Bartonella melophagi

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Classification

Domain; Phylum; Class; Order; family [Others may be used. Use NCBI link to find]

Species

NCBI: [1]

Genus species

Description and Significance

Bartonella melophagi is an intracellular bacterium under the Bartonella genus that causes infection (1). This bacteria under the Bartonella genus are obligate gram-negative bacteria that have been found in various animals and humans since the discovery of the first species just before 1990. Bartonella melophagi was first discovered in sheep blood and sheep keds in the southern United States (2).

The common hosts for B. melophagi have been shown in ticks, sheep, and transmission to humans as well, causing infection and rashes (1). This ruminant has not been fully researched, but in sheep and humans, it has been found concentrated in the bloodstream. This has been concluded to be the main habitat in animals that B. melophagi optimally exists in. As it is a pathogenic bacterium, there can be significant consequences to infection of this species.

Genome Structure

Similarly to other bacterial microorganisms, B. melophagi has one single circular chromosome containing its genetic material (2). The strain K-2C was found responsible for infecting the blood of sheep keds in the US. When sequenced, the K-2C B. melophagi strain’s genome contained 1,518,819 bases and a total of 1338 genes. This is consistent with the average size of other Bartonella species as they range from 1.5 to 2.5 Mb (3).

When considering the content of this species genome, there are 1274 unrepeated genes with only 156 genes unique to B. melophagi that are not present in other species of the Bartonella genus (2). It was found that there was only a 37% presence of G + C base content. The other two species of Bartonella that are similar and related to B. melophagi are B. bovis and B. schoenbuchensis. When compared to these other two species, there were only 27 genes present in B. melophagi that were absent in these species, but that were present in other Bartonella species that are not similar.

Cell Structure, Metabolism and Life Cycle

Interesting features of cell structure; how it gains energy; what important molecules it produces.

Ecology and Pathogenesis

Habitat; symbiosis; biogeochemical significance; contributions to environment.

If relevant, how does this organism cause disease? Human, animal, plant hosts? Virulence factors, as well as patient symptoms.

References

[Sample reference] Takai, K., Sugai, A., Itoh, T., and Horikoshi, K. "Palaeococcus ferrophilus gen. nov., sp. nov., a barophilic, hyperthermophilic archaeon from a deep-sea hydrothermal vent chimney". International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology. 2000. Volume 50. p. 489-500.

1.

Ni J, Ren Q, Lin H, Malike Aizezi, Luo J, Luo Y, Ma Z, Chen Z, Liu W, Guo J, Qu Z, Xu X, Wu Z, Tan Y, Wang J, Li Y, Guan G, Luo J, Yin H, Liu G. 2021. Molecular Evidence of Bartonella melophagi in Ticks in Border Areas of Xinjiang, China. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 8.

2.

Kosoy M, Bai Y, Enscore R, Rizzo MR, Bender S, Popov V, Albayrak L, Fofanov Y, Chomel B. 2016. Bartonella melophagi in blood of domestic sheep (Ovis aries) and sheep keds (Melophagus ovinus) from the southwestern US: Cultures, genetic characterization, and ecological connections. ScienceDirect 190:43–49.

3.

Jiyipong T, Jittapalapong S, Morand S, Rolain J-M. 2014. Bartonella species in small mammals and their potential vectors in Asia. Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Biomedicine 4:757–767.

Author

Page authored by _____, _____, _____, & _____, students of Prof. Bradley Tolar at UNC Wilmington.