Within-host evolution of Brucella canis during a canine brucellosis outbreak in a kennel

摘要

BackgroundLittle is currently known about Brucella evolution within the host during infection. The current study is the first to employ fine-scale genotyping on an isolate collection derived from a Brucella canis outbreak. Eight isolates of B. canis, cultured from different tissues of three dogs (female, stud dog, puppy of another female) from a single kennel over three months were genetically characterized with a 15-marker multi-locus, variable-number tandem repeat (VNTR) analysis (MLVA) to assess the genetic relatedness of isolates and potential rapid mutational changes.