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Dyczko D, Błażej P, Kiewra D. The influence of forest habitat type on Ixodes ricinus infections with Rickettsia spp. in south-western Poland. CURRENT RESEARCH IN PARASITOLOGY & VECTOR-BORNE DISEASES 2024; 6:100200. [PMID: 39148674 PMCID: PMC11324835 DOI: 10.1016/j.crpvbd.2024.100200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2024] [Revised: 07/01/2024] [Accepted: 07/07/2024] [Indexed: 08/17/2024]
Abstract
This study investigates the prevalence of Rickettsia spp. in Ixodes ricinus tick populations in different forest habitat types (broadleaf forest, mixed broadleaf and coniferous forest, and coniferous forest) in south-western Poland. During the survey periods from April to June 2018 and 2019 a total of 494 I. ricinus ticks, including 374 nymphs, 60 females and 60 males, were tested for Rickettsia infections by nested PCR targeting the gltA gene. The overall infection rate was 42.3%; however, we observed statistically significant year-to-year variation. Infection rates varied between tick developmental stages and were significantly influenced by forest habitat type. As assessed by a generalized linear mixed model (GLMM), the highest infection rates were observed in mixed broadleaf and coniferous forests, while coniferous forests had a significant negative effect on infection prevalence. DNA sequencing of selected samples confirmed the predominance of Rickettsia helvetica (91.2%) and less frequent Rickettsia monacensis (8.8%). This study suggests that the forest habitat types can influence Rickettsia spp. infection in tick populations; however, a comprehensive understanding of all factors influencing the level of infection requires future study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dagmara Dyczko
- Department of Microbial Ecology and Acaroentomology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Wroclaw, Przybyszewskiego 63, 51-148, Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Paweł Błażej
- Department of Bioinformatics and Genomics, Faculty of Biotechnology, University of Wroclaw, Joliot-Curie 14a, 50-383, Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Dorota Kiewra
- Department of Microbial Ecology and Acaroentomology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Wroclaw, Przybyszewskiego 63, 51-148, Wroclaw, Poland
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Ballados-González GG, Bravo-Ramos JL, Grostieta E, Andrade-López AN, Ramos-Vázquez JR, Chong-Guzmán LA, Moctezuma-Díaz LÁ, Colunga-Salas P, Miranda-Caballero CI, Álvarez-Castillo L, Cruz-Romero A, Aguilar-Domínguez M, Becker I, Sánchez-Montes S. Confirmation of the presence of Rickettsia felis infecting Ornithodoros puertoricensis in Mexico. MEDICAL AND VETERINARY ENTOMOLOGY 2023; 37:219-227. [PMID: 36346249 DOI: 10.1111/mve.12624] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2022] [Accepted: 10/26/2022] [Indexed: 05/18/2023]
Abstract
Soft ticks are neglected competent vectors of a wide range of pathogenic microorganisms, among which bacteria of the genera Rickettsia and Borrelia stand out. In Mexico, previous studies have shown the presence of a member of the Ornithodoros talaje complex in the Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana Didelphimorphia: Didelphidae Kerr) from southeastern Mexico. However, its specific identification has not been achieved. Two D. virginiana were treated in a private clinic during the period of April-May 2022. Tick larvae were manually removed, DNA extraction was performed, and some genes from various bacterial and parasitic pathogens were amplified and sequenced. A total of 96 larvae were recovered, which were morphologically identified as Ornithodoros puertoricensis (Ixodida: Argasidae Fox); the 16 S sequences showed a similarity of 96.79%-99.51% with sequences of O. puertoricensis from Panama and Colombia. The presence of Rickettsia felis (Rickettsiales: Rickettsiaceae Bouyer et al.) was detected in 15 specimens from one host. The soft tick O. puertoricensis is recorded for the first time as an ectoparasite of the Virginia opossum in America and represents the second report for this soft tick in Mexico since 1963. This represents the most northern record of this tick species in its geographic distribution and brings a new soft tick-Rickettsia association.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - José L Bravo-Ramos
- Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad Veracruzana, Veracruz, Mexico
| | - Estefania Grostieta
- Centro de Medicina Tropical, Unidad de Investigación en Medicina Experimental, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
| | | | | | | | | | - Pablo Colunga-Salas
- Centro de Medicina Tropical, Unidad de Investigación en Medicina Experimental, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
- Instituto de Biotecnología y Ecología Aplicada, Universidad Veracruzana, Xalapa, Mexico
| | - Carlos I Miranda-Caballero
- Centro de Medicina Tropical, Unidad de Investigación en Medicina Experimental, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Lucía Álvarez-Castillo
- Posgrado en Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Anabel Cruz-Romero
- Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad Veracruzana, Veracruz, Mexico
| | | | - Ingeborg Becker
- Centro de Medicina Tropical, Unidad de Investigación en Medicina Experimental, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Sokani Sánchez-Montes
- Centro de Medicina Tropical, Unidad de Investigación en Medicina Experimental, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
- Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas y Agropecuarias región Tuxpan, Universidad Veracruzana, Túxpan de Rodríguez Cano, Mexico
