Fine structure of Rickettsia canada in tissues of Dermacentor andersoni Stiles

Arthropod-borne pathogens of dogs and cats: From pathways and times of transmission to disease control

Vector-borne pathogens have developed a close relationship with blood feeding arthropod ectoparasites (e.g., mosquitoes, ticks, phlebotomine sand flies, black flies, fleas, kissing bugs, lice) and exploited a huge variety of vector transmission routes. Therefore, the life cycles of these pathogens result in a long evolved balance with the respective arthropod biology, ecology and blood feeding habits, instrumentally to the infection of several animal species, including humans. Amongst the many parasite transmission modes, such as ingestion of the arthropod, with its faeces or secretions, blood feeding represents the main focus for this article, as it is a central event to the life of almost all arthropod vectors. The time frame in which pathogens are transmitted to any animal host is governed by a large number of biological variables related to the vector, the pathogen, the host and environmental factors. Scientific data available on transmission times for each pathogen are discussed relative to their impact for the success of vector-borne disease control strategies. Blocking pathogen transmission, and thus preventing the infection of dogs and cats, may be achievable by the use of chemical compounds if they are characterised by a fast onset of killing activity or repellence against arthropods. The fast speed of kill exerted by systemic isoxazoline, as well as the repellent effect of pyrethroids have renewed the interest of the scientific community and pharmaceutical companies towards reducing the burden of vector-borne diseases under field conditions. However, endosymbionts and vaccines targeting arthropods or pathogen antigens should be further investigated as alternative strategies towards the goal of achieving an effective integrated control of vector-borne diseases.

Enhanced detection of Rickettsia species in Ixodes pacificus using highly sensitive fluorescence in situ hybridization coupled with Tyramide Signal Amplification

Ixodes pacificus is a host of many bacteria including Rickettsia species phylotypes G021 and G022. As part of the overall goal of understanding interactions of phylotypes with their tick host, this study focused on molecular detection of rickettsiae in ovarian and midgut tissue of I. pacificus by fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH), PCR, and ultrastructural analysis. Of three embedding media (Technovit 8100, Unicryl, and paraffin) tested for generating thin sections, tissues embedded in paraffin resulted in the visualization of bacteria with low autofluorescence in FISH. Digoxigenin-labeled probes were used in FISH to intensify bacterial hybridization signals using Tyramide Signal Amplification reaction. Using this technique, rickettsiae were detected in the cytoplasm of oocytes of I. pacificus. The presence of rickettsiae in the ovary and midgut was further confirmed by PCR and transmission electron microscopic analysis. Overall, the methods in this study can be used to identify locations of tick-borne bacteria in tick tissues and understand transmission routes of bacterial species in ticks.

Genomic and comparative genomic analyses of Rickettsia heilongjiangensis provide insight into its evolution and pathogenesis

Rickettsia heilongjiangensis, the causative agent of far eastern spotted fever, is an obligate intracellular gram-negative bacterium that belongs to the spotted fever group rickettsiae. To understand the evolution and pathogenesis of R. heilongjiangensis, we analyzed its genome and compared it with other rickettsial genomes available in GenBank. The R. heilongjiangensis chromosome contains 1333 genes, including 1297 protein coding genes and 36 RNA coding genes. The genome also contains 121 pseudogenes, 54 insertion sequences, and 39 tandem repeats. Sixteen genes encoding the major components of the type IV secretion systems were identified in the R. heilongjiangensis genome. In total, 37 β-barrel outer membrane proteins were predicted in the genome, eight of which have been previously confirmed to be outer membrane proteins. In addition, 266 potential virulence factor genes, seven partially deleted antibiotic resistance genes, and a genomic island were identified in the genome. The codon usage in the genome is compatible with its low GC content, and the amino acid usage shows apparent bias. A comparative genomic analysis showed that R. heilongjiangensis and R. japonica share one unique fragment that may be a target sequence for a diagnostic assay. The orthologs of 37 genes of R. heilongjiangensis were found in pathogenic R. rickettsii str. Sheila Smith but not in non-pathogenic R. rickettsii str. Iowa, which may explain why R. heilongjiangensis is pathogenic. Pan-genome analysis showed that R. heilongjiangensis and 42 other rickettsiae strains share 693 core genes with a pan-genome size of 4837 genes. The pan-genome-based phylogeny showed that R. heilongjiangensis was closely related to R. japonica.

