title: Isolation of Arsenophonus nasoniae from Ixodes ricinus ticks in Slovakia.
abstract: The tick Ixodes ricinus is the most prevalent and widely distributed tick species in Central Europe, commonly found in woodlands, heaths, and forests and particularly abundant in the Alpine region. This tick readily bites humans and transmits a number of bacterial and viral pathogens. We collected 10 live nymphs of I. ricinus ticks from vegetation in the Rovinka forest, Slovakia, and isolated a strain of Arsenophonus nasoniae from one tick using the BME/CTVM2 cell line. A new isolate was then subcultured on axenic media (Columbia agar supplemented with 5% sheep blood). To the best of our knowledge, this bacterium was never previously isolated from hard ticks or identified in ticks in Europe. We amplified and sequenced the 16S rRNA, rpoB, and ftsY genes. Limited genetic characterization showed that the isolated strain is almost identical to a strain from the parasitic wasp Nasonia vitripennis. Electron microscopy revealed a typical morphology of a Gram-negative bacterium, without pili or flagellae. Its role in human and animal pathology remains to be evaluated.
authors.affiliation: Aix Marseille Université, Unité de Recherche en Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales Emergentes (URMITE), UM63, CNRS 7278, IRD 198, Inserm 1095, WHO Collaborative Center for Rickettsioses and Other Arthropod Borne Bacterial Diseases, 27 bd Jean Moulin, 13385 Marseille cedex 5, France.
authors.forename: Oleg
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Mediannikov
authors.forename: Geetha
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Subramanian
authors.forename: Zuzana
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Sekeyova
authors.forename: Lesley
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bell-Sakyi
authors.forename: Didier
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Raoult
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D001431:Bacteriological Techniques; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D012321:DNA-Directed RNA Polymerases / Q000235:genetics; D004755:Enterobacteriaceae / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D018884:Ixodes / Q000382:microbiology*; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D018160:Receptors, Cytoplasmic and Nuclear / Q000235:genetics; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D018154:Slovakia
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal; C087406:FtsY protein, Bacteria; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; D018160:Receptors, Cytoplasmic and Nuclear; D012321:DNA-Directed RNA Polymerases; C105078:RNA polymerase beta subunit