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Minahan NT, Wu WJ, Tsai KH. Rickettsia felis is an emerging human pathogen associated with cat fleas: A review of findings in Taiwan. JOURNAL OF MICROBIOLOGY, IMMUNOLOGY, AND INFECTION = WEI MIAN YU GAN RAN ZA ZHI 2023; 56:10-19. [PMID: 36585292 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmii.2022.12.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2022] [Revised: 12/03/2022] [Accepted: 12/10/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Rickettsia felis is an emerging rickettsial agent principally associated with cat fleas (Ctenocephalides felis), formerly discovered in 1990. Since then, clinical cases of R. felis infection have been identified globally by specific DNA sequences in patients with undifferentiated febrile illness, including in Taiwan, but such evidence is limited. R. felis rickettsiosis is self-limiting and easily treated with doxycycline, but its diagnosis remains a challenge. Environmental risk factors for R. felis rickettsiosis have yet to be clearly demonstrated, and its transmission biology is incompletely understood. Cat fleas are naturally infected with R. felis at varying rates, and vector competence in the transmission of R. felis has been demonstrated in animal models, including dogs, which may serve as reservoir hosts. In northern Taiwan, despite ∼20% of cat fleas infesting companion animals consistently found to be infected with R. felis, only a few cases of potential R. felis infection have been identified through a retrospective serological investigation, though without molecular confirmation. Ecological studies have identified divergent R. felis-like organisms in different arthropod hosts, but these strains appear to serve as nonpathogenic endosymbionts. Although its association with disease is limited, we believe cat flea-borne R. felis warrants increased recognition in an aging population due to immunosenescence and the proximity of companion animals to the elderly. Adopting a One Health approach involving collaboration and communication between clinicians, veterinarians, public health practitioners, and environmental scientists will improve our knowledge about this neglected pathogen and promote the prevention and control of vector-borne diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas T Minahan
- Institute of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, College of Public Health, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Wen-Jer Wu
- Department of Entomology, College of Bioresources and Agriculture, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Kun-Hsien Tsai
- Institute of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, College of Public Health, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan; Department of Entomology, College of Bioresources and Agriculture, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan; Department of Public Health, College of Public Health, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
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Silva de la Fuente MC, Pérez C, Martínez-Valdebenito C, Pérez R, Vial C, Stekolnikov A, Abarca K, Weitzel T, Acosta-Jamett G. Eco-epidemiology of rodent-associated trombiculid mites and infection with Orientia spp. in Southern Chile. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2023; 17:e0011051. [PMID: 36634106 PMCID: PMC9876211 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0011051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2022] [Revised: 01/25/2023] [Accepted: 12/20/2022] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Scrub typhus is a potentially severe infection caused by bacteria of the genus Orientia, endemic in Asia-Pacific and recently discovered in southern Chile. The presented study aimed to determine the prevalence and species richness of rodent-associated trombiculid mites and their infection with Orientia spp. in different areas of two regions in southern Chile. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS During summer 2020, trombiculid mites were collected from rodents captured in three areas in southern Chile known to be endemic for scrub typhus (Cochamó and Chiloé Island in the Los Lagos Region and Tortel in the Aysén Region). A total of 132 rodents belonging to five species were captured using Sherman-like traps; 89.4% were infested with trombiculids. Mite specimens were morphologically identified and subsequently tested by Orientia-specific qPCR. Six mite species were identified. Among chigger-infested rodents, 33.9% carried Orientia-positive mites; this rate was higher in Tortel (63.8%) than in Cochamó (45.0%) and Chiloé Island (2.0%). The analysis of individual mites (n = 901) revealed that 31.2% of Herpetacarus antarctica samples (n = 202) were positive for Orientia DNA; the prevalence was 7.0% in Paratrombicula neuquenensis (n = 213), 6.9% in Herpetacarus eloisae (n = 144), 3.6% in Argentinacarus expansus (n = 55), and 0% in Paratrombicula goffi (n = 110) and Quadraseta chiloensis (n = 177). The southernmost site (Tortel) showed the highest rates of trombiculid infestation, trombiculid load, and Orientia infection in the captured rodents. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE Our study provides new insights into the trombiculid fauna and prevalence of Orientia in mites collected from wild rodents in southern Chile. Orientia DNA was detected in four of the six mite species. Rates of infestation, mite loads, and Orientia prevalences differed geographically and were highest in the Aysén Region. Our data improve our knowledge on possible vectors of scrub typhus and their distribution in Chile.
