Here, we present complete chromosome sequences of Borrelia miyamotoi samples CZ-F1E and CZ-F190E, which were obtained from Ixodes ricinus eggs from Czechia. The chromosome sequences, assembled from Illumina and Sanger sequencing data, had average coverage values of 647× and 3,216×, respectively. They belong to the European genotype, distinct from the Asian and American strains.
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
Treponema pallidum subsp. endemicum (TEN) is the causative agent of endemic syphilis (bejel). Until now, only a single TEN strain, Bosnia A, has been completely sequenced. The only other laboratory TEN strain available, Iraq B, was isolated in Iraq in 1951 by researchers from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In this study, the complete genome of the Iraq B strain was amplified as overlapping PCR products and sequenced using the pooled segment genome sequencing method and Illumina sequencing. Total average genome sequencing coverage reached 3469×, with a total genome size of 1,137,653 bp. Compared to the genome sequence of Bosnia A, a set of 37 single nucleotide differences, 4 indels, 2 differences in the number of tandem repetitions, and 18 differences in the length of homopolymeric regions were found in the Iraq B genome. Moreover, the tprF and tprG genes that were previously found deleted in the genome of the TEN Bosnia A strain (spanning 2.3 kb in length) were present in a subpopulation of TEN Iraq B and Bosnia A microbes, and their sequence was highly similar to those found in T. p. subsp. pertenue strains, which cause the disease yaws. The genome sequence of TEN Iraq B revealed close genetic relatedness between both available bejel-causing laboratory strains (i.e., Iraq B and Bosnia A) and also genetic variability within the bejel treponemes comparable to that found within yaws- or syphilis-causing strains. In addition, genetic relatedness to TPE strains was demonstrated by the sequence of the tprF and tprG genes found in subpopulations of both TEN Iraq B and Bosnia A. The loss of the tprF and tprG genes in most TEN microbes suggest that TEN genomes have been evolving via the loss of genomic regions, a phenomenon previously found among the treponemes causing both syphilis and rabbit syphilis.
- MeSH
- bakteriální geny MeSH
- frambézie mikrobiologie MeSH
- fylogeneze MeSH
- genom bakteriální MeSH
- infekce bakteriemi rodu Treponema mikrobiologie MeSH
- proteiny vnější bakteriální membrány genetika MeSH
- sekvenování celého genomu MeSH
- syfilis mikrobiologie MeSH
- Treponema pallidum genetika MeSH
- Treponema genetika MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- práce podpořená grantem MeSH
- Geografické názvy
- Bosna a Hercegovina MeSH
Birds are hosts for several zoonotic pathogens. Because of their high mobility, especially of longdistance migrants, birds can disperse these pathogens, affecting their distribution and phylogeography. We focused on Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, which includes the causative agents of Lyme borreliosis, as an example for tick-borne pathogens, to address the role of birds as propagation hosts of zoonotic agents at a large geographical scale. We collected ticks from passerine birds in 11 European countries. B. burgdorferi s.l. prevalence in Ixodes spp. was 37% and increased with latitude. The fieldfare Turdus pilaris and the blackbird T. merula carried ticks with the highest Borrelia prevalence (92 and 58%, respectively), whereas robin Erithacus rubecula ticks were the least infected (3.8%). Borrelia garinii was the most prevalent genospecies (61%), followed by B. valaisiana (24%), B. afzelii (9%), B. turdi (5%) and B. lusitaniae (0.5%). A novel Borrelia genospecies "Candidatus Borrelia aligera" was also detected. Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) analysis of B. garinii isolates together with the global collection of B. garinii genotypes obtained from the Borrelia MLST public database revealed that: (a) there was little overlap among genotypes from different continents, (b) there was no geographical structuring within Europe, and (c) there was no evident association pattern detectable among B. garinii genotypes from ticks feeding on birds, questing ticks or human isolates. These findings strengthen the hypothesis that the population structure and evolutionary biology of tick-borne pathogens are shaped by their host associations and the movement patterns of these hosts.
