Molecular detection of Borrelia sp. in Ornithodoros cavernicolous (Acari: Argasidae) in midwestern Brazil

Polli, Mayara Garcia; Martins, Maria Marlene; Rodrigues, Vinicius da Silva; Rezende, Lais Miguel; Suzin, Adriane; Maia, Rodrigo da Costa; Souza, Ana Carolina Prado; Munoz-Leal, Sebastian; Szabo, Matias Pablo Juan; Yokosawa, Jonny

Abstract

Ticks are obligate hematophagous parasites that can transmit to vertebrate hosts several pathogens, including viruses, bacteria, protozoa and helminths. Among these agents, some Borrelia species some Borrelia species cause disease in humans and other vertebrate hosts; therefore, they have medical and veterinary health importance. To gather additional information on Borrelia species in Brazil, the current study aimed to detect the presence of these species in Ornithodoros cavernicolous ticks collected in September 2019 from cement pipes that are used by bats as shelter in a farm located in the midwestern region of Brazil. DNA samples obtained from 18 specimens of O. cavernicolous were subjected of two polymerase chain reactions, targeting a segment of the Borrelia fia B gene. Of the samples tested, only one (6 %, 1/18) showed amplification. The nucleotide sequence of the amplified DNA showed more than 97 % (293/300) identity with a sequence of a Borrelia sp. detected in blood collected from a bat from Macaregua Cave, Colombia, and more than 97 % (292/300) detected in lungs from vampire bats from northeastern Brazil. The deduced amino acid sequences were identical to each other. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that these sequences formed a group of Borrelia species (putatively associated with bats) that is closely related to sequences of Borrelia species of the Lyme borreliosis group. Further investigations should be carried out in order to determine whether the sequence of the Borrelia sp. we found belongs to a new taxon. It will also be of great importance to determine which vertebrate hosts, besides bats, O. cavernicolous ticks can parasitize in order to investigate whether the Borrelia sp. we found may be transmitted and cause disease to the other vertebrate hosts.

Más información

Título según WOS: ID WOS:001140209200001 Not found in local WOS DB
Título de la Revista: TICKS AND TICK-BORNE DISEASES
Volumen: 15
Número: 2
Editorial: ELSEVIER GMBH, URBAN & FISCHER VERLAG
Fecha de publicación: 2024
DOI:

10.1016/j.ttbdis.2023.102303

Notas: ISI