title: Rickettsia lusitaniae associated with Ornithodoros yumatensis (Acari: Argasidae) from two caves in Yucatan, Mexico.
abstract: The genus Rickettsia includes obligate intracellular bacteria transmitted by several hematophagous arthropods such as ticks, fleas and sucking lice. In particular hard ticks (Ixodidae) have been cited as the main vectors of pathogenic rickettsiae in Mexico. However, there have been only two records of a single Rickettsia species associated with Mexican soft ticks (Argasidae). In this study, we searched for rickettsial DNA in argasid ticks (13 adults and eight nymphs of Ornithodoros yumatensis) from two bat caves in the state of Yucatan, Mexico. Additionally one larva collected in a cave from Chiapas, Mexico, and associated with Desmodus rotundus was used to corroborate the tick taxonomic determination. Of these, nine ticks (43%) yielded expected PCR products for the rickettsial gltA gene. These PCR-positive ticks were tested with additional PCR protocols targeting the rickettsial genes gltA, ompA and ompB. DNA partial sequences from these genes showed 99-100% identities with Rickettsia lusitaniae, an agent isolated from O. erraticus in Portugal, and closely related to R. felis and R. hoogstraalii. Based on the results from this study, the inventory of rickettsiae distributed in Mexico increases from six to seven species.
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Acarología, Departamento de Biología Comparada, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Distrito Federal, México; Laboratorio de Inmunoparasitología, Unidad de Investigación en Medicina Experimental, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Distrito Federal, México; Centro de Medicina Tropical, Unidad de Investigación en Medicina Experimental, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Distrito Federal, México.
authors.forename: Sokani
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sánchez-Montes
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Acarología, Departamento de Biología Comparada, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Distrito Federal, México. Electronic address: carguzmancornejo@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Carmen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Guzmán-Cornejo
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Acarología, Departamento de Biología Comparada, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Distrito Federal, México.
authors.forename: Yecenia
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Martínez-Nájera
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Inmunoparasitología, Unidad de Investigación en Medicina Experimental, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Distrito Federal, México; Centro de Medicina Tropical, Unidad de Investigación en Medicina Experimental, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Distrito Federal, México.
authors.forename: Ingeborg
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Becker
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Vectores y Enfermedades Transmitidas, Facultad de Veterinaria, CENUR Litoral Norte, Universidad de la República, Salto, Uruguay.
authors.forename: José M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Venzal
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Medicina Veterinaria Preventiva e Saude Animal, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinaria e Zootecnia, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Marcelo B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Labruna
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D059552:Caves; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D008800:Mexico; D026861:Ornithodoros / Q000382:microbiology*; D010802:Phylogeny; D012281:Rickettsia / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*
keywords: Mexico; Ornithodoros yumatensis; Rickettsia lusitaniae