Mofokeng Lehlohonolo S, Smit Nico J, Cook Courtney A
Water Research Group, Unit for Environmental Sciences and Management, North-West University, Potchefstroom 2531, South Africa.
Microorganisms. 2022 Sep 28;10(10):1923. doi: 10.3390/microorganisms10101923.
Reptiles are hosts for various tick species and tick-associated organisms, many of which are zoonotic. However, little is known about the presence and diversity of tick-borne bacteria infecting reptiles and their ticks in South Africa. ticks ( = 253) collected from reptiles were screened for the presence of , , and species by amplification, sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA, 23S rRNA, , , and genes, respectively. This study recorded the presence of reptile associated species and -like endosymbiont in South Africa for the first time. Furthermore, a spotted fever group species was observed in 7 and 14 from tortoises of genera and . -like endosymbiont was observed from 2 collected from the Mozambique spitting cobra, . and spp., were not detected from the current samples. Although the direct evidence that reptiles can act as reservoir hosts remains to be determined, observations from this study provide indications that reptilian ticks may play a role in the transmission of pathogenic bacteria to homothermic animals. Furthermore, the absence of spp., and . does not mean that these pathogens should be completely neglected.
爬行动物是各种蜱虫物种及与蜱虫相关的生物的宿主，其中许多是人畜共患病原体。然而，关于南非感染爬行动物及其蜱虫的蜱传细菌的存在情况和多样性，人们了解甚少。分别通过对16S rRNA、23S rRNA、、、和基因进行扩增、测序和系统发育分析，对从爬行动物身上采集的蜱虫（= 253只）进行筛查，以检测、和物种的存在情况。本研究首次记录了南非存在与爬行动物相关的物种和类内共生体。此外，在采自属和属陆龟的7只和14只蜱虫中观察到一种斑点热群物种。从莫桑比克射毒眼镜蛇采集的2只蜱虫中观察到类内共生体。在当前样本中未检测到和物种。虽然爬行动物可作为储存宿主的直接证据仍有待确定，但本研究的观察结果表明，爬行动物蜱虫可能在将病原菌传播给恒温动物方面发挥作用。此外，未检测到物种和并不意味着这些病原体应被完全忽视。