- MeSH
- Borrelia genetika MeSH
- klíště mikrobiologie MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- lymeská nemoc mikrobiologie MeSH
- multilokusová sekvenční typizace metody MeSH
- nemoci ptáků mikrobiologie MeSH
- zpěvní ptáci mikrobiologie MeSH
- zvířata MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
- zvířata MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- práce podpořená grantem MeSH
- Geografické názvy
- Evropa MeSH
BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to quantify the seroprevalence of hare treponematosis in European brown hare (Lepus europaeus) populations in the Czech Republic and to test for an association between treponematosis prevalence and the altitude of the areas in which hares were sampled. We tested 289 serum samples of brown hares collected between 2015 and 2017. The sampling areas included 12 districts (73 villages) distributed throughout the Czech Republic. Serum samples were tested for the presence of antibodies against the causative agent of hare treponematosis (Treponema paraluisleporidarum ecovar Lepus, TPeL) using two serological tests for human syphilis that cross-react with TPeL: the Treponema pallidum hemagglutination assay (TPHA) and the fluorescent treponemal antibody absorption (FTA-ABS) test. To account for the imperfect diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of each test, apparent prevalence estimates of TPeL were converted to true prevalence estimates using the Rogan Gladen estimator. The correlation between TPeL true seroprevalence and altitude of sampling areas was analyzed using Pearson's correlation coefficient at three levels of spatial resolution: (1) four groups, each composed of two merged districts, with ≥20 samples collected, differing in their altitude median (206, 348, 495, and 522 m above sea level); (2) separately tested eight districts, where ≥20 samples were collected per district; and (3) 27 groups composed of villages of the same altitude level distributed across the whole dataset. RESULTS: One hundred and seven of the 289 samples were seropositive to both tests, the FTA-ABS test was positive for an additional 47 samples. Seropositive samples were found in all 12 districts. True seroprevalence of TPeL in the sampled hares was 52% (95% confidence interval 46 to 58%). A statistically significant negative correlation between TPeL seroprevalence and altitude was identified at the district level (Pearson's r = - 0.722, p = 0.043). CONCLUSIONS: Between 2015 and 2017 hare treponematosis was present at a relatively high prevalence in brown hares in all 12 districts in the Czech Republic where sampling was carried out. The seroprevalence of TPeL in brown hares was negatively correlated with the altitude of the areas in which hares were sampled.
- MeSH
- infekce bakteriemi rodu Treponema epidemiologie veterinární MeSH
- nadmořská výška MeSH
- séroepidemiologické studie MeSH
- zajíci * MeSH
- zvířata MeSH
- Check Tag
- mužské pohlaví MeSH
- ženské pohlaví MeSH
- zvířata MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- Geografické názvy
- Česká republika MeSH
Syphilis, caused by Treponema pallidum subsp. pallidum (TPA), remains an important public health problem with an increasing worldwide prevalence. Despite recent advances in in vitro cultivation, genetic variability of this pathogen during infection is poorly understood. Here, we present contemporary and geographically diverse complete treponemal genome sequences isolated directly from patients using a methyl-directed enrichment prior to sequencing. This approach reveals that approximately 50% of the genetic diversity found in TPA is driven by inter- and/or intra-strain recombination events, particularly in strains belonging to one of the defined genetic groups of syphilis treponemes: Nichols-like strains. Recombinant loci were found to encode putative outer-membrane proteins and the recombination variability was almost exclusively found in regions predicted to be at the host-pathogen interface. Genetic recombination has been considered to be a rare event in treponemes, yet our study unexpectedly showed that it occurs at a significant level and may have important impacts in the biology of this pathogen, especially as these events occur primarily in the outer membrane proteins. This study reveals the existence of strains with different repertoires of surface-exposed antigens circulating in the current human population, which should be taken into account during syphilis vaccine development.
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
Rickettsioses are among the oldest known infectious diseases. In spite of this, and of the extensive research carried out, many aspects of the biology and epidemiology of tick-borne rickettsiae are far from being completely understood. Their association with arthropod vectors, the importance of vertebrates as reservoirs, the rarity of clinical signs in animals, or the interactions of pathogenic species with rickettsial endosymbionts and with the host intracellular environment, are only some examples. Moreover, new rickettsiae are continuously being discovered. In this review, we focus on the 'neglected' aspects of tick-borne rickettsioses and on the gaps in knowledge, which could help to explain why these infections are still emerging and re-emerging threats worldwide.
In the last two decades, the advent of molecular methods has revealed a remarkable diversity of rickettsiae (Rickettsiales: Rickettsiaceae) in invertebrates. Several species of these obligate intracellular bacteria are known to cause human infections, hence more attention has been directed towards human-biting ectoparasites. A spotted fever group Rickettsia sp. was previously detected in Ixodes lividus ticks (Ixodidae) associated with sand martins (Hirundinidae: Riparia riparia). In order to identify whether this rickettsia varies among isolated tick populations, a total of 1758 I. lividus ticks and five Ixodes ricinus ticks (Ixodidae) were collected in the Czech Republic and 148 I. lividus ticks were collected in Belgium, from nests of sand martins, European bee-eaters (Meropidae: Merops apiaster), Eurasian tree sparrows (Passeridae: Passer montanus), and from captured sand martins. We screened 165 and 78 I. lividus ticks (from the Czech Republic and Belgium, respectively) and all five I. ricinus ticks for the presence of rickettsial DNA. Only I. lividus samples were positive for Rickettsia vini, a spotted fever group rickettsia that commonly infects the tree-hole tick Ixodes arboricola (Ixodidae). Maximum likelihood analysis of the rickettsial sequences showed that the most closely related organism to R. vini corresponds to an uncharacterized rickettsia detected in Argas lagenoplastis (Argasidae), a nidicolous soft tick of the fairy martin (Hirundinidae: Petrochelidon ariel) in Australia. The observed variability of R. vini sequences from isolated tick populations was low; all 85 sequenced samples were identical to each other in five out of six partial rickettsial genes, except for the sca4 sequence (99.9% identity, 808/809 nt) that differed in I. lividus ticks from two sampling sites in the Czech Republic.
