Strain diversity of Rickettsia amblyommatis in ticks infesting birds in the North Huetar conservation area of Costa Rica

Abstract

Although the presence of rickettsial agents in ticks infesting wild birds in Costa Rica has been recently reported, information on strain diversity is limited to selected rickettsial species. In order to mine deeper into rickettsial agents of ticks infesting Costa Rica wild birds a total of 399 birds from the North Huetar Conservation Area of Costa Rica were captured, and 134 immature ticks (76 larvae and 58 nymphs) were recovered from 61 birds. Ticks were tested for the presence of Rickettsia spp. by conventional PCR and sequencing of the gltA, ompA, ompB, 17 kDa, and groEL genes. Six (11.3%) Amblyomma longirostre and Amblyomma geayi ticks collected from passeriform birds, yielded amplicons of the expected size. Amplicons were sequenced, and BLAST results collectively showed that all sequences had 99-100% nucleotide identity with Rickettsia amblyommatis (formerly, 'Candidatus Rickettsia amblyommii'). Three different R. amblyommatis strains were identified. Four new tick species-host associations and the first detection of R. amblyommatis in A. geayi in Costa Rica are also reported.

Rickettsia amblyommatis in Ticks: A Review of Distribution, Pathogenicity, and Diversity

“…In the USA, R. amblyommatis has a wide geographic range, being identified in ticks as far south as Florida, as far west as Kansas, and as far north as New York [ 47 , 65 ] ( Figure 1 ; Table 1 ). Outside of the United States, R. amblyommatis was detected in Brazil, Argentina, Australia, Belize, Chile, Panama, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Mexico, Nicaragua, Honduras, Paraguay, Pakistan, French Guiana, and El Salvador [ 97 , 102 , 103 , 110 , 111 , 118 , 126 , 141 , 142 , 147 , 149 , 150 , 153 , 156 , 159 , 160 , 163 , 186 ] ( Figure 1 ; Table 1 ). In Table 1 , the geographic range of R. amblyommatis for different tick species and the percentage infected in the population sampled are summarized.…”

“…This list includes a wide variety of animals, with the most common including humans, wild birds, dogs, horses, deer, and others ( Table 1 ). Birds in particular play an important role in tick-borne diseases by spreading pathogenic bacteria over long distances to new areas [ 122 , 147 , 192 , 193 ]. Studies on infected ticks feeding on birds have the potential to explain some of the distribution patterns of R. amblyommatis .…”

“…Studies on infected ticks feeding on birds have the potential to explain some of the distribution patterns of R. amblyommatis . In a study carried out by Dolz et al [ 147 ], most R. amblyommatis -infected ticks were found on resident passerine birds that did not migrate. However, one R. amblyommatis -infected tick was found on Catharus ustulatus , a thrush that migrates far distances such as from the USA to Argentina.…”

“…With that in mind, previous infection with R. amblyommatis could be mistakenly diagnosed as RMSF during serological testing. Another hypothesis is that simultaneous infection with R. amblyommatis and other spotted fever group rickettsiae species would result in a lack of clinical symptoms due to this coinfection providing cross-immunity [ 145 , 147 ]. Other species of Rickettsia have overlapping geographic ranges with R. amblyommatis , such as R. parkeri , which is considered pathogenic to humans [ 203 ].…”

Didelphis spp. opossums and their parasites in the Americas: A One Health perspective

“…(2006); Reck et al (2018); Lamattina et al (2018a, b) Amblyomma ovale Yes Spotted Fever Group Rickettsiae Szabó et al (2013); Barbieri et al (2015); Lamattina et al (2018a, b); Reck et al (2018) Amblyomma sculptum Yes Spotted Fever Group Rickettsiae Salvador et al (2007); Saraiva et al (2012); Szabó et al (2013); Bitencourth et al (2017); Polo et al (2017); Saracho-Bottero et al (2018) . (2018a); Reck et al (2018); Saracho-Bottero et al (2018); Souza et al (2018); Flores et al (2018) Ixodes amarali No record No record Oliveira et al (2014) Ixodes auritulus No record Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto, Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato Morshed et al (2005); Oliveira et al (2014); Carvalho et al (2020) et al (2000); Oliveira et al (2014) Ixodes loricatus No record No record Horta et al (2007); Salvador et al (2007); Dantas-Torres et al (2012b); Saraiva et al (2012); Szabó et al (2013); Oliveira et al (2014); Luz et al et al (2015); Witter et al (2016); Binetruy et al (2019) Amblyomma dissimile Yes Rickettsia monacensis Guglielmone et al (2006); Domínguez et al (2019); Mendoza-Roldan et al (2021) Amblyomma geayiNo recordRickettsia amblyommatisSoares et al (2015);Dolz et al (2019)…”