Relative incompetence of European rabbits for Lyme disease spirochaetes

To determine whether rabbits may serve as reservoir hosts for Lyme disease spirochaetes in Europe, we compared their competence as hosts for Borrelia afzelii, one of the most prevalent European spirochaetal variants, with that of the Mongolian jird. To infect rabbits or jirds, at least 3 nymphal or adult Ixodes ricinus ticks infected with spirochaetes fed to repletion on each animal. Whereas jirds readily acquired tick-borne Lyme disease spirochaetes and subsequently infected vector ticks, rabbits exposed to tick-borne spirochaetes rarely became infectious to ticks. Only the rabbit that was infectious to ticks developed an antibody response. To the extent that I. ricinus ticks feed on European rabbits, these mammals may be zooprophylactic by diverting vector ticks from more suitable reservoir competent hosts.

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Rate of Infection of Ixodes ricinus Ticks with Borrelia burgdorferi Sensu Stricto, Borrelia garinii, Borrelia afzelii and Group VS116 in an Endemic Focus of Lyme Disease in Italy

European Journal of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases ◽

10.1007/s100960050023 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 17 (2) ◽

pp. 90-94 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

M. Cinco ◽

D. Padovan ◽

R. Murgia ◽

L. Poldini ◽

L. Frusteri ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Lyme Disease ◽

Borrelia Burgdorferi ◽

Ixodes Ricinus ◽

Sensu Stricto ◽

Borrelia Garinii ◽

Borrelia Afzelii ◽

Endemic Focus ◽

Ixodes Ricinus Ticks ◽

Borrelia Burgdorferi Sensu Stricto

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Adaptation of Diverse Lyme Disease Spirochetes in a Natural Rodent Reservoir Host

Infection and Immunity ◽

10.1128/iai.72.4.2442-2444.2004 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 72 (4) ◽

pp. 2442-2444 ◽

Cited By ~ 40

Author(s):

Dania Richter ◽

Birte Klug ◽

Andrew Spielman ◽

Franz-Rainer Matuschka

Keyword(s):

Lyme Disease ◽

Incubation Period ◽

Sensu Stricto ◽

Reservoir Host ◽

Borrelia Afzelii ◽

Wood Mice ◽

Reservoir Hosts

ABSTRACT We compared the relative reservoir competence of European wood mice for two genospecies of Lyme disease spirochetes by analyzing susceptibility, intrinsic incubation period, and degree and duration of infectivity. Borrelia afzelii, specializing in particular reservoir hosts, is better adapted to those hosts than is the more generalist genospecies B. burgdorferi sensu stricto.

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The abundance of the Lyme disease pathogen Borrelia afzelii declines over time in the tick vector Ixodes ricinus

Parasites & Vectors ◽

10.1186/s13071-017-2187-4 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Maxime Jacquet ◽

Dolores Genné ◽

Alessandro Belli ◽

Elodie Maluenda ◽

Anouk Sarr ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Lyme Disease ◽

Ixodes Ricinus ◽

Borrelia Afzelii ◽

Tick Vector ◽

Over Time

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Synanthropic Birds Influence the Distribution ofBorreliaSpecies: Analysis ofIxodes ricinusTicks Feeding on Passerine Birds

Applied and Environmental Microbiology ◽

10.1128/aem.02278-10 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 77 (3) ◽

pp. 1115-1117 ◽

Cited By ~ 23

Author(s):

Lenka Dubska ◽

Ivan Literak ◽

Elena Kocianova ◽

Veronika Taragelova ◽

Veronika Sverakova ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Czech Republic ◽

Ixodes Ricinus ◽

Passerine Birds ◽

Borrelia Garinii ◽

The Czech Republic ◽

Borrelia Afzelii ◽

Turdus Merula ◽

Host Seeking ◽

Reservoir Hosts

ABSTRACTIxodes ricinusticks collected from 835 birds and from vegetation in the Czech Republic were analyzed. Host-seeking ticks (n= 427) were infected predominantly byBorrelia afzelii(25%). Ticks (n= 1,012) from songbirds (Passeriformes) were infected commonly byBorrelia garinii(12.1%) andBorrelia valaisiana(13.4%). Juveniles of synanthropic birds, Eurasian blackbirds (Turdus merula) and song thrushes (Turdus philomelos), were major reservoir hosts ofB. garinii.

