For KU-57788 manufacturer example, we observed no considerable differences in the isolation times and places

between the only human isolates (N010024, MT03) and the other strains isolated from Focus M. However, we did find a marked difference in MT. In previous studies, epidemiological investigations and traditional ecological typing studies confirmed that this case was imported from Focus C [22, 23]. In this study, N010024 was significantly different from the other strains isolated from Focus M, but had very similar MT with the strains from Focus C and gathered with them in the same subgroup. These results coincided with the conclusion of epidemiological investigations and the ecological typing, which further supported MLVA as a bacterial typing method suitable for field epidemiological investigations. There were cross-types AZD9291 molecular weight among the MTs of strains from different foci, with MT09 and MT19 being the most prominent. Foci that contained the same MT were geographically close to each other (Figure 3). For example, Foci C, D, F, and J contained MT09, and Foci C,

D, and K contained MT19, indicating that there were close relationships among the strains of adjacent foci. It is MLN2238 possible that these strains have the same source. Foci C, D, G, and K have locations adjacent to the border and even similar topography, climate conditions and hosts. The Marmota Himalayana plague focus of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau [24] was sub-divided into four foci in recent years [11]. Cluster analysis showed that majority of the strains in the four foci were in complex 1, indicating a close relationship.

Therefore, we suggest that more accurate results will be obtained by combining the four foci in a unit when performing epidemiological and phylogenetic analysis. Foci A, B, and K are in Xinjiang province (Figure 1). The strains from Foci A and B were in the long branch of complex 1 and obviously different from other strains isolated in China. On the PLEK2 contrary, most strains from Focus K were together with the strains from foci around the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Foci A and B are adjacent to the Central Asia foci. Due to the lack of strains outside China in this study, it is impossible to provide a detailed and integrated relationship between the strains in Xinjiang and those of the Central Asia. However, we can confirm that there is a long genetic distance between strains of Foci A, B and other domestic strains isolated in China. To date, all the strains from Foci L and M belonged to biovar Microtus, except for one imported strain (N010024). Microtus is a newly-identified biovar that is phenotypically and genotypically different from the other three biovars [9]. Our results showed that MLVA could not only differentiate between Microtus and the other three biovars, but also divided the Microtus strains into two subclusters containing strains from foci L and M respectively.