scholarly journals New Records of Bartonella Spp. And Rickettsia Spp. In Lice Collected From Small Rodents

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Asta Aleksandravičienė ◽  
Algimantas Paulauskas ◽  
Michal Stanko ◽  
Jana Fričová ◽  
Jana Radzijevskaja

Abstract Background: Lice are blood-sucking insects that are of medical and veterinary significance as parasites and vectors for various infectious agents. More than half of described blood-sucking lice species are found on rodents. Rodents are important hosts of several Bartonella and Rickettsia species and some of these pathogens are characterised as human pathogens in Europe. Rodent ectoparasites, such as fleas and ticks, are important vectors of Bartonella spp. and Rickettsia spp., but knowledge about the presence of these bacteria in lice is limited. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of Bartonella and Rickettsia bacteria in lice collected from rodents in Slovakia.Methods: The ectoparasites were collected from small rodents captured from 2010 to 2015 at four different sites in eastern Slovakia. The presence of Bartonella and Rickettsia pathogens in lice samples was screened by real-time PCR, targeting ssrA and gltA genes respectively. The molecular characterisation of the Bartonella strains was based on sequence analysis of partial rpoB and ITS genes, and of the Rickettsia species on sequence analysis of the gltA gene. Results: A total of 1074 lice of seven species were collected from six rodent species in Slovakia from 2010 to 2015. Bartonella DNA was detected in three species of lice Hoplopleura affinis (collected from Apodemus agrarius, A. flavicollis and Myodes glareolus), Polyplax serrata (from A. agrarius) and Hoplopleura sp. (from A. flavicollis). Sequence analysis revealed that the Bartonella strains belonged to the B. coopersplainsensis, B. tribocorum and B. taylorii genogroups. Rickettsia DNR was detected in H. affinis and P. serrata lice collected from A. agrarius. Sequence analysis revealed the presence of two Rickettsia species: R. helvetica and Rickettsia sp.Conclusions: To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first report on the occurrence and diversity of Bartonella spp. and Rickettsia spp. in lice collected from small rodents in Europe. This study is also the first to detect B. coopersplainsensis in Slovakia.

2016 ◽  
Vol 64 (4) ◽  
pp. 514-528 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mónika Z. Ballmann ◽  
Balázs Harrach

Up to now, only a single adenovirus (AdV) isolate seemingly specific for pigeons, hence named pigeon AdV-1 (PiAdV-1), has been characterised at DNA sequence level. In the present work, the prevalence and diversity of AdVs occurring in domestic pigeon were examined by a survey performed on randomly collected samples using a very efficient, consensus nested PCR targeting the viral DNA polymerase gene. The newly detected viruses were characterised by sequencing and phylogeny analysis. Amplification of additional genome fragments was attempted by the use of several other PCR methods aiming at the hexon gene. During a 4-year survey, samples from dead or live, healthy pigeons originating from 27 lofts were examined in Hungary. Almost 50% of the samples (48 out of 97) proved to be positive for AdV. Sequence analysis revealed the presence of four hitherto unknown pigeon AdV types. PiAdV-1 was also identified in one sample. Two novel viruses named PiAdV-2 and -3 were found to belong to the genus Aviadenovirus, and two other novel types (PiAdV-4 and -5) to the genus Siadenovirus. This is the first report on the occurrence of siadenoviruses in birds belonging to the order Columbiformes. Approximately two-thirds of the PiAdV-2 genome was sequenced and analysed.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Vikentjeva ◽  
Julia Geller ◽  
Jaanus Remm ◽  
Irina Golovljova