Ultrastructure of a Japanese Rickettsial Strain Genetically Identified asRickettsia helveticaWhich Was Originally Found in Europe

A rickettsial strain IO-1 has been isolated from a tick, Ixodes ovatus, in Japan and genetically identified as Rickettsia helvetica, a member of the spotted fever group rickettsiae. Ultrastructural observations were made on the microorganism. The ultrastructure of R. helvetica IO-1 appeared to be generally the same as that previously shown for other rickettsiae of the spotted fever and typhus groups. The rickettsiae were primarily found free in the cytoplasm of L929 cultured cells. Occasionally, the rickettsiae may also invade the host cell nucleus; however, the frequency of the nuclear localization was very low.

Connection of toxin-antitoxin modules to inoculation eschar and arthropod vertical transmission in Rickettsiales

The biological role of toxin-antitoxin systems (TAS) in pathogenicity and cell addiction of Rickettsia was recently reported. We realized a comparative genomic analysis onto 33 rickettsial genomes and correlated the presence of TAS encoding genes with vertical transmission (VT) in arthropod hosts, the presence of inoculation eschar in humans and experimental animals, and the mortality in humans. There is a significant statistical link between TAS and the presence of an eschar (p≤0.0001). The presence of TAS is also significantly inversely correlated with mortality. The toxic effect of TAS may increase the local reaction, thus inhibiting the spread of rickettsiae associated with fatal outcome of the disease. The TAS were also linked to VT (p≤0.0001). Together with our previous findings we speculate that this is the first addiction system evidenced in intracellular bacteria. Thus, the TAS, as selfish genetic elements, might be essential to the evolutionary strategy of intracellular bacteria.

Rickettsia phylogenomics: unwinding the intricacies of obligate intracellular life

Background

Completed genome sequences are rapidly increasing for Rickettsia, obligate intracellular α-proteobacteria responsible for various human diseases, including epidemic typhus and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. In light of phylogeny, the establishment of orthologous groups (OGs) of open reading frames (ORFs) will distinguish the core rickettsial genes and other group specific genes (class 1 OGs or C1OGs) from those distributed indiscriminately throughout the rickettsial tree (class 2 OG or C2OGs).

Methodology/Principal Findings

We present 1823 representative (no gene duplications) and 259 non-representative (at least one gene duplication) rickettsial OGs. While the highly reductive (∼1.2 MB) Rickettsia genomes range in predicted ORFs from 872 to 1512, a core of 752 OGs was identified, depicting the essential Rickettsia genes. Unsurprisingly, this core lacks many metabolic genes, reflecting the dependence on host resources for growth and survival. Additionally, we bolster our recent reclassification of Rickettsia by identifying OGs that define the AG (ancestral group), TG (typhus group), TRG (transitional group), and SFG (spotted fever group) rickettsiae. OGs for insect-associated species, tick-associated species and species that harbor plasmids were also predicted. Through superimposition of all OGs over robust phylogeny estimation, we discern between C1OGs and C2OGs, the latter depicting genes either decaying from the conserved C1OGs or acquired laterally. Finally, scrutiny of non-representative OGs revealed high levels of split genes versus gene duplications, with both phenomena confounding gene orthology assignment. Interestingly, non-representative OGs, as well as OGs comprised of several gene families typically involved in microbial pathogenicity and/or the acquisition of virulence factors, fall predominantly within C2OG distributions.

Conclusion/Significance

Collectively, we determined the relative conservation and distribution of 14354 predicted ORFs from 10 rickettsial genomes across robust phylogeny estimation. The data, available at PATRIC (PathoSystems Resource Integration Center), provide novel information for unwinding the intricacies associated with Rickettsia pathogenesis, expanding the range of potential diagnostic, vaccine and therapeutic targets.

