18 research outputs found

    Molecular characterization of Coxiella burnetii isolates by infrequent restriction site-PCR and MLVA typing

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    BACKGROUND: Coxiella burnetii, the causative agent of Q fever, has a wide host range. Few epidemiological tools are available, and they are often expensive or not easily standardized across laboratories. In this work, C. burnetii isolates from livestock and ticks were typed using infrequent restriction site-PCR (IRS-PCR) and multiple loci variable number of tandem repeats (VNTR) analysis (MLVA). RESULTS: By applying IRS-PCR, 14 C. burnetii isolates could be divided into six groups containing up to five different isolates. Clustering as deduced from MLVA typing with 17 markers provided an increased resolution with an excellent agreement to IRS-PCR, and with the plasmid type of each strain. MLVA was then applied to 28 additional C. burnetii isolates of different origin and 36 different genotypes were identified among the 42 isolates investigated. The clustering obtained is in agreement with published Multiple Locus Sequence Typing (MLST) data. Two panels of markers are proposed, panel 1 which can be confidently typed on agarose gel at a lower cost and in any laboratory setting (10 minisatellite markers with a repeat unit larger than 9 bp), and panel 2 which comprises 7 microsatellites and provides a higher discriminatory power. CONCLUSION: Our analyses demonstrate that MLVA is a powerful and promising molecular typing tool with a high resolution and of low costs. The consistency of the results with independent methods suggests that MLVA can be applied for epidemiological studies. The resulting data can be queried on a dedicated MLVA genotyping Web service

    Comparison of the efficacy of Q fever vaccines against Coxiella burnetii experimental challenge in pregnant goats

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    AphidInnov - Des solutions biologiques adaptées pour le contrôle des populations de pucerons des cultures protégées

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    Alternatives aux néonicotinoïdes Rendu des projets réunissant des contributions des projets scientifiques d'Ecophyto et du Plan National de Recherche et Innovation-betterave avec, selon les projets, les soutiens financiers de l'Office français de la biodiversité (OFB), l’Institut national de recherche pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (INRAE) et de l'Institut technique de la betterave (ITB).National audienceInundative biological control with natural enemies produced by specialized companies is the main alternative to insecticides in protected crops. However, major pests such as aphids are still poorly controlled, due to a lack of efficiency or availability of biological control agents that would give solutions for the disappearance of neonicotinoids. The AphidInnov project has shown, on seed cabbage, strawberryand cucumber crops, that effective parasitoid species and populations adapted to each agricultural situation could be selected, taking into account the ecological specialization of parasitoids and their genetic variation, and that effective solutions could be proposed by combining parasitoids, predators and cultural practices. The production of these beneficials could release on new business models, involving more directly professional organizations and growers.La lutte biologique par lâchers d'auxiliaires produits par des entreprises spécialisées est la principale alternative aux insecticides en cultures sous abri. Des ravageurs majeurs comme les pucerons restent cependant mal contrôlés, par manque d'efficacité ou de disponibilité des auxiliaires qui permettraient de pallier la disparition des néonicotinoïdes. Le projet AphidInnov a montré, sur culture de choux porte-graines, de fraises et de concombre, que des espèces et populations de parasitoïdes adaptées à chaque situation pouvaient être sélectionnées, en considérant la spécialisation des parasitoïdes et leur diversité génétique, et que des solutions efficaces pouvaient être proposées en combinant parasitoïdes, prédateurs et pratiques culturales. La production de ces auxiliaires pourrait faire appel à des modèleséconomiques nouveaux, impliquant plus directement les filières et les agriculteurs
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