title: Arsenophonus nasoniae and Rickettsiae Infection of Ixodes ricinus Due to Parasitic Wasp Ixodiphagus hookeri.
abstract: Arsenophonus nasoniae, a male-killing endosymbiont of chalcid wasps, was recently detected in several hard tick species. Following the hypothesis that its presence in ticks may not be linked to the direct occurrence of bacteria in tick's organs, we identified A. nasoniae in wasps emerging from parasitised nymphs. We confirmed that 28.1% of Ixodiphagus hookeri wasps parasitizing Ixodes ricinus ticks were infected by A. nasoniae. Moreover, in examined I. ricinus nymphs, A. nasoniae was detected only in those, which were parasitized by the wasp. However, in part of the adult wasps as well as in some ticks that contained wasp's DNA, we did not confirm A. nasoniae. We also found, that in spite of reported male-killing, some newly emerged adult wasp males were also infected by A. nasoniae. Additionally, we amplified the DNA of Rickettsia helvetica and Rickettsia monacensis (known to be Ixodes ricinus-associated bacteria) in adult parasitoid wasps. This may be related either with the digested bacterial DNA in wasp body lumen or with a role of wasps in circulation of rickettsiae among tick vectors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Rickettsiology, Institute of Virology, Biomedical Research Center, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia.
authors.forename: Monika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bohacsova
authors.affiliation: Unite de Recherche sur les Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales Emergentes (URMITE) IRD 198, CNRS 7278, INSERM 1095, Institut Hospitalo-Universitaire (IHU) Mediterranee-Infection, Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Oleg
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Mediannikov
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Zoology, Institute of Zoology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kazimirova
authors.affiliation: Unite de Recherche sur les Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales Emergentes (URMITE) IRD 198, CNRS 7278, INSERM 1095, Institut Hospitalo-Universitaire (IHU) Mediterranee-Infection, Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Didier
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Raoult
authors.affiliation: Department of Rickettsiology, Institute of Virology, Biomedical Research Center, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia.
authors.forename: Zuzana
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Sekeyova
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D018884:Ixodes / Q000382:microbiology*; D026863:Ixodidae / Q000382:microbiology; D008297:Male; D009758:Nymph / Q000382:microbiology; D012281:Rickettsia / Q000502:physiology*; D014863:Wasps / Q000382:microbiology*