Infection and Co-infection Rates of Anaplasma phagocytophilum Variants, Babesia spp., Borrelia burgdorferi, and the Rickettsial Endosymbiont in Ixodes scapularis (Acari: Ixodidae) from Sites in Indiana, Maine, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin

Abstract

In total, 394 questing adult blacklegged ticks, Ixodes scapularis Say (Acari: Ixodidae), collected at four sites were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for five microbial species: Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Babesia microti, Babesia odocoilei, Borrelia burgdorferi, and the rickettsial I. scapularis endosymbiont. Identities of genetic variants of A. phagocytophilum were determined by sequencing a portion of the 16S DNA. In 55% of infected ticks (193/351), a single agent was detected. In 45% (158/351), two or more agents were detected; 37% harbored two agents and 8% harbored three agents. One male tick, collected from Ft. McCoy, WI, harbored all four microbial genera The highest rates of co-infection were by the Ixodes endosymbiont and B. burgdorferi (95/351). Two species of Babesia co-occurred within a single tick population in Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve, Wells, ME, whereas only B. odocoilei was found in other tick populations. Only A. phagocytophilum human anaplasmosis variant was detected in questing ticks from Tippecanoe River State Park, IN; from Wells; and Ft. McCoy, whereas a single infected tick from Presque Isle, PA, was infected by AP-Variant 1. Partially engorged ticks from deer in Tippecanoe River State Park were all infected with AP-Variant 1. Frequency of infections with each agent varied among populations. Rates and types of co-infections were not significantly different from random except for the Ixodes endosymbiont and B. burgdorferi in male ticks, which co-occurred less frequently than expected. Thus, I. scapularis hosts an array of pathogenic and symbiotic agents and potential evidence of interactions among microbial species was observed.

Extensive genomic diversity of closely related Wolbachia strains

“…4B), but was not identified in either the wBm or wPip genome sequences. Interestingly, this same region was uncovered in a bacterial plasmid in the genome sequencing of I. scapularis (GenBank ABJB000000000) and is attributed to a concomitantly sequenced ovary-associated Rickettsia endosymbiont (Noda et al, 1997;Steiner et al, 2008). This endosymbiont is most closely related to other tickassociated Rickettsia spp.…”

Prevalence of infections and co-infections with 6 pathogens in <i>Dermacentor reticulatus</i> ticks collected in eastern Poland

“…The frequency of co-infections found in the presented study in D. reticulatus (8.5%) is essentially lower compared to analogous co-infections reported for Ixodes ricinus complex, although usually in the latter case co-infections involving less than 6 pathogens were analyzed. Thus, Steiner et al [55] found 45% dual and triple infections in I. scapularis ticks which were tested in the USA for the presence of B. burgdorferi s.l., A. phagocytophilum, Babesia spp., and the rickettsial endosymbiont. Similarly, Tokarz et al [56] found 38.1% dual and triple infections in I. scapularis ticks which were examined in New York State, USA, for the presence of B. burgdorferi s.l., Borrelia miyamotoi, A. phagocytophilum, Babesia microti, and Powassan virus.…”

Similarities and seasonal variations in bacterial communities from the blood of rodents and from their flea vectors

“…Similar experiments should be conducted to confirm that the three other shared phylotypes are also flea-borne. Evidence for interspecific interactions among vector-borne microbes have been reported in fleas and ticks and in various vertebrate hosts (Cox, 2001;Clay et al, 2006;Steiner et al, 2008;Jones et al, 2010;Telfer et al, 2010;Kedem et al, 2014). It is thus likely that the overall abundance of a specific vectorborne bacterium (for example, Bartonella sp.…”