Ogrzewalska Maria, Literák Ivan, Capek Miroslav, Sychra Oldřich, Calderón Víctor Álvarez, Rodríguez Bernardo Calvo, Prudencio Carlos, Martins Thiago F, Labruna Marcelo B
Laboratory of Hantaviruses and Rickettsioses, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, FIOCRUZ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Department of Biology and Wildlife Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Hygiene and Ecology, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Brno, Brno, Czech Republic; CEITEC VFU Brno, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Brno, Brno, Czech Republic.
Ticks Tick Borne Dis. 2015 Jun;6(4):478-82. doi: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2015.03.016. Epub 2015 Apr 11.
The aim of this study was to document the presence of Rickettsia spp. in ticks parasitizing wild birds in Costa Rica. Birds were trapped at seven locations in Costa Rica during 2004, 2009, and 2010; then visually examined for the presence of ticks. Ticks were identified, and part of them was tested individually for the presence of Rickettsia spp. by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using primers targeting fragments of the rickettsial genes gltA and ompA. PCR products were DNA-sequenced and analyzed in BLAST to determine similarities with previously reported rickettsial agents. A total of 1878 birds were examined, from which 163 birds (9%) were infested with 388 ticks of the genera Amblyomma and Ixodes. The following Amblyomma (in decreasing order of abundance) were found in immature stages (larvae and nymphs): Amblyomma longirostre, Amblyomma calcaratum, Amblyomma coelebs, Amblyomma sabanerae, Amblyomma varium, Amblyomma maculatum, and Amblyomma ovale. Ixodes ticks were represented by Ixodes minor and two unclassified species, designated here as Ixodes sp. genotype I, and Ixodes sp. genotype II. Twelve of 24 tested A. longirostre ticks were found to be infected with 'Candidatus Rickettsia amblyommii', and 2 of 4 A. sabanerae were found to be infected with Rickettsia bellii. Eight of 10 larval Ixodes minor were infected with an endosymbiont (a novel Rickettsia sp. agent) genetically related to the Ixodes scapularis endosymbiont. No rickettsial DNA was found in A. calcaratum, A. coelebs, A. maculatum, A. ovale, A. varium, Ixodes sp. I, and Ixodes sp. II. We report the occurrence of I. minor in Costa Rica for the first time and a number of new bird host-tick associations. Moreover, 'Candidatus R. amblyommii' and R. bellii were found in A. longirostre and A. sabanerae, respectively, in Costa Rica for the first time.
本研究的目的是记录哥斯达黎加寄生于野生鸟类的蜱中是否存在立克次氏体属细菌。2004年、2009年和2010年期间，在哥斯达黎加的七个地点捕获鸟类；然后肉眼检查是否有蜱。对蜱进行鉴定，并使用靶向立克次氏体基因gltA和ompA片段的引物，通过聚合酶链反应（PCR）对其中一部分蜱单独检测是否存在立克次氏体属细菌。对PCR产物进行DNA测序，并在BLAST中进行分析，以确定与先前报道的立克次氏体病原体的相似性。共检查了1878只鸟类，其中163只（9%）感染了388只钝缘蜱属和硬蜱属的蜱。在未成熟阶段（幼虫和若虫）发现了以下钝缘蜱属蜱（按丰度降序排列）：长角钝缘蜱、距缘钝缘蜱、寡毛钝缘蜱、萨氏钝缘蜱、变异钝缘蜱、斑点钝缘蜱和卵形钝缘蜱。硬蜱属蜱包括微小硬蜱以及两个未分类的物种，在此分别命名为硬蜱属基因型I和硬蜱属基因型II。在24只检测的长角钝缘蜱中，有12只被发现感染了“嗜吞噬细胞无形体”，在4只萨氏钝缘蜱中有2只被发现感染了贝氏立克次氏体。10只微小硬蜱幼虫中有8只感染了一种与肩突硬蜱内共生体有遗传关系的内共生体（一种新型立克次氏体属病原体）。在距缘钝缘蜱、寡毛钝缘蜱、斑点钝缘蜱、卵形钝缘蜱、变异钝缘蜱、硬蜱属I和硬蜱属II中未发现立克次氏体DNA。我们首次报告了哥斯达黎加存在微小硬蜱以及一些新的鸟类宿主-蜱关联。此外，首次在哥斯达黎加的长角钝缘蜱和萨氏钝缘蜱中分别发现了“嗜吞噬细胞无形体”和贝氏立克次氏体。
