title: Detection of Francisella-like endosymbiont in Hyalomma rufipes from Ethiopia.
abstract: The expanding family of Francisellaceae includes the genus Francisella, where several pathogen bacteria, e.g. the zoonotic F. tularensis, and different Francisella-like agents belong to. Francisella-like endosymbionts (FLEs) are widespread in hard and soft ticks and their pathogenicity is unknown. The examination of 296 ticks collected in Ethiopia was performed for the detection of F. tularensis and FLEs using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays based on the amplification of 16S rRNA, sdhA and tul4 gene fragments. FLE was described in one Hyalomma rufipes tick based on the 16S rRNA and sdhA gene sequences. The 16S rRNA gene fragment was identical with the ones detected previously in Rhipicephalus sanguineus and Hyalomma marginatum marginatum in Bulgaria. The presence of endosymbionts with identical 16S rRNA gene sequence in both Rhipicephalus and Hyalomma species further supports the hypotheses, that certain FLEs had independent evolution from their tick hosts.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Veterinary Medical Research, Centre for Agricultural Research, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Hungária krt 21, Budapest 1143, Hungary.
authors.forename: Alexandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Szigeti
authors.affiliation: Institute for Veterinary Medical Research, Centre for Agricultural Research, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Hungária krt 21, Budapest 1143, Hungary.
authors.forename: Zsuzsa
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Kreizinger
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Veterinary Science, Szent István University, István utca 2, Budapest 1078, Hungary.
authors.forename: Sándor
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hornok
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Veterinary Science, Szent István University, István utca 2, Budapest 1078, Hungary.
authors.forename: Getachew
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Abichu
authors.affiliation: Institute for Veterinary Medical Research, Centre for Agricultural Research, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Hungária krt 21, Budapest 1143, Hungary. Electronic address: m.gyuranecz@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Miklós
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gyuranecz
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001096:Arachnid Vectors / Q000382:microbiology*; D001483:Base Sequence; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D005002:Ethiopia / Q000453:epidemiology; D005603:Francisella / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005604:Francisella tularensis / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D026863:Ixodidae / Q000382:microbiology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013559:Symbiosis; D014406:Tularemia / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial
keywords: Africa; Ethiopia; Francisella tularensis; Francisella-like endosymbiont; Hyalomma