Abstract BACKGROUND Rickettsia spp. are human pathogens that cause a number of diseases and are transmitted by arthropods, including ixodid ticks. Estonia contributes a region, where the distribution area of two exophilic tick species of known medical importance, Ixodes persulcatus and I. ricinus, overlap. The presence of the nidicolous rodent-associated I. trianguliceps has recently been shown for Estonia. Although there is no Estonian data available on human disease caused by tick-borne Rickettsia spp., the presence of three Rickettsia species in non-nidicolous ticks, albiet at very dissimilar rates, was also previously reported. The aim of this studywas to screen, identify and characterize Rickettsia species in nidicolous and non-nidicolous ticks attached to rodents. RESULTS Nymphs and larvae of I. ricinus ( n = 1004), I . persulcatus ( n = 75) and I. trianguliceps ( n = 117) attached to rodents and shrews caught in different parts of Estonia were studied for the presence of Rickettsia spp. by nested PCR. Ticks were removed from 314 small animals of 5 species (bank voles Myodes glareolus , yellow necked mice Apodemus flavicollis , striped field mice A. agrarius, pine voles M. subterranius and common shrews S. araneus) . Rickettsial DNA was detected in 8,7% (103/1186) studied ticks. In addition to R. helvetica, previously found in questing ticks, this study reports the first identification of the recently described I. trianguliceps- associated Candidatus R. uralica in west of the Ural.


2018 ◽  
Vol 66 (2) ◽  
pp. 258-268
Author(s):  
Sergey Sokolov ◽  
Daria Lebedeva

This paper is the first report on the molecular characterisation of myxozoan parasites from the odontobutid fish Chinese (Amur) sleeper (Perccottus glenii Dybowski, 1877). The authors determined the partial 18S rDNA sequence of Myxidium shedkoae Sokolov, 2013 from the gallbladder of the fish. Phylogenies reconstructed using maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference analysis revealed that M. shedkoae belongs to the hepatic biliary group of myxozoans (after Kristmundsson and Freeman, 2013) as a member of the clade consisting of Zschokkella sp. KLT-2014, Myxidium truttae and Zschokkella nova. Some new morphological features of the parasite are also presented.


Parasitology ◽  
1919 ◽  
Vol 11 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 388-392 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Bacot ◽  
L. Linzell

Three kinds of lice are found on horses, two belonging to the Mallophaga or scale-eating lice and one to the Siphunculata or blood-sucking lice.


2012 ◽  
Vol 60 (3) ◽  
pp. 355-360 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sándor Hornok ◽  
István Hajtós ◽  
Marina Meli ◽  
Imre Farkas ◽  
Enikő Gönczi ◽  
...  

In order to investigate haemotropic Mycoplasma (formerly Eperythrozoon) infection of goats, blood samples and blood-sucking lice (Linognathus stenopsis) were collected in two goat herds. DNA was extracted from 20 blood samples and from 49 lice allocated to six pools according to host individuals. Haemoplasma infection was detected in four goats by real-time PCR. From the sample with the highest bacterial load the simultaneous presence of M. ovis and ‘Candidatus M. haemoovis’ was demonstrated by cloning and sequencing. Louse pools were haemoplasma negative, including those from bacteraemic animals. However, not only were Anaplasma inclusion bodies seen in blood smears from goats, but relevant PCR-positivity was also detected among lice. This is the first report of a molecular investigation on caprine haemoplasmas, including analysis of their bloodsucking lice. In summary, goats are susceptible to both molecularly characterised ovine haemoplasmas. On the other hand, goat sucking lice (L. stenopsis) do not appear to be potential vectors of these agents.


BMC Genomics ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 751 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wen-Ge Dong ◽  
Simon Song ◽  
Xian-Guo Guo ◽  
Dao-Chao Jin ◽  
Qianqian Yang ◽  
...  

1998 ◽  
Vol 36 (12) ◽  
pp. 3463-3467 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Vanderhallen ◽  
F. Koenen

The objective of the present study was to gain a better understanding of the epidemiology of encephalomyocarditis virus (EMCV) infections in pigs by applying molecular techniques. The diagnostic potential of a reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) targeting 286 nucleotides at the 3′ end of the gene which encodes the viral polymerase was assessed with experimental and field samples. In addition, the use of the amplified sequences for an epidemiological study was evaluated. The heart was clearly shown to be the most suitable organ. The detection limit was determined to be 1 viral particle in 100 mg of heart tissue. The sensitivity and specificity of the assay on the basis of the results obtained in this study were 94 and 100%, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis of the amplified sequences classified EMCVs in two distinct lineages. Group A consists of the reference strain ATCC 129B, all isolates collected between 1991 and 1994 in Belgium in association with reproductive failure, and all Greek isolates. All Belgian isolates collected since the first isolation of EMCV in relation to myocardial failure in fatteners in Belgium group together with the isolates from Cyprus (1996 and 1997), Italy (1986 to 1996), and France (1995) in group B irrespective of their pathogenicity. The analyzed part of the 3D gene differed by 13.0% between Groups A and B. In contrast to the sequence homogeneity of the Belgian isolates collected between 1991 and 1994, molecular diversity, which ranged between 0 and 2%, was observed among the Belgian isolates collected in 1995 and 1996. Among all Greek isolates the diversity ranged between 1 and 8%. However, this diversity does not seem to reflect geographical links between the outbreaks. A RT-PCR for the rapid and specific diagnosis of EMCV in a variety of clinical samples followed by nucleotide sequence analysis proved to be valuable for molecular epidemiological studies.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yi-Tian Fu ◽  
Yu Nie ◽  
De-Yong Duan ◽  
Guo-Hua Liu

Abstract Background: The family Hoplopleuridae contains at least 183 species of blood-sucking lice, which widely parasitize both mice and rats. Fragmented mitochondrial (mt) genomes have been reported in two rat lice (Hoplopleura kitti and H. akanezumi) from this family, but some minichromosomes were unidentified in their mt genomes.Methods: We sequenced the mt genome of the rat louse Hoplopleura sp. with an Illumina platform and compared its mt genome organization with H. kitti and H. akanezumi.Results: Fragmented mt genome of the rat louse Hoplopleura sp. contains 37 genes which are on 12 circular mt minichromosomes. Each mt minichromosome is 1.8–2.7 kb long and contains 1–5 genes and one large non-coding region. The gene content and arrangement of mt minichromosomes of Hoplopleura sp. (n = 3) and H. kitti (n = 3) are different from those in H. akanezumi (n = 3). Phylogenetic analyses based on the deduced amino acid sequences of the eight protein-coding genes showed that the Hoplopleura sp. was more closely related to H. akanezumi than to H. kitti, and then they formed a monophyletic group.Conclusions: Comparison among the three rat lice revealed variation in the composition of mt minichromosomes within the genus Hoplopleura. Hoplopleura sp. is the first species from the family Hoplopleuridae for which a complete fragmented mt genome has been sequenced. The new data provide useful genetic markers for studying the population genetics, molecular systematics and phylogenetics of blood-sucking lice.


Pathogens ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 866
Author(s):  
Seong Yoon Kim ◽  
Tae-Kyu Kim ◽  
Tae Yun Kim ◽  
Hee Il Lee

Lyme disease is a tick-borne zoonotic disease caused by Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (s. l.) via transmission cycles involving competent tick vectors and vertebrate reservoirs. Here, we determined the prevalence and distribution of Borrelia genospecies in 738 ticks of at least three species from wild rodents in nine regions of the Republic of Korea (ROK). Ticks were analyzed using nested PCR targeting partial flagellin B gene sequences, followed by sequence analysis. The prevalence of Borrelia infection was 33.6%, and the most common genospecies were B. afzelii (62.5%), B. valaisiana (31.9%), B. yangtzensis (2.4%), B. garinii (1.6%), and B. tanukii (1.6%). Borrelia afzelii was found in all regions except Jeju Island; this predominant genospecies was found in the northern and central sampling regions. Borrelia valaisiana, B. yangtzensis, and B. tanukii were found only in the southern regions with B. valaisiana being the most common, whereas B. yangtzensis and B. tanukii were only found on Jeju Island. Our study is the first to describe the nationwide prevalence of B. burgdorferi s. l. in ticks from wild rodents in the ROK. Continuous surveillance in ticks, animals, humans, and different regions is required to avoid disease distribution and possible transmission to humans in the ROK.


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