| Species/Subspecies: | Ehrlichia ruminantium | ||||||||
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| 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] |
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| Alternative Species Name(s): | Cowdria ruminantium | ||||||||
| Taxonomy: | Class Alphaproteobacteria Order Rickettsiales Family Anaplasmataceae Genus Ehrlichia |
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| 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. |
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| Hosts: | Cattle, sheep, goats and other ruminants. | ||||||||
| Clinical Picture: | |||||||||
| Genome Sequence: |
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| 16S rRNA Seq.: |
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| Taxonomy/phylogeny:
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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 |