First molecular detection of Francisella-like endosymbionts in Hyalomma and Rhipicephalus tick species collected from vertebrate hosts from Sardinia island, Italy.
Exp Appl Acarol
; 79(2): 245-254, 2019 Oct.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-31650337
Ticks are vectors of a wide variety of human and animal pathogens as well as non-pathogenic microorganisms acting as endosymbionts and whose role in ticks is still little known. Symbionts such as Francisella-like endosymbionts (FLEs) are members of Francisellaceae family with unknown pathogenicity, detected in both hard and soft ticks. A total of 236 ticks collected from several sites in Sardinia were screened for Francisella species by PCR using primers targeting a fragment of the 16S rRNA gene. DNA of Francisella was detected in 5.1% (12/236) of the ticks tested. Sequencing results revealed that seven Rhipicephalus sanguineus s.l., three Hyalomma marginatum, one Hy. lusitanicum, and one Rh. bursa ticks exhibited DNA with 99-100% similarity to Francisella-like endosymbionts isolated from different tick species all over the world. Further research is needed in order to better characterize FLE strains obtained in Sardinia and to better understand if their presence could be related to the infection with other zoonotic pathogens.
Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Ixodidae
/
Francisella
Tipo de estudio:
Diagnostic_studies
Límite:
Animals
País/Región como asunto:
Europa
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Exp Appl Acarol
Asunto de la revista:
BIOLOGIA
/
PARASITOLOGIA
Año:
2019
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Italia
Pais de publicación:
Países Bajos