- MeSH
- Argasidae mikrobiologie MeSH
- DNA bakterií genetika MeSH
- fylogeneze MeSH
- infestace klíšťaty epidemiologie veterinární MeSH
- klíště mikrobiologie MeSH
- koevoluce genetika MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- nemoci ptáků mikrobiologie MeSH
- nymfa MeSH
- pravděpodobnostní funkce MeSH
- ptáci parazitologie MeSH
- Rickettsia klasifikace genetika izolace a purifikace MeSH
- rickettsiové infekce epidemiologie mikrobiologie veterinární MeSH
- skvrnité horečky epidemiologie mikrobiologie veterinární MeSH
- zvířata MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
- zvířata MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- práce podpořená grantem MeSH
- Geografické názvy
- Belgie epidemiologie MeSH
- Česká republika epidemiologie MeSH
The genus Rickettsia (Rickettsiales: Rickettsiaceae) includes Gram-negative, small, obligate intracellular, nonmotile, pleomorphic coccobacilli bacteria transmitted by arthropods. Some of them cause human and probably also animal disease (life threatening in some patients). In these guidelines, we give clinical practice advices (microscopy, serology, molecular tools, and culture) for the microbiological study of these microorganisms in clinical samples. Since in our environment rickettsioses are mainly transmitted by ticks, practical information for the identification of these arthropods and for the study of Rickettsia infections in ticks has also been added.
- MeSH
- bakteriologické techniky MeSH
- členovci - vektory mikrobiologie MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- odběr biologického vzorku MeSH
- Rickettsia izolace a purifikace MeSH
- rickettsiové infekce diagnóza mikrobiologie MeSH
- sérologické testy MeSH
- zvířata MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
- zvířata MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- směrnice pro lékařskou praxi MeSH
Článek přináší informace o základních principech cochemské praxe, koordinované interdisciplinární spolupráce, která se postupně etabluje u některých českých soudů s cílem řešit rodičovský spor o úpravu poměrů dětí po rozvodu efektivněji a s větším ohledem na děti. Jak se mění tradiční role psychologa (ať už v roli soudního znalce či terapeuta) v této spolupráci zástupců odborných profesí? Seznamte se s výhodami a výzvami, které s sebou tato změna přístupu přináší. Přispějte do diskuse o chybějící systémové podpoře dětí rozvádějících se rodičů.
Main principles of Cochem model, a coordinated interdisciplinary cooperation that is step-by-step being established at some Czech courts, in order to solve custody disputes in more effective and more children-friendly way. How does the traditional role of a psychologist (be it expert witness or a therapeutist) change within this cooperation of experts? Learn more about advantages and challenges, this change of attitude brings along. Contribute to discussion about the absence of systematic support service for children in divorce.
- MeSH
- adaptace psychologická MeSH
- chování dětí psychologie MeSH
- konflikt (psychologie) MeSH
- konflikt v rodině MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- mezioborová komunikace MeSH
- péče o dítě MeSH
- poradenství pro děti MeSH
- rodinné vztahy MeSH
- role soudu MeSH
- rozvod * psychologie MeSH
- sociální péče o dítě MeSH
- vztahy mezi rodiči a dětmi MeSH
- znalecký posudek MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
SMC5/6 is a highly conserved protein complex related to cohesin and condensin, which are the key components of higher-order chromatin structures. The SMC5/6 complex is essential for proliferation in yeast and is involved in replication fork stability and processing. However, the precise mechanism of action of SMC5/6 is not known. Here we present evidence that the NSE1/NSE3/NSE4 sub-complex of SMC5/6 binds to double-stranded DNA without any preference for DNA-replication/recombination intermediates. Mutations of key basic residues within the NSE1/NSE3/NSE4 DNA-binding surface reduce binding to DNA in vitro. Their introduction into the Schizosaccharomyces pombe genome results in cell death or hypersensitivity to DNA damaging agents. Chromatin immunoprecipitation analysis of the hypomorphic nse3 DNA-binding mutant shows a reduced association of fission yeast SMC5/6 with chromatin. Based on our results, we propose a model for loading of the SMC5/6 complex onto the chromatin.
- MeSH
- chromatin metabolismus MeSH
- DNA metabolismus MeSH
- jaderné proteiny metabolismus MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- molekulární sekvence - údaje MeSH
- proteiny buněčného cyklu chemie metabolismus MeSH
- rekombinace genetická MeSH
- replikace DNA MeSH
- Schizosaccharomyces pombe - proteiny metabolismus MeSH
- Schizosaccharomyces genetika metabolismus MeSH
- sekvence aminokyselin MeSH
- sekvenční homologie aminokyselin MeSH
- vazba proteinů MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- práce podpořená grantem MeSH