Detection of a Yersinia pestisgene homologue in rodent samples

A homologue to a widely used genetic marker, pla, for Yersinia pestis has been identified in tissue samples of two species of rat ( Rattus rattus and Rattus norvegicus ) and of mice ( Mus musculus and Apodemus sylvaticus ) using a microarray based platform to screen for zoonotic pathogens of interes...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PeerJ
Main Authors: Giles, Timothy A., Greenwood, Alex D., Tsangaras, Kyriakos, Giles, Tom C., Barrow, Paul A., Hannant, Duncan, Abu-Median, Abu-Bakr, Yon, Lisa
Other Authors: European Union Seventh Framework Programme
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: PeerJ 2016
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Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.2216
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Summary:A homologue to a widely used genetic marker, pla, for Yersinia pestis has been identified in tissue samples of two species of rat ( Rattus rattus and Rattus norvegicus ) and of mice ( Mus musculus and Apodemus sylvaticus ) using a microarray based platform to screen for zoonotic pathogens of interest. Samples were from urban locations in the UK (Liverpool) and Canada (Vancouver). The results indicate the presence of an unknown bacterium that shares a homologue for the pla gene of Yersinia pestis, so caution should be taken when using this gene as a diagnostic marker.