Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ankara University, Ankara, Turkey.
Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ankara University, Ankara, Turkey.
Ticks Tick Borne Dis. 2020 May;11(3):101373. doi: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2020.101373. Epub 2020 Jan 14.
This Turkey-based study investigated the presence of various tick-borne microorganisms in a broad-range of host-seeking ticks (n = 1019) that exhibit both hunter and ambusher characteristics. All collected ticks were analyzed individually via PCR-sequencing, resulting in the identification of 18 different microorganisms: six Babesia spp., including one putative novel species (Ba. occultans, Ba. crassa, Ba. rossi, Babesia sp. tavsan1, Babesia sp. tavsan2, and Babesia sp. nov.); six SFG rickettsiae (Ri. aeschlimannii, Ri. s. mongolitimonae, Ri. slovaca, Ri. raoultii, Ri. monacensis, and Ri. hoogstraalii); two Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato spp. (Bo. afzelii and Bo. lusitaniae); two unnamed Hepatozoon spp.; Theileria annulata; and Hemolivia mauritanica. This provided evidence for the natural transstadial survival of these tick-borne microorganisms in adult ticks (in addition a nymph) of Turkey. Surprisingly, this study determined the presence of five different microorganisms (Ba. crassa, Ba. rossi, Babesia sp. Ucbas, Hepatozoon sp., and Ri. hoogstraalii) in host-seeking Haemaphysalis parva adults, for which poor data exist on its vectorial competence. Therefore, this study provides important data indicating the potential vectorial capacity of Ha. parva. This study also revealed the presence of the close ecological and evolutionary relationships between two important vector ticks, Hyalomma marginatum and Hy. aegyptium and determined genetic variations (distinct phylogenetic divergences inside the main clades) in some pathogenic SFG rickettsiae that are found in these ticks. Additionally, the presence of two Babesia species described very recently in hares with unknown vectors, namely Babesia sp. tavsan1 and Babesia sp. tavsan2, were detected for the first time in ticks. Finally, two unnamed Hepatozoon spp. were detected in Haemaphysalis ticks and their phylogenetic positions were demonstrated. Consequently, this study provides important data on the diversity of tick-borne microorganisms in host-seeking ticks and on potentially novel microorganisms (Babesia and Hepatozoon species) and their possible vectors (Ha. parva, Ha. sulcata, Hy. aegyptium, Hy. marginatum, and Rh. turanicus).
这项基于土耳其的研究调查了广泛宿主寻找的蜱虫（n=1019）中各种蜱传微生物的存在情况，这些蜱虫兼具猎人型和伏击型特征。所有采集的蜱虫都通过 PCR 测序进行了单独分析，结果鉴定出 18 种不同的微生物：6 种巴贝虫属（Babesia spp.），包括一种假定的新种（Ba. occultans、Ba. crassa、Ba. rossi、Babesia sp. tavsan1、Babesia sp. tavsan2 和 Babesia sp. nov.）；6 种 SFG 立克次体（Ri. aeschlimannii、Ri. s. mongolitimonae、Ri. slovaca、Ri. raoultii、Ri. monacensis 和 Ri. hoogstraalii）；2 种未定名的血孢子虫属（Hepatozoon spp.）；泰勒虫属（Theileria annulata）和马氏泰勒虫（Hemolivia mauritanica）。这为土耳其成年蜱虫（包括若虫）中这些蜱传微生物的自然转期生存提供了证据。令人惊讶的是，本研究在宿主寻找的小亚璃眼蜱（Haemaphysalis parva）成虫中发现了 5 种不同的微生物（Ba. crassa、Ba. rossi、Babesia sp. Ucbas、血孢子虫属和 Ri. hoogstraalii），而关于其媒介能力的数据很少。因此，本研究提供了重要数据，表明小亚璃眼蜱具有潜在的媒介能力。本研究还揭示了两种重要媒介蜱（边缘革蜱和埃及革蜱）之间的密切生态和进化关系，并确定了在这些蜱虫中发现的一些致病性 SFG 立克次体的遗传变异（主要分支内的明显系统发育分歧）。此外，在兔中最近描述的两种巴贝斯虫（Babesia sp. tavsan1 和 Babesia sp. tavsan2）也首次在蜱虫中被检测到。最后，在 Haemaphysalis 蜱虫中检测到两种未命名的血孢子虫属，并证明了它们的系统发育位置。因此，本研究提供了有关宿主寻找的蜱虫中蜱传微生物多样性以及潜在新微生物（巴贝斯虫和血孢子虫属）及其可能媒介（小亚璃眼蜱、Haemaphysalis sulcata、埃及革蜱、边缘革蜱和里氏血蜱）的重要数据。
