of evisceration. Of 30 blood samples collected andcultured from wild rabbits, nine (30%) were positive for organismsmorphologically similar to Bartonella spp. The bacteria appearedas small, fastidious, aerobic, oxidase-negative. Gram-negativerods which could be localized within erythrocytes. Their biochemicalproperties were similar to those of the genus Bartonella. Thesequence of the 16S rRNA gene obtained from the rabbit isolateswas highly related to the sequences of the different Bartonellaspecies (97·8--99·3% similarity). The high DNAhybridization rate (81–90% similarity) between the threestrains isolated from rabbit blood confirmed that they belongto the same bacterial species. Hybridization values, obtainedwith the nuclease-TCA method, when testing type strains of recognizedBartonella species (9--14% similarity), support the creationof a new species for the rabbit isolates. The name Bartonellaalsatica is proposed for these strains isolated from the bloodof wild rabbits. The type strain is IBS 382^T(= CIP 105477^T).

Key Words: Bartonella • Bartonella alsatica • wild rabbit • Oryctolagus cuniculus • zoonoses

The EMBL/GenBank accession number for the 16S rRNA gene sequenceof strain IBS 382^Tis AJ002139.

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				R. D. Gilmore Jr., T. M. Bellville, S. L. Sviat, and M. Frace The Bartonella vinsonii subsp. arupensis Immunodominant Surface Antigen BrpA Gene, Encoding a 382-Kilodalton Protein Composed of Repetitive Sequences, Is a Member of a Multigene Family Conserved among Bartonella Species Infect. Immun., May 1, 2005; 73(5): 3128 - 3136. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				I. PONS, I. SANFELIU, M. QUESADA, E. ANTON, M. SAMPERE, B. FONT, J. PLA, and F. SEGURA PREVALENCE OF BARTONELLA HENSELAE IN CATS IN CATALONIA, SPAIN Am J Trop Med Hyg, April 1, 2005; 72(4): 453 - 457. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

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				J. M. Rolain, P. Brouqui, J. E. Koehler, C. Maguina, M. J. Dolan, and D. Raoult Recommendations for Treatment of Human Infections Caused by Bartonella Species Antimicrob. Agents Chemother., June 1, 2004; 48(6): 1921 - 1933. [Full Text] [PDF]

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				V. Jacomo, P. J. Kelly, and D. Raoult Natural History of Bartonella Infections (an Exception to Koch's Postulate) Clin. Vaccine Immunol., January 1, 2002; 9(1): 8 - 18. [Full Text] [PDF]

				B. B. Chomel, K. A. Mac Donald, R. W. Kasten, C.-C. Chang, A. C. Wey, J. E. Foley, W. P. Thomas, and M. D. Kittleson Aortic Valve Endocarditis in a Dog Due to Bartonella clarridgeiae J. Clin. Microbiol., October 1, 2001; 39(10): 3548 - 3554. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				P. Houpikian and D. Raoult 16S/23S rRNA Intergenic Spacer Regions for Phylogenetic Analysis, Identification, and Subtyping of Bartonella Species J. Clin. Microbiol., August 1, 2001; 39(8): 2768 - 2778. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

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				D. F. Welch, K. C. Carroll, E. K. Hofmeister, D. H. Persing, D. A. Robison, A. G. Steigerwalt, and D. J. Brenner Isolation of a New Subspecies, Bartonella vinsonii subsp. arupensis, from a Cattle Rancher: Identity with Isolates Found in Conjunction with Borrelia burgdorferi and Babesia microti among Naturally Infected Mice J. Clin. Microbiol., August 1, 1999; 37(8): 2598 - 2601. [Abstract] [Full Text]