New perspectives on rickettsial evolution from new genome sequences of rickettsia, particularly R. canadensis, and Orientia tsutsugamushi

The complete genome sequences available for eight species of Rickettsia and information for other near relatives in the Rickettsiales including Orientia and species of Anaplasmataceae are a rich resource for comparative analyses of the evolution of these obligate intracellular bacteria. Differences in these organisms have permitted them to colonize varied intracellular compartments, arthropod vectors, and vertebrate reservoirs in both pathogenic and symbiotic relationships. We summarize some comparative aspects of the genomes of these organisms, paying particular attention to the recently completed sequence for R. canadensis McKiel strain and an estimated two-thirds of the genome sequence for a Thailand patient isolate of Orientia tsutsugamushi. The Rickettsia genomes exhibit a high degree of synteny punctuated by distinctive chromosome inversions and consistent phylogenetic relationships regardless of whether protein coding sequences or RNA genes, concatenated open reading frames or gene regions, or whole genomes are used to construct phylogenetic trees. The aggregate characteristics (number, length, composition, repeat identity) of tandem repeat sequences of Rickettsia, which often exhibit recent and rapid divergence between closely related strains and species of bacteria, are also very conserved in Rickettsia but differed significantly in Orientia. O. tsutsugamushi shared no significant synteny to species of Rickettsia or Anaplasmataceae, supporting its placement in a unique genus. Like Rickettsia felis, Orientia has many transposases and ankyrin and tetratricopeptide repeat domains. Orientia shares the important ATP/ADP translocase and proline-betaine transporter multigene families with Rickettsia, but has more gene families that may be involved in regulatory and transporter responses to environmental stimuli.

Ultrastructural study of the infection process of Rickettsia conorii in the salivary glands of the vector tick Rhipicephalus sanguineus

This work was designed to study the infection process of Rickettsia conorii in the salivary glands of experimentally infected Rhipicephalus sanguineus ticks. One hundred six uninfected engorged nymphs were intracelomically inoculated with approximately 2 x 10(3) plaque-forming units of a rickettsial suspension. After the molt, unfed and fed adults were dissected, and the salivary glands were extracted and processed for transmission electron microscopy observation. Three different uninfected control groups were used for (1) evaluating the impact of the inoculation procedure, (2) establishing the feeding period of infected ticks, and (3) ultrastructural characterization of the salivary glands. Overall, 75.5% (80 of 106) of the nymphs inoculated with rickettsiae died during the molt or soon after hatching into adult instars; 50% (12 of 24) of the remaining infected adults showed severe malformations compromising their viability. In apparently healthy specimens, time of engorgement was longer. The contrast with the negative control groups was statistically significant, suggesting that R. conorii exerts a strong negative effect on the vector ticks. The ultrastructural study showed that in the salivary glands of infected ticks, rickettsial growth occurs preferentially in central, peripheral, and interstitial acini cells.

Rickettsiae and Borrelia burgdorferi in ixodid ticks

Nymphs and adults of hard-bodied ticks were collected in Connecticut and tested by direct and indirect immunofluorescence staining methods for rickettsiae and Borrelia burgdorferi. Of the 609 Ixodes dammini ticks examined, 59 (9.7%) harbored rickettsialike microorganisms in hemocytes (blood cells). These bacteria reacted with fluorescein-conjugated antiserum to Ehrlichia canis, the etiologic agent of with fluorescein-conjugated antiserum to Ehrlichia canis, the etiologic agent of canine ehrlichiosis. Prevalence of infection ranged from 6.8 to 12.7% for males and females, respectively. Although the specific identities of the hemocytic rickettsialike organisms are unknown, they share antigens with ehrlichiae. Electron microscopy revealed rickettsiae in ovarian tissues of I. dammini that also had infected hemocytes. Rickettsialike organisms were also observed in the hemocytes of 5 (6.9%) of 73 Dermacentor variabilis ticks. In analyses for B. burgdorferi, 146 (23.7%) of 617 I. dammini ticks harbored these spirochetes in midguts. Hemocytic rickettsialike microorganisms coexisted with B. burgdorferi in 36 (6.7%) of the 537 nymphs and adults of I. dammini examined. I. dammini, with its broad host range, has the potential to acquire multiple microorganisms.

