ISOLATION AND CHARACTERIZATION BY IMMUNOFLUORESCENCE, SODIUM DODECYL SULFATE-POLYACRYLAMIDE GEL-ELECTROPHORESIS, WESTERN-BLOT, RESTRICTION FRAGMENT LENGTH POLYMORPHISM-PCR, 16S RIBOSOMAL-RNA GENE SEQUENCING, AND PULSED-FIELD GEL-ELECTROPHORESIS OF ROCHALIMAEA-QUINTANA FROM A PATIENT WITH BACILLARY ANGIOMATOSIS

Rochalimaea quintana was isolated from the blood of a French human imm unodeficiency virus-infected patient with bacillary angiomatosis, The isolate showed the typical growth characteristics of Rochalimaea speci es and was inert when typical biochemical testing was used. The purpos e of the present work was to characterize and compare this new isolate with reference strains of R. quintana, Rochalimaea vinsonii, and Roch alimaea henselae by using immunofluorescence, sodium dodecyl sulfate-p olyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), Western blot (immunoblot ), restriction fragment length polymorphism-PCR of the citrate synthas e gene, 16S rRNA gene sequencing, and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis . SDS-PAGE, Western blot, restriction fragment length polymorphism-PCR with TaqI enzyme, and 16S rRNA gene sequencing could differentiate th e three Rochalimaea species and allowed characterization of the French isolate as R. quintana. However, identification of the Rochalimaea is olate to the species level was more easily obtained by immunofluoresce nce with specific murine antisera. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis al lowed differentiation of the French R. quintana isolate from R. quinta na Fuller and may sen e as an epidemiological tool.