Molecular Detection of <i>Candidatus</i> Rickettsia andeanae and <i>Ehrlichia</i> sp. in <i>Amblyomma pseudoconcolor</i> Aragão, 1908 (Acari: Ixodidae) from the Argentinian Patagonia

oleh: Patrick Stephan Sebastian, Marina Winter, Sergio Damián Abate, Evelina Luisa Tarragona, Santiago Nava

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2022-11-01

Deskripsi

This study presents the molecular detection of <i>Candidatus</i> Rickettsia andeanae and <i>Ehrlichia</i> sp. in <i>Amblyomma pseudoconcolor</i> Aragão, 1908 (Acari: Ixodidae) collected on a large hairy armadillo (<i>Chaetophractus villosus</i> (Desmarest, 1804)). On 12 October 2020, a specimen of <i>C. villosus</i> was found dead on the road in Río Negro province, Argentina. Molecular detection of <i>Rickettsia</i> and <i>Ehrlichia</i> agents was performed amplifying the <i>gltA</i> and 16S rRNA gene, respectively. One tick, determined morphologically and genetically as <i>A. pseudoconcolor</i>, was collected on <i>C. villosus</i>. The rickettsial agent detected in <i>A. pseudoconcolor</i> was identified as <i>Candidatus</i> Rickettsia andeanae. The <i>Ehrlichia</i> sp. strain showed high sequence similarity to different uncultured <i>Ehrlichia</i> sp. detected in horses, capybaras and <i>Ixodes ornithorhynchi</i> from Nicaragua, Brazil and Australia, respectively. The results of this study and previous findings suggest that <i>A. pseudoconcolor</i> may be a potential vector of some <i>Rickettsia</i> and <i>Ehrlichia</i> bacteria of unknown pathogenicity.