RNA Viruses of Amblyomma variegatum and Rhipicephalus microplus and Cattle Susceptibility in the French Antilles

Abstract

Ticks transmit a wide variety of pathogens including bacteria, parasites and viruses. Over the last decade, numerous novel viruses have been described in arthropods, including ticks, and their characterization has provided new insights into RNA virus diversity and evolution. However, little is known about their ability to infect vertebrates. As very few studies have described the diversity of viruses present in ticks from the Caribbean, we implemented an RNA-sequencing approach on Amblyomma variegatum and Rhipicephalus microplus ticks collected from cattle in Guadeloupe and Martinique. Among the viral communities infecting Caribbean ticks, we selected four viruses belonging to the Chuviridae, Phenuiviridae and Flaviviridae families for further characterization and designing antibody screening tests. While viral prevalence in individual tick samples revealed high infection rates, suggesting a high level of exposure of Caribbean cattle to these viruses, no seropositive animals were detected. These results suggest that the Chuviridae- and Phenuiviridae-related viruses identified in the present study are more likely tick endosymbionts, raising the question of the epidemiological significance of their occurrence in ticks, especially regarding their possible impact on tick biology and vector capacity. The characterization of these viruses might open the door to new ways of preventing and controlling tick-borne diseases.

Ticks and Tick-Borne Diseases in Central America and the Caribbean: A One Health Perspective

“…They reported sequences of viruses infecting plants or restricted only to arthropods and included four viruses either belonging to arboviruses (Flaviviridae and Peribunyaviridae-related viruses) or viruses of unknown pathogenic potential to vertebrates (Chuviridae-related viruses). In this study, Karukera virus was detected in 23% of A. variegatum ticks from Guadeloupe, Wuhan Tick Virus 2 and Lihan Tick Virus in 63-94% of R. microplus and 11-12% A. variegatum in both Islands, and Jingmen Tick Virus mainly in 24-74% of R. microplus from both islands [149].…”

“…In Guadeloupe and Martinique, co-infections were not found in A. variegatum ticks, while R. microplus ticks presented co-infections with two to three viruses [149]. In Guadeloupe, 49.0 and 37.0% of R. microplus ticks were infected with the Wuhan Tick Virus 2/Lihan Tick Virus and Wuhan Tick Virus 2/Jingmen Tick Virus/Lihan Tick Virus, respectively.…”

“…Similarly, using the next-generation sequencing approach, Gondard et al [149] analyzed the virome of 578 A. variegatum and R. microplus ticks collected in Guadeloupe and Martinique islands in 2014-2015. They reported sequences of viruses infecting plants or restricted only to arthropods and included four viruses either belonging to arboviruses (Flaviviridae and Peribunyaviridae-related viruses) or viruses of unknown pathogenic potential to vertebrates (Chuviridae-related viruses).…”

“…In Guadeloupe, 49.0 and 37.0% of R. microplus ticks were infected with the Wuhan Tick Virus 2/Lihan Tick Virus and Wuhan Tick Virus 2/Jingmen Tick Virus/Lihan Tick Virus, respectively. In Martinique, Wuhan Tick Virus 2/Jingmen Tick Virus/Lihan Tick Virus triple infection represented up to 76% of positive R. microplus ticks, while double infections with Wuhan Tick Virus 2/Lihan Tick Virus in 14% of ticks [149]. This study also investigated bacterial and parasitic co-infections and reported co-infections with two, three, and four/five pathogens in more than 40%, less than 10.0%, and around 1.0% of ticks, respectively [149].…”

“…In Martinique, Wuhan Tick Virus 2/Jingmen Tick Virus/Lihan Tick Virus triple infection represented up to 76% of positive R. microplus ticks, while double infections with Wuhan Tick Virus 2/Lihan Tick Virus in 14% of ticks [149]. This study also investigated bacterial and parasitic co-infections and reported co-infections with two, three, and four/five pathogens in more than 40%, less than 10.0%, and around 1.0% of ticks, respectively [149]. Moreover, another study has demonstrated associations of several pathogens, mainly with R. africae in A. variegatum and R. africae or T. velifera in R. microplus [70].…”