title: Detection and identification of Rickettsia species in Ixodes tick populations from Estonia.
abstract: A total of 1640 ticks collected in different geographical parts of Estonia were screened for the presence of Rickettsia species DNA by real-time PCR. DNA of Rickettsia was detected in 83 out of 1640 questing ticks with an overall prevalence of 5.1%. The majority of the ticks infected by rickettsiae were Ixodes ricinus (74 of 83), while 9 of the 83 positive ticks were Ixodes persulcatus. For rickettsial species identification, a part of the citrate synthase gltA gene was sequenced. The majority of the positive samples were identified as Rickettsia helvetica (81 out of 83) and two of the samples were identified as Rickettsia monacensis and Candidatus R. tarasevichiae, respectively. Genetic characterization based on the partial gltA gene showed that the Estonian sequences within the R. helvetica, R. monacensis and Candidatus R. tarasevichiae species demonstrated 100% similarity with sequences deposited in GenBank, originating from Rickettsia species distributed over large territories from Europe to Asia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Virology, National Institute for Health Development, Hiiu 42, 11619 Tallinn, Estonia; Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology, Zoonoses Science Center (ZSC), Uppsala University, PO Box 582, SE-751 23, Sweden.
authors.forename: Olga
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Katargina
authors.affiliation: Department of Virology, National Institute for Health Development, Hiiu 42, 11619 Tallinn, Estonia.
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Geller
authors.affiliation: Department of Virology, National Institute for Health Development, Hiiu 42, 11619 Tallinn, Estonia.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ivanova
authors.affiliation: Department of Virology, National Institute for Health Development, Hiiu 42, 11619 Tallinn, Estonia.
authors.forename: Kairi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Värv
authors.affiliation: Department of Virology, National Institute for Health Development, Hiiu 42, 11619 Tallinn, Estonia.
authors.forename: Valentina
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Tefanova
authors.affiliation: Public Health Agency of Sweden, Nobels väg 18, SE-171 82 Solna, Sweden.
authors.forename: Sirkka
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vene
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology, Zoonoses Science Center (ZSC), Uppsala University, PO Box 582, SE-751 23, Sweden; Public Health Agency of Sweden, Nobels väg 18, SE-171 82 Solna, Sweden.
authors.forename: Åke
authors.initials: Å
authors.lastname: Lundkvist
authors.affiliation: Department of Virology, National Institute for Health Development, Hiiu 42, 11619 Tallinn, Estonia; Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology, Zoonoses Science Center (ZSC), Uppsala University, PO Box 582, SE-751 23, Sweden. Electronic address: irina.golovljova@tai.ee.
authors.forename: Irina
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Golovljova
mesh_terms: D063147:Animal Distribution; D000818:Animals; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D004957:Estonia; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D014644:Genetic Variation; D018884:Ixodes / Q000382:microbiology*; D012281:Rickettsia / Q000145:classification* / Q000302:isolation & purification*
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D004269:DNA, Bacterial
keywords: Candidatus R. tarasevichiae; Ixodes tick species; Prevalence; Rickettsia helvetica; Rickettsia monacensis; Rickettsia species