First report of Candidatus Rickettsia mendelii in Ixodes brunneus from the United States

Alexandra N Cumbie; Eric L Walters; Holly D Gaff; Wayne L Hynes

doi:10.1016/j.ttbdis.2019.101309

First report of Candidatus Rickettsia mendelii in Ixodes brunneus from the United States

Ticks Tick Borne Dis. 2020 Jan;11(1):101309. doi: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2019.101309. Epub 2019 Sep 27.

Authors

Alexandra N Cumbie¹, Eric L Walters¹, Holly D Gaff¹, Wayne L Hynes²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biological Sciences, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA, 23529, USA.
² Department of Biological Sciences, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA, 23529, USA. Electronic address: whynes@odu.edu.

Abstract

Candidatus Rickettsia mendelii is a novel rickettsial species recently identified in Ixodes ricinus. In this study, Ixodes brunneus collected from wild birds (n = 77 ticks) or vegetation (n = 4 ticks) in southeastern Virginia were surveyed for rickettsial agents. Candidatus Rickettsia mendelii was confirmed in I. brunneus through sequencing of the gltA and 16S rRNA genes. This is the first report of this rickettsial species in Ixodes ticks in North America.

Keywords: Candidatus Rickettsia mendelii; Ixodes brunneus.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Birds / parasitology
Ixodes / microbiology*
Rickettsia / classification
Rickettsia / isolation & purification*
United States
Virginia

Grants and funding

R01 AI136035/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/United States