Rickettsial agents from parasitic dermanyssoidea (Acari: Mesostigmata).
Mites are often overlooked as vectors of pathogens, but have been shown to harbor and transmit rickettsial agents such as Rickettsia akari and Orientia tsutsugamushi. We screened DNA extracts from 27 mites representing 25 species of dermanyssoids for rickettsial agents such as Anaplasma, Bartonella, Rickettsia, and Wolbachia by PCR amplification and sequencing. DNA from Anaplasma spp., a novel Bartonella sp., Spiroplasma sp., Wolbachia sp., and an unclassified Rickettsiales were detected in mites. These could represent mite-borne bacterial agents, bacterial DNA from blood meals, or novel endosymbionts of mites.
Reeves
Will K
WK
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Rd. NE, MS G-13, Atlanta, GA 30333, USA. cui8@cdc.gov
Dowling
Ashley P G
AP
Dasch
Gregory A
GA
D000709:Anaplasma / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D000818:Animals; D001473:Bartonella / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D001483:Base Sequence; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D006090:Gram-Negative Bacteria / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D008925:Mites / Q000382:microbiology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D012281:Rickettsia / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013149:Spiroplasma / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D020577:Wolbachia / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification
D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S