title: Molecular evidence for bacterial pathogens in Ixodes ricinus ticks infesting Shetland ponies.
abstract: Ixodes ricinus has the potential to transmit zoonotic pathogens to humans and domestic animals. The feeding I. ricinus (n = 1737) collected from 49 Shetland ponies and questing ones from vegetation (n = 371) were tested for the presence and differentiation of the bacterial species. DNA of I. ricinus ticks was examined with PCR and sequencing analysis to identify species of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (Bbsl), Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Rickettsia spp. Altogether, 24.3 % I. ricinus of the infested horses and 12.4 % ticks from vegetation carried at least one pathogen species. Horse-feeding ticks (19.2 %) were significantly more frequently infected with Borrelia spp. than questing ticks (4.8 %). Among Bbsl species, in I. ricinus infesting ponies, B. garinii, B. afzelii, B. burgdorferi sensu stricto, B. valaisiana and B. lusitanie and one species, B. miyamotoi related to relapsing fever group, were detected. The 73 flaB gene sequences of Borrelia obtained from feeding I. ricinus have been deposited in GenBank. Among Rickettsia species, two were identified: R. helvetica which was dominant and R. monacensis. Infections with more than one pathogenic species, involving mostly Bbsl and R. helvetica were detected in 6.3 % of infected ticks collected from horses. Shetland ponies may play an important role in the epidemiological cycle of Bbsl and probably could contribute to the natural cycle of A. phagocytophilum and R. helvetica as host for infected ticks. The awareness about these infectious agents in ticks from ponies might be an important criterion for the risk assessment of human diseases, especially as these animals are maintained for recreational purposes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics, University of Szczecin, Felczaka 3c, 71-412, Szczecin, Poland. boskot@univ.szczecin.pl.
authors.forename: Bogumiła
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Skotarczak
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics, University of Szczecin, Felczaka 3c, 71-412, Szczecin, Poland.
authors.forename: Beata
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wodecka
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics, University of Szczecin, Felczaka 3c, 71-412, Szczecin, Poland.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rymaszewska
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics, University of Szczecin, Felczaka 3c, 71-412, Szczecin, Poland.
authors.forename: Małgorzata
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Adamska
mesh_terms: D041081:Anaplasma phagocytophilum / Q000235:genetics*; D000818:Animals; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D015748:Borrelia burgdorferi Group / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D006736:Horses / Q000469:parasitology; D018884:Ixodes / Q000254:growth & development / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000502:physiology; D007814:Larva / Q000254:growth & development / Q000382:microbiology / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D009758:Nymph / Q000254:growth & development / Q000382:microbiology / Q000502:physiology; D011044:Poland; D012281:Rickettsia / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins
keywords: Anaplasma; Borrelia; PCR; Questing and feeding Ixodes ricinus; Rickettsia; Sequencing