title: A novel ehrlichial agent detected in tick in French Polynesia.
abstract: Ticks are hematophageous arthropods that are known to host and transmit miscellaneous pathogens including zoonotic bacteria. The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of tick-associated microorganisms in Tahiti, French Polynesia with molecular tools. A total of 658 ticks from two species including Rhipicephalus sanguineus s.l. and Rh. annulatus were collected with forceps on dogs and cattle respectively, or with a flag on pasture in several locations of Tahiti in 2013. Two Rickettsia belonging to the spotted fever group different from R. conorii and R. massiliae were detected by qPCR in two Rh. sanguineus s.l. ticks, but sequencing failed. A Rh. annulatus tick was found positive for a new ehrlichial agent characterized by amplification and sequencing of fragments of the Anaplasmataceae 23S and Ehrlichia 16S genes. Phylogenetic analyses based on the 23S and 16S sequences reveals that this bacterium is a new genotype, genetically close to Ehrlichia minasensis, a recently described Ehrlichia sp. close to Ehrlichia canis.
authors: Aix Marseille Université, Unité de Recherche en Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales Emergentes (URMITE), UM63, CNRS 7278, IRD 198 (Dakar, Sénégal), Inserm 1095, Faculté de Médecine, 27 bd Jean Moulin, 13385 Marseille cedex 5, France.
authors: Maureen
authors: M
authors: Laroche
authors: Pôle de recherche et de veille sur les maladies infectieuses émergentes, Institut Louis Malardé, PO Box 30, 98713 Tahiti, French Polynesia.
authors: Jérôme
authors: J
authors: Marie
authors: Aix Marseille Université, Unité de Recherche en Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales Emergentes (URMITE), UM63, CNRS 7278, IRD 198 (Dakar, Sénégal), Inserm 1095, Faculté de Médecine, 27 bd Jean Moulin, 13385 Marseille cedex 5, France.
authors: Oleg
authors: O
authors: Mediannikov
authors: Aix Marseille Université, Unité de Recherche en Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales Emergentes (URMITE), UM63, CNRS 7278, IRD 198 (Dakar, Sénégal), Inserm 1095, Faculté de Médecine, 27 bd Jean Moulin, 13385 Marseille cedex 5, France.
authors: Lionel
authors: L
authors: Almeras
authors: Aix Marseille Université, Unité de Recherche en Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales Emergentes (URMITE), UM63, CNRS 7278, IRD 198 (Dakar, Sénégal), Inserm 1095, Faculté de Médecine, 27 bd Jean Moulin, 13385 Marseille cedex 5, France.
authors: Jean-Michel
authors: JM
authors: Berenger
authors: Pôle de recherche et de veille sur les maladies infectieuses émergentes, Institut Louis Malardé, PO Box 30, 98713 Tahiti, French Polynesia.
authors: Didier
authors: D
authors: Musso
authors: Aix Marseille Université, Unité de Recherche en Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales Emergentes (URMITE), UM63, CNRS 7278, IRD 198 (Dakar, Sénégal), Inserm 1095, Faculté de Médecine, 27 bd Jean Moulin, 13385 Marseille cedex 5, France.
authors: Didier
authors: D
authors: Raoult
authors: Aix Marseille Université, Unité de Recherche en Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales Emergentes (URMITE), UM63, CNRS 7278, IRD 198 (Dakar, Sénégal), Inserm 1095, Faculté de Médecine, 27 bd Jean Moulin, 13385 Marseille cedex 5, France. Electronic address: philippe.parola@univ-amu.fr.
authors: Philippe
authors: P
authors: Parola
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D002418:Cattle Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology; D004285:Dogs; D004536:Ehrlichia / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D010802:Phylogeny; D011114:Polynesia / Q000453:epidemiology; D012329:RNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D012338:RNA, Ribosomal, 23S / Q000235:genetics; D048494:Rhipicephalus / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: D012329:RNA, Bacterial; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; D012338:RNA, Ribosomal, 23S
keywords: Ehrlichia; Rhipicephalus; Tahiti; Ticks