Genotyping of Anaplasma phagocytophilum strains from Poland for selected genes

Anaplasma phagocytophilum is a veterinary and medical tick-borne pathogen of vertebrates which invades granulocytes. The potential reservoirs of Anaplasma include game animals and small mammals. The aim of this study was to gain insight into the variability of nucleotide sequences of ribosomal and selected protein-coding genes (ankA, msp4 and the groESL heat-shock protein operon) present in isolates of A. phagocytophilum collected from wild ruminants (Cervus elaphus and Capreolus capreolus) in Poland. Fragments of the genes were amplified using PCR and sequenced. High DNA variability was found in fragments of the msp4 and groESL genes (15 and 8 alleles, respectively), whereas ankA and 16S rRNA demonstrated very little or no variability (2 and 1 alleles, respectively). Unique allelic profiles were determined for the examined groups and allowed distinguishing 6 A. phagocytophilum genotypes, 2 of which were reported only in the roe deer (C. capreolus), and 1 in the red deer (C. elaphus).