Coxiella-like bacteria in fowl ticks from Thailand

Abstract

BackgroundCoxiella bacteria were identified from various tick species across the world. Q fever is a zoonotic disease caused by the bacteria Coxiella burnetii that most commonly infects a variety of mammals. Non-mammalian hosts, such as birds, have also been reported to be infected with the pathogenic form of “Candidatus Coxiella avium”. This research increases the list of tick species that have been found with Coxiella-like bacteria in Thailand.MethodsA total of 69 ticks were collected from 27 domestic fowl (Gallus gallus domesticus), 2 jungle fowl (Gallus gallus) and 3 Siamese firebacks (Lophura diardi) at 10 locations (provinces) in Thailand. Ticks were identified and PCR was used to amplify Coxiella bacteria 16S rRNA, groEL and rpoB genes from the extracted tick DNA. MEGA6 was used to construct phylogenetic trees via a Maximum Likelihood method.ResultsThe phylogenetic analysis based on the 16S rRNA gene showed that the Coxiella sequences detected in this study grouped in the same clade with Coxiella sequences from the same tick genus (or species) reported previously. In contrast, rpoB gene of the Coxiella bacteria detected in this study did not cluster together with the same tick genus reported previously. Instead, they clustered by geographical distribution (Thai cluster and Malaysian cluster). In addition, phylogenetic analysis of the groEL gene (the chaperonin family) showed that all Coxiella bacteria found in this study were grouped in the same clade (three sister groups).ConclusionsTo our knowledge, we found for the first time rpoB genes of Coxiella-like bacteria in Haemaphysalis wellingtoni ticks forming two distinct clades by phylogenetic analysis. This may be indicative of a horizontal gene transfer event.

General Microbiota of the Soft Tick Ornithodoros turicata Parasitizing the Bolson Tortoise (Gopherus flavomarginatus) in the Mapimi Biosphere Reserve, Mexico

“…The second most abundant bacterial species in O. turicata microbiota in our study was a Coxiella -like endosymbiont. This type of endosymbiont does not appear to be pathogenic and are relatively common in the microbiota of various tick species around the world [ 51 , 52 ]. These microorganisms are known to infect tick ovaries and then transmission occurs vertically through the egg cytoplasm, but they have also been found in Malpighi tubules where they may provide essential nutrients to their host [ 7 ].…”

Analysis of Microorganism Diversity in Haemaphysalis longicornis From Shaanxi, China, Based on Metagenomic Sequencing

“…However, Coxiella has a symbiotic relationship with H. longicornis . Phylogenetic analysis has revealed that C. burnetii is closely related to Coxiella -like endosymbiont ( Elsa et al, 2015 ; Trinachartvanit et al, 2018 ). As expected, these pathogens were detected in H. longicornis in this study, which suggests that epidemics of Coxiella- related diseases could occur in this area.…”

Partial DnaK protein expression from Coxiella-like endosymbiont of Rhipicephalus annulatus tick

“…In addition, Coxiella -like endosymbionts (CLEs) were reported from different tick species in several regions of Thailand from 2011 to 2019. At least 10 species of ticks collected from both vegetation and animals were found to host CLEs, including Haemaphysalis shimoga , Haemaphysalis hystricis , Haemaphysalis lagrangei , Haemaphysalis obesa , Haemaphysalis wellingtoni , Haemaphysalis bispinosa , Amblyomma testudinarium , Dermacentor atrosignatus , Dermacentor auratus and Rhipicephalus microplus [ 16 – 20 ].…”