Coxiella symbionts are widespread into hard ticks.
Ticks are blood-feeding arthropods and can harbor several bacteria, including the worldwide zoonotic disease Q-fever agent Coxiella burnetii. Recent studies have reported a distinct group of Coxiella mostly associated with Ixodidae ticks, including the primary endosymbionts of Amblyomma americanum. In the present work, a screening for Coxiella infection was performed by 16S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) gene analyses in 293 tick samples of 15 different species sampled worldwide, including Brazil, Colombia, Kenya, and China. Different Coxiella phylotypes were identified, and these putative symbiotic bacteria were detected in ten different Amblyomma tick species. Approximately 61 % of Rhipicephalus sanguineus and ∼37 % of Rhipicephalus microplus DNA samples were positive for Coxiella. Sequence analysis and phylogenetic reconstruction grouped all the detected Coxiella with Coxiella-like symbionts from different Ixodidae ticks. This well-defined clade clearly excludes known phylotypes of C. burnetii pathogens and other Coxiella spp. detected in different environmental samples and other invertebrate hosts.
Departamento de Genética, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, 21944-970, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
Erik
E
Machado-Ferreira
Departamento de Genética, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, 21944-970, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
Vinicius F
VF
Vizzoni
Departamento de Genética, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, 21944-970, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
Emilia
E
Balsemão-Pires
Instituto Oswaldo Cruz-FioCruz, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
Leonardo
L
Moerbeck
Instituto Oswaldo Cruz-FioCruz, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
Gilberto S
GS
Gazeta
Bioagricultural Sciences & Pest Management, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80521, USA.
Joseph
J
Piesman
Departamento de Genética, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, 21944-970, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
Carolina M
CM
Voloch
Departamento de Genética, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, 21944-970, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. soares@biologia.ufrj.br.
Carlos A G
CA
Soares
D000818:Animals; D001938:Brazil; D002681:China; D003381:Coxiella / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000235:genetics; D026863:Ixodidae / Q000382:microbiology*; D007630:Kenya; D058889:Molecular Typing; D010802:Phylogeny; D013559:Symbiosis
D004275:DNA, Ribosomal
Amblyomma ticks; Coxiella burnetii; Coxiella symbionts; Ixodidae