Apoptosis of murine peritoneal macrophages induced by an avian pathogenic strain of Escherichia coli

Ehrlichiae are obligatory intracellular, Gram-negative bacteria which belong to the alpha subclass of the phylum Proteobacteria and are responsible for infectious diseases of humans. Little is known about genetics and genomic organization of Ehrlichia spp. The genome sizes of four representatives of the genus Ehrlichia were determined for the first time by pulsed field gel electrophoresis. The sizes for E. sennetsu, E. risticii, E. chaffeensis (strain Arkansas and strain 91HE17), and the HGE agent were 878.5 kb, 880.3 kb, 1225.8 kb, 1262.3 kb and 1494 kb respectively.