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Affiliation(s)
- María Carolina Silva de la Fuente
- Instituto de Medicina Preventiva Veterinaria and Center for Disease Surveillance and Evolution of Infectious Diseases, Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile
- Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Forestales, Departamento de Ciencias Agrarias, Universidad Católica del Maule, Talca, Chile
| | - Caricia Pérez
- Instituto de Ciencias e Innovación en Medicina (ICIM), Facultad de Medicina Clínica Alemana, Universidad del Desarrollo, Santiago, Chile
| | - Constanza Martínez-Valdebenito
- Departamento de Enfermedades Infecciosas e Inmunología Pediátricas, Escuela de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
- Laboratorio de Infectología y Virología Molecular, Red Salud UC–Christus, Santiago, Chile
| | - Ruth Pérez
- Instituto de Ciencias e Innovación en Medicina (ICIM), Facultad de Medicina Clínica Alemana, Universidad del Desarrollo, Santiago, Chile
| | - Cecilia Vial
- Instituto de Ciencias e Innovación en Medicina (ICIM), Facultad de Medicina Clínica Alemana, Universidad del Desarrollo, Santiago, Chile
| | - Alexandr Stekolnikov
- Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Saint Petersburg, Russia
| | - Katia Abarca
- Departamento de Enfermedades Infecciosas e Inmunología Pediátricas, Escuela de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Thomas Weitzel
- Instituto de Ciencias e Innovación en Medicina (ICIM), Facultad de Medicina Clínica Alemana, Universidad del Desarrollo, Santiago, Chile
- Laboratorio Clínico, Clínica Alemana de Santiago, Facultad de Medicina Clínica Alemana, Universidad del Desarrollo, Santiago, Chile
| | - Gerardo Acosta-Jamett
- Instituto de Medicina Preventiva Veterinaria and Center for Disease Surveillance and Evolution of Infectious Diseases, Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile
- * E-mail:
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Analysis of the Type 4 Effectome across the Genus Rickettsia. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms232415513. [PMID: 36555155 PMCID: PMC9779031 DOI: 10.3390/ijms232415513] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2022] [Revised: 12/05/2022] [Accepted: 12/06/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Rickettsia are obligate intracellular bacteria primarily carried by arthropod hosts. The genus Rickettsia contains several vertebrate pathogens vectored by hematophagous arthropods. Despite the potential for disease, our understanding of Rickettsias are limited by the difficulties associated with growing and manipulating obligate intracellular bacteria. To aid with this, our lab conducted an analysis of eight genomes and three plasmids from across the genus Rickettsia. Using OPT4e, a learning algorithm-based program designed to identify effector proteins secreted by the type 4 secretion system, we generated a putative effectome for the genus. We then consolidated effectors into homolog sets to identify effectors unique to Rickettsia with different life strategies or evolutionary histories. We also compared predicted effectors to non-effectors for differences in G+C content and gene splitting. Based on this analysis, we predicted 1571 effectors across the genus, resulting in 604 homolog sets. Each species had unique homolog sets, while 42 were present in all eight species analyzed. Effectors were flagged in association with pathogenic, tick and flea-borne Rickettsia. Predicted effectors also varied in G+C content and frequency of gene splitting as compared to non-effectors. Species effector repertoires show signs of expansion, degradation, and horizontal acquisition associated with lifestyle and lineage.
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Laukaitis HJ, Cooper TT, Suwanbongkot C, Verhoeve VI, Kurtti TJ, Munderloh UG, Macaluso KR. Transposon mutagenesis of Rickettsia felis sca1 confers a distinct phenotype during flea infection. PLoS Pathog 2022; 18:e1011045. [PMID: 36542675 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1011045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2022] [Revised: 01/05/2023] [Accepted: 12/06/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Since its recognition in 1994 as the causative agent of human flea-borne spotted fever, Rickettsia felis, has been detected worldwide in over 40 different arthropod species. The cat flea, Ctenocephalides felis, is a well-described biological vector of R. felis. Unique to insect-borne rickettsiae, R. felis can employ multiple routes of infection including inoculation via salivary secretions and potentially infectious flea feces into the skin of vertebrate hosts. Yet, little is known of the molecular interactions governing flea infection and subsequent transmission of R. felis. While the obligate intracellular nature of rickettsiae has hampered the function of large-scale mutagenesis strategies, studies have shown the efficiency of mariner-based transposon systems in Rickettsiales. Thus, this study aimed to assess R. felis genetic mutants in a flea transmission model to elucidate genes involved in vector infection. A Himar1 transposase was used to generate R. felis transformants, in which subsequent genome sequencing revealed a transposon insertion near the 3' end of sca1. Alterations in sca1 expression resulted in unique infection phenotypes. While the R. felis sca1::tn mutant portrayed enhanced growth kinetics compared to R. felis wild-type during in vitro culture, rickettsial loads were significantly reduced during flea infection. As a consequence of decreased rickettsial loads within infected donor fleas, R. felis sca1::tn exhibited limited transmission potential. Thus, the use of a biologically relevant model provides evidence of a defective phenotype associated with R. felis sca1::tn during flea infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hanna J Laukaitis
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of South Alabama College of Medicine, Mobile, Alabama, United States of America.,Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Triston T Cooper
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of South Alabama College of Medicine, Mobile, Alabama, United States of America
| | - Chanakan Suwanbongkot
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of South Alabama College of Medicine, Mobile, Alabama, United States of America
| | - Victoria I Verhoeve
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Timothy J Kurtti
- Department of Entomology, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota, United States of America
| | - Ulrike G Munderloh
- Department of Entomology, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota, United States of America
| | - Kevin R Macaluso
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of South Alabama College of Medicine, Mobile, Alabama, United States of America
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