[Bacteria of Bartonella genus: characteristics, pathogenicity factors and methods of molecular-genetic investigation].

Bartonella bacteria are an agent of a variety of human and animal diseases whose etiology used to be unknown. The survey contains a description of the above bacteria with the established pathogenicity factors and with the molecular and genetic approaches to studies of genes' functions and of their regulation being in the focus of attention. Modern methods related with the genus-specific and species-specific determination and identification of Bartonella bacteria are discussed.