Wild Hedgehogs and Their Parasitic Ticks Coinfected with Multiple Tick-Borne Pathogens in Jiangsu Province, Eastern China

Abstract

In the present study, we found the following. (i) Er. amurensis hedgehogs seem to contribute to the natural cycles of R. japonica , A. bovis , Ehrlichia sp., and C. burnetii and may be reservoirs of them except for R. japonica , and A. bovis is proved to infect hedgehogs for the first time. (ii) H. flava is proved to harbor various tickborne pathogens (TBPs) as a reservoir host, including Coxiella -like endosymbiont (CLE) identified for the first time, which could inhibit coinfection of C. burnetii while promoting that of Rickettsia spp. in H. flava. (iii) Four novel TBP species were identified. This study provides useful epidemiological information on TBPs harbored and transmitted by ticks and their hosts, for assessing the potential infection risks to humans, thus benefiting the developing strategies for tick-borne diseases prevention and control.

Multiple Ehrlichia chaffeensis genes critical for persistent infection in a vertebrate host are identified as nonessential for its growth in the tick vector; Amblyomma americanum

“…Possible explanations are that the deficiency of the metabolic pathway proteins is compensated from other sources within the tick. Hard ticks cohost numerous pathogenic and non-pathogenic bacteria, including several rickettsial endosymbionts ( Wikel, 2018 ; Rodino et al., 2020 ; Hirunkanokpun et al., 2022 ; Qi et al., 2022 ). Recently, Wang et al.…”

“…Possible explanations are that the deficiency of the metabolic pathway proteins is compensated from other sources within the tick. Hard ticks cohost numerous pathogenic and non-pathogenic bacteria, including several rickettsial endosymbionts (Wikel, 2018;Rodino et al, 2020;Hirunkanokpun et al, 2022;Qi et al, 2022). Recently, Transmembrane segments for five proteins of E. chaffeensis encoded by ECH_0282, ECH_0284, ECH_0579, ECH_0581 and ECH_0866 which were predicted by PRED-TMR (Pasquier et al, 1999).…”

Molecular Detection of Candidatus Coxiella mudorwiae in Haemaphysalis concinna in China

“…Since that time, nearly 30 seroepidemiologic or molecular studies have described C. burnetii infections in 64 cities/municipalities within 19 provinces across China [39]. Moreover, CLEs and C. burnetii have also been detected from ticks belonging to 5 genera, including Ixodes [40], Dermacentor [40,41], Haemaphysalis [42], Hyalomma [43], Rhipicephalus [44,45], wild animals [46,47], and even freshwater shrimp [Palaemonetes sinensis] [48]. The presence of CLEs in these ticks confers crucial and diverse benefits to the host ticks, affecting their development, nutrition, chemical defense, or reproduction, and distinctly interfere with the maintenance and/or transmission of some tickborne pathogens by tick-endosymbiont interactions, such as competition or mutual reciprocity [49].…”