A comparative view of Rickettsia tsutsugamushi and the other groups of rickettsiae

Recent researches on the rickettsial group microorganisms are summarized in their comparative aspects of morphology, cultivation and multiplication, susceptibility to chemotherapeutics, chemical structure of envelopes, nucleic acid, protein constitution, and gene structures. From this overview, Rickettsia tsutsugamushi seems to have different properties from the others and should be reclassified into a new genus, and a new species name as Orientia tsutsugamushi is proposed.

Ecological relationships between ticks and rickettsiae

Ticks play important roles as vectors and sometimes as reservoirs in the ecology of rickettsiae. The obligate association between ticks and rickettsiae has been elucidated in studies concerning the maintenance of rickettsiae in ticks, agent dissemination in various tick organs, rickettsial developmental cycles in the tick organism, transfer among various developmental stages in tick hosts, the effect of rickettsiae on the tick organism, the interaction between microorganisms other than rickettsiae and rickettsiae is a tick body, as well as the release of rickettsiae from ticks into the environment.

Proline incorporation into protein by Rickettsia prowazekii during growth in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO-K1) cells

Both the requirement of Rickettsia prowazekii for the amino acid proline for growth and rickettsial proline incorporation were determined in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO-K1) cells auxotrophic for proline. Incubation of cells in Dulbecco modified Eagle medium supplemented with various concentrations of proline resulted in a range of host intracellular proline pools, as determined by both dansylation and equilibration of specific radioactivities. Maximal rickettsial growth was observed only in host cells with an intracellular proline pool of 1.0 mM or greater. Protein synthesis by rickettsiae in infected cells was determined to be the difference between emetine-resistant proline incorporation in the presence and absence of chloramphenicol. After density gradient centrifugation in Percoll, a rickettsial band with associated radioactivity was observed in lysates of infected cells treated with emetine but not in lysates of infected cells treated with both emetine and chloramphenicol. The average amount of proline incorporated into protein in situ was determined to be 6.3 +/- 0.8 amol per rickettsia. These results, obtained with a system which allows the study of rickettsiae in their natural habitat, are discussed in light of existing information about protein synthesis in isolated rickettsiae.

Reactivation of Rickettsia rickettsii in Dermacentor andersoni ticks: an ultrastructural analysis

Virulent Rickettsia in Dermacentor andersoni lose their pathogenicity and virulence for guinea pigs when subjected to physiological stresses, such as starvation (overwintering), of its tick vector. However, incubation of infected ticks at an elevated temperature (37 degrees C) for 24 to 48 h or feeding for a time (usually greater than 10 h) induces R. rickettsii to revert to a virulent state, a phenomenon defined as "reactivation." Electron microscopy reveals that the microcapsular and slime layers of R. rickettsii undergo changes dependent upon the physiological conditions within the tick vector. In engorged ticks, the microcapsular layer is readily identified as a discrete layer, approximately 16 nm thick, composed of globular subunits that have a periodicity of approximately 10 nm. The slime layer external to the microcapsular layer forms a discrete electron-lucent zone around the rickettsia. In starved ticks, neither the microcapsular layer nor slime layer remains a discrete entity. Instead, they are shed and form stringy, shredded, and somewhat flocculent strands of low electron density without periodicity. Incubation at 37 degrees C or feeding of starved infected ticks results in the restoration of a discrete microcapsular and slime layer. These reversible structural modifications are linked to physiological changes in the tick host and correlate with reactivation, i.e., restoration of pathogenicity and virulence of R. rickettsii.

Regulatory properties of citrate synthase from Rickettsia prowazekii

Citrate synthase [citrate (si)-synthase] (EC 4.1.3.7) was partially purified from extracts of highly purified typhus rickettsiae (Rickettsia prowazekii). Molecular exclusion and affinity column chromatography were used to prepare 200-fold-purified citrate synthase that contained no detectable malate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.37) activity. Rickettsial malate dehydrogenase also was partially purified (200-fold) via this purification procedure. Catalytically active citrate synthase exhibited a relative molecular weight of approximately 62,000 after elution from a calibrated Sephacryl S-200 column. Acetyl coenzyme A saturation of partially purified enzyme was sensitive to strong competitive inhibition with adenylates (ATP greater than ADP much greater than AMP). [beta,gamma-methylene]ATP, dATP, and dADP also caused strong inhibition, but guanosine and cytosine nucleotides were significantly less inhibitory. Adenylates had no effect on oxalacetate saturation kinetics when acetyl coenzyme A was present in high concentration (greater than or equal to 50 microM). Neither NADH nor alpha-ketoglutarate affected the saturation kinetics of rickettsial citrate synthase. Thus, citrate synthase from R. prowazekii exhibits greater similarity to the eucaryotic and gram-positive procaryotic enzymes than to citrate synthase from free-living gram-negative bacteria. These results represent the first characterization of a highly purified key regulatory enzyme from these obligate intracellular parasitic bacteria.

