ABSTRACT
The separation of the genus Coxiella from the genus Rickettsia directly correlates with the virulence potential of each strain and provides the first evidence of genetic diversity within this genus of bacteria. Several avenues of investigation must be applied to confirm and understand at the molecular level how each strain of C. burnetii causes disease. An animal model for chronic disease must be developed to confirm that isolates from chronic endocarditis cases do have unique virulence properties capable of causing this disease. The molecular characterization of differences between strains needs to be expanded to identify potential factors that result in the unique virulence properties of each strain. Some types of C. burnetii plasmids share a large amount of similarity as seen in cross hybridization experiments. An alternate approach for identifying virulence factors associated with these plasmids is to compare the proteins that they code for.
