Effects of Long-Term Storage on Plasmid Stability in
            <i>Bacillus anthracis</i>

Marston, Chung K.; Hoffmaster, Alex R.; Wilson, Kathy E.; Bragg, Sandra L.; Plikaytis, Brian D.; Brachman, Philip S.; Johnson, Scott R.; Kaufmann, Arnold F.; Popović, Tanja

doi:10.1128/aem.71.12.7778-7780.2005

Cited by 42 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…The strains were collected between 1954 and 1989 from environmental samples and animal and human clinical specimens. All strains in this study were previously confirmed to be pXO1 and pXO2 positive by PCR (20).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 96%

Genetic Diversity in a Bacillus anthracis Historical Collection (1954 to 1988)

et al. 2007

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Bacillus anthracis, the etiologic agent of anthrax, has been widely described as a genetically monomorphic species. We used both multiple-locus variable-number tandem-repeat analysis (MLVA) and pagA gene sequencing to determine the genetic diversity of a historical collection of B. anthracis isolates collected from the 1950s to the 1980s from various geographic locations and sources. We sequenced the pagA gene of 124 diverse B. anthracis isolates and found all previously identified B. anthracis pagA types except type 4. Sixty-three of the 124 B. anthracis strains were identified as pagA type 6, while 44 were pagA type 5, 12 were pagA type 1, and individual isolates were identified for types 2 and 3, respectively. Two new pagA genotypes were discovered in three environmental isolates within the historical collection. Two isolates had the same new genotype, and an additional isolate produced a second new genotype. MLVA detected 22 previously described genotypes in the historical collection. In addition, 33 new MLVA genotypes were found. For 11 isolates, an MLVA genotype could not be assigned because one or more alleles did not amplify. While only two additional B. anthracis pagA types were identified, in two instances, the use of pagA sequencing discriminated isolates with the same MLVA genotype. MLVA revealed that 39 of the 124 isolates were previously undocumented genotypes and that 1 isolate was found to be in the C cluster when it was subtyped by MLVA.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 96%

Genetic Diversity in a Bacillus anthracis Historical Collection (1954 to 1988)

et al. 2007

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“…This isolate had been in cold storage for over 15 years. Similarly, virulence-associated plasmid loss has been described after long-term storage of Bacillus anthracis (Marston et al, 2005). Unlike the direct transfer of host-adapted spirochaetes by tissue graft, we chose to utilize SCID mice to eliminate any spirochaete subpopulation in the original frozen culture stock incapable of murine infection.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Similarities in murine infection and immune response to Borrelia bissettii and Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto

Leydet

Liang

2015

Microbiology

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In 1982, Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto (ss) was identified as the aetiological agent of Lyme disease. Since then an increasing number of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (sl) species have been isolated in the United States. To date, many of these species remain understudied despite mounting evidence associating them with human illness. Borrelia bissettii is a spirochaete closely related to B. burgdorferi that has been loosely associated with human illness. Using an experimental murine infection model, we compared the infectivity and humoral immune response with a North American isolate of B. bissettii and B. burgdorferi using culture, molecular and serological methods. The original B. bissettii cultures were unable to infect immunocompetent mice, but were confirmed to be infectious after adaptation in immunodeficient animals. B. bissettii infection resulted in spirochaete burdens similar to B. burgdorferi in skin, heart and bladder whereas significantly lower burdens were observed in the joint tissues. B. bissettii induced an antibody response similar to B. burgdorferi as measured by both immunoblotting and the C6 ELISA. Additionally, this isolate of B. bissettii was sequenced on the Ion Torrent PGM, which successfully identified many genes orthologous to mammalian virulence factors described in B. burgdorferi. Similarities seen between both infections in this well-characterized murine model contribute to our understanding of the potential pathogenic nature of B. bissettii. Infection dynamics of B. bissettii, and especially the induced humoral response, are similar to B. burgdorferi, suggesting this species may contribute to the epidemiology of human borreliosis. INTRODUCTIONIn 1982, the causative agent of Lyme disease was isolated from an Ixodes scapularis tick (Burgdorfer et al., 1982). The bacterium, a spirochaete, was named Borrelia burgdorferi after Willy Burgdorfer, one of the researchers who identified it. Three decades after this discovery, advancements in molecular biology have led to the delineation of the B. burgdorferi sensu lato (sl) species complex (Stanek & Reiter, 2011). This complex comprises, at the time of writing, 18 named species distributed around the globe (Kurtenbach et al., 2006;Margos et al., 2011). While genetically similar, many of these bacteria occur in specific tick-vertebrate enzootic cycles (Gray et al., 2002). Some vector ticks commonly contact humans (Estrada-Peña & Jongejan, 1999), but many of these Borrelia enzootic cycles involve ticks that rarely bite humans, which subsequently leaves the pathogenicity of many B. burgdorferi sl species in question (Kiewra & Lonc, 2012;Margos et al., 2012).In 2011, 33 000 cases of human Lyme disease were reported to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC, 2011). Yet, recently the CDC has announced they estimate this statistic is well below the actual number of diagnosed cases (*300 000 year) (Hinckley et al., 2014). Although seven B. burgdorferi sl species have been isolated in culture in North America only B. burgdorferi sensu stricto (...

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“…Previous studies have yielded positive B. anthracis spore resuscitation from ancient material, including 60-year-old soil samples [24] and, somewhat contentiously, 200-year-old bones from Kruger National Park [25, 26]. Similarly, DNA from the causative agent of plague, Yersinia pestis , has been isolated from ancient soft tissue specimens thought to be 400 years old [20].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Mountain Meadows Massacre and “poisoned springs”: scientific testing of the more recent, anthrax theory

Perego

Achilli

Ekins³

et al. 2012

Int J Legal Med

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It has been recorded that one of the possible causes that eventually escalated into the 1857 manslaughter at Mountain Meadows in Southern Utah was the poisoning of an open spring by the Fancher–Baker party as they crossed the Utah territory on their way from Arkansas to California. Historical accounts report that a number of cattle died, followed by human casualties from those that came in contact with the dead animals. Even after the Arkansas party departed, animals continued to perish and people were still afflicted by some unknown plague. Proctor Hancock Robison, a local 14-year-old boy, died shortly after skinning one of the “poisoned” cows. A careful review of the historical records, along with the more recent scientific literature, seems to exclude the likelihood of actual poisoning in favor of a more recent theory that would point to the bacterium Bacillus anthracis as the possible cause of human and animal deaths. In order to test this hypothesis, Proctor’s remains were exhumed, identified through mitochondrial DNA analysis, and tested for the presence of anthrax spores. Although preliminary testing of remains and soil was negative, description of the clinical conditions that affected Proctor and other individuals does not completely rule out the hypothesis of death by anthrax.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00414-012-0681-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Effects of Long-Term Storage on Plasmid Stability in Bacillus anthracis

Cited by 42 publications

References 13 publications

Genetic Diversity in a Bacillus anthracis Historical Collection (1954 to 1988)

Genetic Diversity in a Bacillus anthracis Historical Collection (1954 to 1988)

Similarities in murine infection and immune response to Borrelia bissettii and Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto

The Mountain Meadows Massacre and “poisoned springs”: scientific testing of the more recent, anthrax theory

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