Genomic characterization of an emerging isolated from tick eggs in northwestern China.

The continual emergence of tick-borne rickettsioses has garnered widespread global attention. Rickettsia barbariae ( R. barbariae), which emerged in Italy in 2008, has been detected in humans from northwestern China. However, the lack of R. barbariae genome and isolated strains limits the understanding of its biological characteristics and genomic features. Here, we isolated the for the first time from eggs of in northwestern China, and assembled its whole genome after next-generation sequencing, so we modified the proposed name to () to conform to the International Code of Nomenclature of Prokaryotes. Phylogenetic analysis based on the whole genome revealed that it was most closely related to the pathogenic and . All virulence factors, present in the pathogenic spotted fever group rickettsiae, were identified in the isolate. These findings highlight the pathogenic potential of and the necessity for enhanced surveillance of the emerging in the human population.