The<i>omp-1</i>Major Outer Membrane Multigene Family of<i>Ehrlichia chaffeensis</i>Is Differentially Expressed in Canine and Tick Hosts

Abstract

Sixteen of 22 omp-1 paralogs encoding 28-kDa-range immunodominant outer membrane proteins of Ehrlichia chaffeensis were transcribed in blood monocytes of dogs throughout a 56-day infection period. Only one paralog was transcribed by E. chaffeensis in three developmental stages of Amblyomma americanum ticks before or after E. chaffeensis transmission to naïve dogs.