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Borrelia afzelii infection in the rodent host has dramatic effects on the bacterial microbiome of Ixodes ricinus ticks

Applied and Environmental Microbiology ◽

10.1128/aem.00641-21 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Phineas T. Hamilton ◽

Elodie Maluenda ◽

Anouk Sarr ◽

Alessandro Belli ◽

Georgia Hurry ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Lyme Disease ◽

Ixodes Ricinus ◽

Vertebrate Host ◽

Controlled Study ◽

Infection Prevalence ◽

Borrelia Afzelii ◽

Surface Sterilization ◽

Blood Sucking ◽

Bacterial Microbiome ◽

Vector Borne

The microbiome of blood-sucking arthropods can shape their competence to acquire and maintain infections with vector-borne pathogens. We used a controlled study to investigate the interactions between Borrelia afzelii , which causes Lyme disease in Europe, and the bacterial microbiome of Ixodes ricinus , its primary tick vector. We applied a surface sterilization treatment to I. ricinus eggs to produce dysbiosed tick larvae that had a much lower bacterial abundance and a changed bacterial microbiome compared to the control larvae. Dysbiosed and control larvae were fed on B. afzelii -infected mice and uninfected control mice and the engorged larvae were left to molt into nymphs, which were tested for B. afzelii infection and their bacterial microbiome by 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing. Surprisingly, larval dysbiosis had no effect on the vector competence of I. ricinus for B. afzelii , as the nymphal infection prevalence and the nymphal spirochete load were the same between the dysbiosed group and the control group. The strong effect of egg surface sterilization on the tick bacterial microbiome largely disappeared once the larvae molted into nymphs. The most important determinant of the bacterial microbiome of I. ricinus nymphs was the B. afzelii infection status of the mouse on which the nymphs had fed as larvae. Nymphs that had taken their larval blood meal from an infected mouse had a less abundant but more diverse bacterial microbiome compared to control nymphs. Our study demonstrates that vector-borne infections in the vertebrate host shape the microbiome of the arthropod vector. IMPORTANCE Many blood-sucking arthropods transmit pathogens that cause infectious disease. For example, Ixodes ricinus ticks transmit the bacterium Borrelia afzelii , which causes Lyme disease in humans. Ticks also have a microbiome, which can influence their ability to acquire and transmit tick-borne pathogens like B. afzelii . We sterilized I. ricinus eggs with bleach, and the tick larvae that hatched from these eggs had a dramatically reduced and changed bacterial microbiome compared to control larvae. These larvae were fed on B. afzelii -infected mice and the resultant nymphs were tested for B. afzelii and their bacterial microbiome. We found that our manipulation of the bacterial microbiome had no effect on the ability of the tick larvae to acquire and maintain populations of B. afzelii . In contrast, we found that B. afzelii infection had dramatic effects on the bacterial microbiome of I. ricinus nymphs. Our study demonstrates that infections in the vertebrate host can shape the tick microbiome.

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Publisher Correction: Infection with Borrelia afzelii and manipulation of the egg surface microbiota have no effect on the fitness of immature Ixodes ricinus ticks

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-93066-2 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Georgia Hurry ◽

Elodie Maluenda ◽

Anouk Sarr ◽

Alessandro Belli ◽

Phineas T. Hamilton ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Ixodes Ricinus ◽

Borrelia Afzelii ◽

Ixodes Ricinus Ticks

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C-Terminal Invariable Domain of VlsE Is Immunodominant but Its Antigenicity Is Scarcely Conserved among Strains of Lyme Disease Spirochetes

Infection and Immunity ◽

10.1128/iai.69.5.3224-3231.2001 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 69 (5) ◽

pp. 3224-3231 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

Fang Ting Liang ◽

Lisa C. Bowers ◽

Mario T. Philipp

Keyword(s):

