Candidatus Rickettsia andeanae, a spotted fever group agent infecting Amblyomma parvum ticks in two Brazilian biomes.
Adult ticks of the species Amblyomma parvum were collected from the vegetation in the Pantanal biome (state of Mato Grosso do Sul) and from horses in the Cerrado biome (state of Piauí) in Brazil. The ticks were individually tested for rickettsial infection via polymerase chain reaction (PCR) targeting three rickettsial genes, gltA, ompA and ompB. Overall, 63.5% (40/63) and 66.7% (2/3) of A. parvum ticks from Pantanal and Cerrado, respectively, contained rickettsial DNA, which were all confirmed by DNA sequencing to be 100% identical to the corresponding fragments of the gltA, ompA and ompB genes of Candidatus Rickettsia andeanae. This report is the first to describe Ca. R. andeanae in Brazil.
Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brasil.
Fernanda Aparecida
FA
Nieri-Bastos
Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brasil.
Marcos Gomes
MG
Lopes
Embrapa Gado de Corte, Campo Grande, MS, Brasil.
Paulo Henrique Duarte
PH
Cançado
Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brasil.
Giselle Ayres Razera
GA
Rossa
Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro, Seropédica, RJ, Brasil.
João Luiz Horácio
JL
Faccini
Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brasil.
Solange Maria
SM
Gennari
Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brasil.
Marcelo Bahia
MB
Labruna
D000818:Animals; D001096:Arachnid Vectors / Q000382:microbiology; D001938:Brazil; D017753:Ecosystem; D005260:Female; D006736:Horses / Q000469:parasitology; D026863:Ixodidae / Q000382:microbiology*; D008297:Male; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012281:Rickettsia / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D017282:Tick-Borne Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis