Bartonella bacilliformis

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Classification

Higher order taxa

Domain: Bacteria

Phylum: Proteobacteria

Class: Alpha Proteobacteria

Order: Rhizobiales

Family: Bartonellaceae [2]

Species

NCBI: Taxonomy

Bartonella bacilliformis [2]

Description and significance

In the 1870s, about seven thousand workers died in Peru due to B. bacilliformis while working on train construction. It was first isolated in 1909 by Peruvian microbiologist Alberto Barton but was not identified as the cause of Oroya fever, also known as Carrión’s disease, until 1940. It is named Carrión’s disease after a medical student who risked his life for science. In 1885, Daniel Carrión was inoculated with B. bacilliformis from the lesion of a patient. Three weeks after the inoculation, he began showing symptoms of anemia and died a week later. He found that the diseases verruga peruana (Peruvian wart) and Oroya fever had the same origin [14].


B. bacilliformis is a Gram-negative, aerobic, pleomorphic, flagellated coccobacillus that form translucent colonies that vary from one to two millimeters in diameter. It grows at an optimum temperature of 28°C and pH of 7.8. B. bacilliformis is a specific human pathogen, and is the causative agent of a group of diseases known as bartonellosis. This strain specifically causes Carrion's disease, which is also known as Oroya fever Carrion’s disease causes severe anemia, with a fatality rate of 40-90%, and milder episodes characterized by skin lesions that have the appearance of warts. B. bacilliformis attacks the host by adhering to and entering red blood cells and endothelial cells, causing extensive deformation [13]. It is transmitted to humans by the bite of a female sandfly, Lutzomyia verrucarum. B. bacilliformis is known to have one of the highest mortality rates of any bacterial infection even though it has a restricted geographic habitat, which is largely in Peru, Colombia and Ecuador [8]. It may be controlled by the use of a number of antibiotics such as streptomycin, tetracycline, erythromycin, and penicillin as well as insecticides that control vector populations [7].

Genome structure

The genome for the KC583 strain of B. bacilliformis was sequenced by The Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR) and published on January 4, 2007 [2, 3]. It consists of a single, circular chromosome that is 1,445,021 base pairs in length. It encodes 1,334 genes (1,283 protein genes and 51 RNA genes) [2]. Some of the most important genes include a flagellin gene, which produces the proteins that form the filaments in the bacterium’s flagella [11], and the invasion-associated locus A and B (IalAB) genes, which enable the bacterium to parasitize human erythrocytes [5, 17]. The genome is also characterized by a GC content of 38.2% [2]. Other strains have not yet been sequenced.

Cell structure and metabolism

Interesting features of cell structure; how it gains energy; what important substances it produces, such as toxins, antibiotics, or communcation signals.

Ecology

Habitat; symbiosis; contributions to the environment.

Pathology

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

Current Research

Enter summarries of the most rescent research here--at least three required

References

[1]Bartonella bacilliformis.” PathCase Pathways Database System. 2008. Case Western Reserve University.

[2]Bartonella bacilliformis KC583 project at TIGR.” Entrez Genome Project. 23 July 2008. National Center for Biotechnology Information.

[3]Bartonella bacilliformis Public Data.” Microbial Sequencing Center. J. Craig Venter Institute.

[4] Biswas, Silpak, Didier Raoult, and Jean-Marc Rolain. "Molecular mechanisms of resistance to antibiotics in Bartonella bacilliformis." Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy 59 (2007): 1065-1070.

[5] Coleman, Sherry A. and Michael F. Minnick. “Establishing a Direct Role for the Bartonella bacilliformis Invasion-Associated Locus B (IalB) Protein in Human Erythrocyte Parasitism.” Infection and Immunity 69 (2001): 4373-4381.

[6] Hendrix, Laura and Rekha Seshadri. "Bartonella bacilliformis Genome Project." Microbial Sequencing Center. J. Craig Venter Institute.

[7] "Human Bartonellosis caused by Bartonella bacilliformis." 4 Dec. 2002. University of Pittsburg.

[8] Ihler, Garret M. “Bartonella bacilliformis: dangerous pathogen slowly emerging from deep background.” FEMS Microbiology Letters 144 (1996): 1-11.

[9] Infante, Beronica, Sandra Villar, Sandra Palma, Jenny Merello, Roberto Valencia, Luis Torres, Jamie Cok, Palmira Ventosilla, Ciro Manguina, Humberto Guerra, and Cesar Henriquez. "BALB/c Mice resist infection with Bartonella bacilliformis." BMC Research Notes. 28 Oct. 2008. BioMed Central.

[10] Jacomo, V., P. J. Kelly, and D. Raoult. "Natural History of Bartonella Infections (an Exception to Koch’s Postulate)." Clinical and Diagnostic Laboratory Immunology 9 (2002): 8-18. Jan. 2002. American Society for Microbiology. 9 Dec. 2008

[11] Krueger, Charles M., Katherine L, Marks, and Garret M. Ihler. “Physical Map of the Bartonella bacilliformis Genome.” Journal of Bacteriology 177 (1995): 7271-7274.

[12] Marr, John S. "Bartonellosis." Inter-American Institute for Advanced Studies in Cultural History, Free Union, VA, 2000. 26 July 2000. Inter-American Institute for Advanced Studies in Cultural History. 9 Dec. 2008

[13] Minnick, Michael F., Samuel J. Mitchell, and Steven J. McAllister. “Cell entry and the pathogenesis of Bartonella Infections.” Trends in Microbiology. 4 (1996): 343-347.

[14] Panicker, Vineeth S. "Bartonella bacilliformis." Microbiology. 2004. Missouri University of Science & Technology. 8 Dec. 2008

[15] Roy, Sampurna. "Bartonellosis or Carrion's Disease Acute phase - Oroya Fever." Histopathology-India.net. July 2008. 9 Dec. 2008

[16] "TDI and CDC initiate collaborative research to determine the burden of Bartonellosis in Ecuador." Tropical Disease Institute. 29 Feb. 2008. Ohio University.

[17] Xu, Yanji and Yan Chai. "Bartonella bacilliformis: Molecular Mechanisms of Invasion." Einstein Quarterly Journal of Biology and Medicine 2002: 56-58. 9 Dec. 2008

[18]


Edited by Sophia Lee, Jennifer Nguyen, Raisa Nguyen, and Thuy-Ngan Nguyen of Dr. Maia Larios-Sanz at University of St. Thomas