title: Rickettsia infection in Amblyomma tonelliae, a tick species from the Amblyomma cajennense complex.
abstract: The present study was performed to evaluate the Rickettsia infection in Amblyomma tonelliae ticks from Argentina. All ticks were subjected to DNA extraction and tested by a battery of PCRs to amplify fragments of four rickettsial genes, 23S-5S, gltA, ompA and htrA. Two ticks were positive. The Rickettsia detected in one tick represents a new lineage which is named Rickettsia sp. strain El Tunal. This new strain belongs to the canadensis group because it is closely related to Rickettsia monteiroi, Rickettsia canadensis and Candidatus "Rickettsia tarasevichiae". They clustered together on a high supported clade with both gltA and htrA genes. The other positive tick was infected with Candidatus "Rickettsia amblyommii". The results presented in this study constitute the first records of Rickettsia infection in A. tonelliae ticks. However, the medical relevance of these findings should be considered cautiously because the pathogenicity of Rickettsia sp. strain El Tunal and Candidatus "R. amblyommii" remains undetermined.
authors.affiliation: Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria, Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Rafaela and Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, CC 22, CP 2300 Rafaela, Santa Fe, Argentina; Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, Universidad Nacional del Litoral, RP Kreder 2805, S3080HOF, Esperanza, Santa Fe, Argentina. Electronic address: tarragona.evelina@inta.gob.ar.
authors.forename: Evelina L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Tarragona
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Zoonosis Luis Pasteur-Ministerio de Salud-Gobierno de la Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Av Díaz Vélez 4821 C1405DCD CABA, Argentina.
authors.forename: Gabriel L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Cicuttin
authors.affiliation: Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria, Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Rafaela and Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, CC 22, CP 2300 Rafaela, Santa Fe, Argentina.
authors.forename: Atilio J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Mangold
authors.affiliation: Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, Universidad Nacional del Litoral, RP Kreder 2805, S3080HOF, Esperanza, Santa Fe, Argentina.
authors.forename: Mariano
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mastropaolo
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Zoonosis Luis Pasteur-Ministerio de Salud-Gobierno de la Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Av Díaz Vélez 4821 C1405DCD CABA, Argentina.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nazarena De Salvo
authors.affiliation: Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria, Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Rafaela and Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, CC 22, CP 2300 Rafaela, Santa Fe, Argentina.
authors.forename: Santiago
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nava
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001096:Arachnid Vectors / Q000382:microbiology*; D001118:Argentina; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D001483:Base Sequence; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D021903:DNA, Ribosomal Spacer / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D026863:Ixodidae / Q000382:microbiology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D012281:Rickettsia / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012282:Rickettsia Infections / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000635:transmission; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D021903:DNA, Ribosomal Spacer
keywords: Amblyomma tonelliae; Argentina; Rickettsia