In vitro studies of Rickettsia-host cell interactions: ultrastructural study of Rickettsia prowazekii-infected chicken embryo fibroblasts

Secondary chicken embryo fibroblasts infected in suspension with the Breinl strain of Rickettsia prowazekii and grown in monolayer culture were examined by both transmission and scanning electron microscopy at specific intervals after infection to study the effects of prolonged intracellular growth on the fine structure of the host cell and the rickettsiae. Cytopathological changes in the infected host cells were not apparent until late in the intracellular growth cycle when the cells began to rupture as a result of a large rickettsial burden. The only recognizable changes in heavily infected cells before lysis were the condensation of the intercristal matrix of some mitochondria and the apparent dissociation of ribosomes from the rough-surfaced endoplasmic reticulum. Although the effects of intracellular growth of rickettsiae on the fine structure of the host cell were rather unremarkable when compared with those imposed by Rickettsia rickettsii in a similar cell system, noticeable morphological changes in the rickettsiae were recognized during the intracellular growth cycle. These changes first became apparent about 40 h postinfection and consisted primarily of an increased electron density of the rickettsiae, the appearance of numerous vacuoles in the rickettsial cytoplasm, and a slight reduction in size of the rickettsiae. Changes of this nature may reflect transitional phases of growth characteristically seen in free-living bacterial cell systems.

Ultrastructure of Rickettsia rhipicephali, a new member of the spotted fever group rickettsiae in tissues of the host vector Rhipicephalus sanguineus

Rickettsia rhipicephali is similar in ultrastructure to R. rickettsii while differing from other rickettsiae of the typhus group and of Q fever and others by its lack of a prominently reticulated cytoplasmic matrix and in the thickness of the inner osmophilic layer of the cell wall. In tissues of the tick vector Rhipicephalus sanguineus, R. rhipicephali had a mean length and width of 1.2 and 0.46 micrometer, respectively. It possessed a trilaminar cell wall with an adhering capsule-like layer. The trilaminar cell wall was approximately 12 to 18 nm thick; its inner osmophilic layer was thicker than that previously reported for other rickettsiae. The capsule-like layer varied from 7 to 18 nm thick. The plasma membrane was similar in structure, measurement, and appearance to that of other reported rickettsiae. The cytoplasm appeared to be composed of a finely granular, amorphous, ground substance and randomly dispersed ribosomes and lacked a reticular matrix or nuclear fibrils. In massively infected salivary glands and ovarial tissues of its tick vector, R. rhipicephali produced a low degree of histopathology which does not appear to affect the engorgement and egg-laying process of the ticks.

External layers of Rickettsia prowazekii and Rickettsia rickettsii: occurrence of a slime layer

Using a simple specific-antibody stabilization procedure on organisms gently liberated from their host cells, we have demonstrated by electron microscopy that Rickettsia prowazekii and Rickettsia rickettsii possess a coat of variable thickness, external to the outer leaflet of the cell wall and the structure designated by others as a "microcapsule," which corresponds most closely to the slime layer of certain other bacteria. Reactions in the methenamine silver and ruthenium red staining procedures and the failure to be visualized by standard procedures suggest that the slime layer is largely polysaccharide in nature. It is postulated that this slime layer accounts in large part for the large, electron-lucent, halo-like zone which is found by electron microscopy to surround organisms of the typhus and spotted fever groups in the cytoplasm of their host cells, that it may be the locus of some major group-specific antigens, and that it may function as an antiphagocytic mechanism, as an aid for attachment of rickettsiae to potential host cells, or both. Moreover, because the attenuated E strain of R. prowazekii has been shown to possess a substantial slime layer, the basis for attenuation is not likely to be a simple smooth-to-rough variation.

