title: Francisella-like endosymbiont in Dermacentor reticulatus collected in Portugal.
abstract: In Portugal, recent studies have confirmed the presence of Francisella tularensis in Dermacentor reticulatus. Bacterial endosymbionts with significant homology to F. tularensis have been described in several species of ticks. In this work we identified Francisella-like endosymbionts in D. reticulatus ticks (39%), confirming the presence of these bacteria in Portugal. This finding should be considered in future studies using molecular approaches to detect Francisella prevalence in ticks and environmental samples.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Estudos de Vectores e Doenças Infecciosas Dr. Francisco Cambournac, Instituto Nacional de Saúde Dr. Ricardo Jorge, Águas de Moura, Portugal. isabel.carvalho@insa.min-saude.pt
authors.forename: Isabel Lopes
authors.initials: IL
authors.lastname: de Carvalho
authors.forename: Nuno
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.forename: Teresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Soares
authors.forename: Líbia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zé-Zé
authors.forename: Maria Sofia
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Núncio
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003870:Dermacentor / Q000382:microbiology*; D005260:Female; D005603:Francisella / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011174:Portugal; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D013559:Symbiosis
chemical_list: D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S