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Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

Veterinary bacteriology: information about important bacteria
Veterinary bacteriology


Species/Subspecies: Ehrlichia ruminantium
Etymology: Genus name: named after the German bacteriologist Paul Ehrlich (1854-1915).
Species epithet: of ruminants.
Significance:The disease occurs in Africa and the Caribbean, where it causes serious problems in the livestock sector.
  [Of minor importance]   
Alternative Species Name(s):Cowdria ruminantium
Taxonomy:
Phylum
Pseudomonadota
Class
Alphaproteobacteria
Order
Rickettsiales
Family
Anaplasmataceae 
Genus
Ehrlichia
Type Strain: Welgevonden.
Macromorphology (smell): Cannot be cultivated on cell free substrates (e.g. agar plates).
Micromorphology: Coccoid to elipsoid cells (about 0,5 µm i diameter), which are nonmotile. A morula can be up to 4 µm in diameter.
Gram +/Gram -:G-
Metabolism: Aerobic
Catalase/Oxidase:
Fermentation of carbohydrates: Is not used for identification of Ehrlichia spp. Furthermore, many intracellular bacteria lack enzymes for carbohydrate metabolism because of evolutionary gene reduction.
Spec. Char.:
Special Media:
Vector: Tick (Amblyomma variegatum and A. cajennensis).
Reservoir: Ruminants
Disease:Heartwater or cowdriosis.
Hosts: Cattle, sheep, goats and other ruminants.
Clinical Picture:
Genome Sequence:
Acc-noStrainSize (bp)Genome
NC_006831 Gardel 1 499 920  

16S rRNA Seq.:
Acc-noStrainNumber of NTOperon
X61659 Crystal Springs (Zimbabwe) isolate 1569 

Taxonomy/phylogeny:
Ehrlichia ruminantium  
Seven species have been described within the genus Ehrlichia, which is most closely related to the genus Anaplasma.
Comment:Strictly intracellular and grows in inclusions (morulae) in monocytes. Morula refers to the mulberry-like structure (Morus= mulberry in Latin) of the inclusions .
Updated:2023-03-22

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