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Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

Veterinary bacteriology: information about important bacteria
Veterinary bacteriology


Species/Subspecies: Ehrlichia canis
Etymology: Genus name: named after the German bacteriologist Paul Ehrlich (1854-1915).
Species epithet: of dog.
Significance:The disease is normally not found in Sweden, as the brown dog tick requires a warmer climate in order to survive. Sick dogs may, however, occur after importing or stay abroad.
  [Of minor importance]   
Taxonomy:
Phylum
Pseudomonadota
Class
Alphaproteobacteria
Order
Rickettsiales
Family
Anaplasmataceae 
Genus
Ehrlichia
Type Strain: Oklahoma
Macromorphology (smell): Cannot be cultivaqted on cell free substrates (e.g. agar plates).
Micromorphology: Coccoid to elipsoid cells (about 0.5 µm in diameter), which are nonmotile. A morula (see below) can be up to 4 µm in diameter.
Gram +/Gram -:G-
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: Brown dog tick(Rhipicephalus sangineus)
Reservoir: Canids
Disease:Canine monocytic ehrlichiosis.
Hosts: Canids (Canidae). Has also been reported in cats.
Clinical Picture:
Genome Sequence:
Acc-noStrainSize (bp)Genome
NC_007354 Jake 1 315 030 (1c + 0) 

16S rRNA Seq.:
Acc-noStrainNumber of NTOperon
M73221 (T) 1433 

Taxonomy/phylogeny:
Ehrlichia canis  
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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