Phospholipid composition of Rickettsia prowazeki grown in chicken embryo yolk sacs

The phospholipid composition and phospholipid fatty acid composition of purified Rickettsia prowazeki were determined. The lipid phosphorous content was 6.8 +/- 1.3 microgram/mg of total rickettsial protein. The major phospholipid was phosphatidylethanolamine (60 to 70%); phosphatidylglycerol constituted 20%, and phosphatidylcholine constituted 15%. Small amounts of phosphatidylserine and cardiolipin were detected. The principal fatty acids were 18:1, 16:1, and 16:0. The fatty acid composition of the phosphatidylcholine in the rickettsial extracts was very different than that of the other rickettsial phosphatides and very similar to that of normal yolk sac phosphatidylcholine. The specific of the phosphatidylcholine of rickettsiae grown in the presence of 32P was markedly lower than that of phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylglycerol. It is suggested that the phosphatidylcholine in the rickettsial extract is yolk sac derived and either tightly absorbed or exchanged into the rickettsial membrane.

Rickettsial hemolysis: adsorption, desorption, readsorption, and hemagglutination

The energy-dependent adsorption of radioiodinated rickettsiae to sheep erythrocytes was demonstrated. The iodination procedure, however, decreased the hemolytic activity of the rickettsiae. No desorption of rickettsiae from isolated rickettsia-erythrocyte complexes (prevented from lysing by NaF) could be measured. On the other hand, rickettsiae desorbed from this complex during or after lysis and readsorbed and lysed other erythrocytes. Thus, the usual hemolytic assay measures multiple rounds of adsorption and lysis. Although lysis of the rickettsia-erythrocyte complex was insensitive to anti-rickettsial rabbit serum, adsorption and readsorption were completely inhibited by such antiserum. Hemagglutination of erythrocytes by rickettsiae was observed (in the presence of NaF to prevent lysis) and was sensitive to the same inhibitors as adsorption.

Electron microscopy studies of the limiting layers of the rickettsia Coxiella burneti

Surface layers of Coxiella burneti studied at a high resoulution reveal a plasma membrane and an outer surface membrane 6 to 7 nm thick, and a thin, moderately electron-dense intermediate layer associated with the inner surface of the outer membrane of many cells. This layer appears to be unaffected by lysozyme treatment. Ruthenium red staining was used to delineate a layer of filamentous material external to the outer membrane; this fuzzy layer has a mean thickness of 20 nm and is not often seen on the surface of cells prepared by conventional means. Both antigenic phase I and II cells show a ruthenium red-binding surface layer. It is suggested that this fuzzy layer may be, among other possibilities, a highly branched mucopolysaccharide.

Ultrastructural study of Pierce's disease bacterium in grape xylem tissue

The rod-shaped rickettsia-like bacteria of Pierce's disease measure about 0.25 to 0.50 mum in diameter and 1.0 to 4.0 mum long. The bacteria have a cell wall consisting of a trilaminar outer membrane and two intermediate low-density layers separated by a dense intermediate layer. A trilaminar cytoplasmic membrane is also present, resulting in a total wall complex thickness of 25 to 40 nm. A periodic infolding of the outer membrane and intermediate layers of the wall give the wall surface a ridged apperance. The ridges appear to go around the long axis of the cell, possibly in the form of spirals. Ribosomes and nuclear regions with easily visible deoxyribonucleic acid strands and clumps are distributed throughout the cytoplasm. Binary fission, during which the cell wall and cytoplasmic membrane folded inward to partition the cell, was observed. In the xylem of infected grapes, the bacteria are either distributed evenly throughout the lumen of the xylem vessel or appressed along the inner surface of the vessel walls in an electron-lucent matrix.

Growth and physiology of rickettsiae

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Rickettsia-like Bacterium Associated with Pierce's Disease of Grapes

A pleomorphic bacterium was observed by electron microscopy in grape plants infected with Pierce's disease. The organism was located in xylem tissue, and its occurrence was closely associated with symptoms of Pierce's disease. The bacterium resembled a rickettsia in morphology, in its failure to grow on cell-free media, and in its sensitivity to tetracycline antibiotics.