Identification of Different Bartonella Species in the Cattle Tail Louse (Haematopinus quadripertusus) and in Cattle Blood

Abstract

ABSTRACTBartonellaspp. are worldwide-distributed facultative intracellular bacteria that exhibit an immense genomic diversity across mammal and arthropod hosts. The occurrence of cattle-associatedBartonellaspecies was investigated in the cattle tail louseHaematopinus quadripertususand in dairy cattle blood from Israel. Lice were collected from cattle from two dairy farms during summer 2011, and both lice and cow blood samples were collected from additional seven farms during the successive winter. The lice were identified morphologically and molecularly using 18S rRNA sequencing. Thereafter, they were screened forBartonellaDNA by conventional and real-time PCR assays using four partial genetic loci (gltA,rpoB,ssrA, and internal transcribed spacer [ITS]). A potentially novelBartonellavariant, closely related to other ruminant bartonellae, was identified in 11 of 13 louse pools collected in summer. In the cattle blood, the prevalence ofBartonellainfection was 38%, identified asB. bovisandB. henselae(24 and 12%, respectively). A third genotype, closely related toBartonellamelophagiandBartonella chomelii(based on thessrAgene) and toB. bovis(based on the ITS sequence) was identified in a single cow. The relatively high prevalence of theseBartonellaspecies in cattle and the occurrence of phylogenetically diverseBartonellavariants in both cattle and their lice suggest the potential role of this animal system in the generation ofBartonellaspecies diversity.