Lyme Disease ◽

Antibody Response ◽

Human Serum ◽

Synthetic Peptide ◽

Species Complex ◽

Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay ◽

Serum Samples ◽

Variable Surface ◽

Entire Sequence ◽

Carboxyl Terminal

ABSTRACT VlsE, the variable surface antigen of Borrelia burgdorferi, contains two invariable domains located at the amino and carboxyl terminal ends, respectively, and a central variable domain. In this study, both immunogenicity and antigenic conservation of the C-terminal invariable domain were assessed. Mouse antiserum to a 51-mer synthetic peptide (Ct) which reproduced the entire sequence of the C-terminal invariable domain of VlsE from B. burgdorferi strain B31 was reacted on immunoblots with whole-cell lysates extracted from spirochetes of 12 strains from the B. burgdorferi sensu lato species complex. The antiserum recognized only VlsE from strain B31, indicating that epitopes of this domain differed among these strains. When Ct was used as enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) antigen, all of the seven monkeys and six mice that were infected with B31 spirochetes produced a strong antibody response to this peptide, indicating that the C-terminal invariable domain is immunodominant. None of 12 monkeys and only 11 of 26 mice that were infected with strains other than B31 produced a detectable anti-Ct response, indicating a limited antigenic conservation of this domain among these strains. Twenty-six of 33 dogs that were experimentally infected by tick inoculation were positive by the Ct ELISA, while only 5 of 18 serum samples from dogs clinically diagnosed with Lyme disease contained detectable anti-Ct antibody. Fifty-seven of 64 serum specimens that were collected from American patients with Lyme disease were positive by the Ct ELISA, while only 12 of 21 European samples contained detectable anti-Ct antibody. In contrast, antibody to the more conserved invariable region IR6 of VlsE was present in all of these dog and human serum samples.

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Ecological Factors Characterizing the Prevalence of Bacterial Tick-Borne Pathogens in Ixodes ricinus Ticks in Pastures and Woodlands

Applied and Environmental Microbiology ◽

10.1128/aem.00610-10 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 76 (13) ◽

pp. 4413-4420 ◽

Cited By ~ 75

Author(s):

Lénaïg Halos ◽

Séverine Bord ◽

Violaine Cotté ◽

Patrick Gasqui ◽

David Abrial ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Forest Fragmentation ◽

Ixodes Ricinus ◽

Spotted Fever ◽

Ecological Factors ◽

Adult Tick ◽

Reservoir Host ◽

Host Community ◽

Infection Prevalence ◽

Spotted Fever Group ◽

Reservoir Hosts

ABSTRACT Ecological changes are recognized as an important driver behind the emergence of infectious diseases. The prevalence of infection in ticks depends upon ecological factors that are rarely taken into account simultaneously. Our objective was to investigate the influences of forest fragmentation, vegetation, adult tick hosts, and habitat on the infection prevalence of three tick-borne bacteria, Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, and Rickettsia sp. of the spotted fever group, in questing Ixodes ricinus ticks, taking into account tick characteristics. Samples of questing nymphs and adults were taken from 61 pastures and neighboring woodlands in central France. The ticks were tested by PCR of pools of nymphs and individual adults. The individual infection prevalence was modeled using multivariate regression. The highest infection prevalences were found in adult females collected in woodland sites for B. burgdorferi sensu lato and A. phagocytophilum (16.1% and 10.7%, respectively) and in pasture sites for Rickettsia sp. (8.7%). The infection prevalence in nymphs was lower than 6%. B. burgdorferi sensu lato was more prevalent in woodlands than in pastures. Forest fragmentation favored B. burgdorferi sensu lato and A. phagocytophilum prevalence in woodlands, and in pastures, the B. burgdorferi sensu lato prevalence was favored by shrubby vegetation. Both results are probably because large amounts of edges or shrubs increase the abundance of small vertebrates as reservoir hosts. The Rickettsia sp. prevalence was maximal on pasture with medium forest fragmentation. Female ticks were more infected by B. burgdorferi sensu lato than males and nymphs in woodland sites, which suggests an interaction between the ticks and the bacteria. This study confirms the complexity of the tick-borne pathogen ecology. The findings support the importance of small vertebrates as reservoir hosts and make a case for further studies in Europe on the link between the composition of the reservoir host community and the infection prevalence in ticks.

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