Flying squirrel-associated Rickettsia prowazekii (epidemic typhus rickettsiae) characterized by a specific DNA fragment produced by restriction endonuclease digestion

Abstract

The DNA from flying squirrel-associated Rickettsia prowazekii was characterized by using a specific DNA fragment produced by digestion with the enzyme BamHI. The DNA fragment was cloned into a plasmid vector and used to readily distinguish between available human- and flying squirrel-associated R. prowazekii DNAs derived from crude cytoplasmic extracts.