Unravelling the relationship between Bartonella spp. and arthropod-vectors by omics approaches and tick cell lines culture

• Grant number: 22/05615-2
• Support Opportunities: Research Projects - Thematic Grants
• Start date: July 01, 2023
• End date: June 30, 2028
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine - Preventive Veterinary Medicine
• Principal Investigator: Marcos Rogério André
• Grantee: Marcos Rogério André
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias (FCAV). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Jaboticabal. Jaboticabal , SP, Brazil
• Pesquisadores principais: Darci Moraes Barros-Battesti ; Rosangela Zacarias Machado
• Associated researchers: Daniel Guariz Pinheiro ; Fabio Barbour Scott ; Fernando de Castro Jacinavicius
• Associated research grant(s): 23/17938-3 - Multi-user Equipment approved in grant 2022/05615-2: 4150 TAPESTATION, AP.EMU
• Associated scholarship(s): 23/16821-5 - Employing neotropical tick embryonic cell lines (RBME-6 and ASE-14) as substrates for maintenance of Bartonella spp., BP.TT; 23/16710-9 - UNRAVELLING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN Bartonella spp. AND ARTHROPOD-VECTORS BY "OMICS" APPROACHES, BP.PD

Abstract

The genus Bartonella (Rhizobiales; Bartonellaceae) encompasses facultative intracellular Gram-negative bacteria that mainly parasitize erythrocytes and endothelial cells of mammals, and can cause zoonoses with clinical manifestations ranging from moderate to severe, depending on the Bartonella species involved and the immune status of the mammalian host. Cats, rodents and bats act as reservoirs for a great diversity of Bartonella species, many of which are zoonotic. Although these agents are mainly transmitted by hematophagous arthropod vectors (fleas, ticks, mosquitoes, flies and lice), the relationship between this group of bacteria and arthropod vectors is poorly studied. Although the flea Ctenocephalides felis is a competent vector for Bartonella henselae, the causative agent of Cat Scratch Disease, the molecular mechanisms of the interaction between B. henselae and this flea species are poorly understood. The role of ticks in the transmission of B. henselae has been recently investigated using artificial feeding systems. Although fleas act as the main vectors of bartonellae among rodents, the Siphonaptera species involved in the transmission of such agents in rodents in Brazil are unknown. Similarly, despite the great diversity of Bartonella in bats from Brazil, the vectors are still unknown. The present study aims to investigate the relationship between Bartonella and arthropods (fleas, ticks, lice and mites) through "-OMICS" approaches and culture in tick cell lines, in order to verify the possible role of these invertebrates in the transmission of Bartonella spp. More specifically, the present project aims to: i.) investigate the prokaryotic microbiome and abundance of transcripts from the digestive tract of non-fed C. felis fleas fed for 24 hours and 9 days in non-infected cats and fed for 24 hours and 9 days in cats experimentally infected with B. henselae; ii.) investigate the flea prokaryotic microbiome of C. felis, Polygenis spp. and Tunga penetrans collected in the field from dogs and cats, rodents and wild boars; iii.) investigate the prokaryotic microbiome of Amblyomma ticks and lice collected from rodents in the Pantanal, Mato Grosso do Sul, hosts in which we have recently described Bartonella machadoae sp. nov.; iv.) investigate the prokaryotic microbiome of Macronyssidae and Trombiculidae mites parasites of bats, hosts for which great diversity of Bartonella spp. has been described; v.) investigate the vector competence of Amblyomma sculptum ticks in the transmission of B. henselae between cats; vi.) investigate the ability of A. sculptum (ASE-14) and R. microplus (RBME-6) embryonic cell lines to maintain and propagate B. henselae. The present proposal will contribute to the understanding of the possible role of arthropods in the epidemiology of bartonellosis in Brazil. (AU)

Scientific publications

(7)

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

BASSINI-SILVA, RICARDO; CASTRO-SANTIAGO, ANA CAROLINA; CALCHI, ANA CLAUDIA; DE MELLO, ERICA M.; DORNELAS JR, LEORMANDO FORTUNATO; VIANA, AMANDA DE OLIVEIRA; CUNHA, IRINEU NORBERTO; SABINO-SANTOS, GILBERTO; DA SILVA, ALLYSON DOS SANTOS; TELINO-JUNIOR, WALLACE RODRIGUES; et al. A catalogue of spinturnicid species (Mesostigmata: Spinturnicidae) from Brazil: distribution, host-specificity, and new locality records. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ACAROLOGY, v. 50, n. 3, p. 15-pg., 2024-02-21. (18/24667-8, 22/05615-2, 19/19853-0, 17/01416-7, 21/06758-9, 11/06810-9)

BASSINI-SILVA, RICARDO; JACINAVICIUS, FERNANDO DE CASTRO; SANCHES, GUSTAVO SERON; CALCHI, ANA CLAUDIA; CASTRO-SANTIAGO, ANA CAROLINA; ALVES, CAROLINA FELTES; MACAGNAN, EDUARDO; DE SOUZA, GABRIELA CRISTINI; ANDRE, MARCOS ROGERIO; ALBUQUERQUE, ADRIANA SILVA; et al. First record of Ixodes uriae White, 1852 (Parasitiformes: Ixodidae) on the great shearwater (Procellariiformes: Procellariidae) in Southern Brazil: a step toward understanding tick-host interactions. VETERINARY RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS, v. 49, n. 2, p. 7-pg., 2025-04-01. (20/11755-6, 24/01231-0, 22/05615-2, 19/19853-0)

BASSINI-SILVA, RICARDO; ANDRE, MARCOS ROGERIO; PEREIRA, ALICE; DAS CHAGAS, MARIA EDUARDA MORAES; MELLO-OLIVEIRA, VICTOR DE SOUZA; CALCHI, ANA CLAUDIA; MONGRUEL, ANNA CLAUDIA BAUMEL; CASTRO-SANTIAGO, ANA CAROLINA; MACHADO, DALIA MONIQUE RIBEIRO; BARROS-BATTESTI, DARCI MORAES; et al. First molecular detection of Bartonella spp. in two chewing louse species (Amblycera: Menoponidae and Ischnocera: Philopteridae) parasitizing Calonectris borealis (Cory, 1881) (Procellariiformes: Procellariidae). VETERINARY PARASITOLOGY- REGIONAL STUDIES AND REPORTS, v. 58, p. 5-pg., 2025-02-01. (23/09336-3, 20/11755-6, 19/26403-0, 21/06758-9, 20/07826-5, 22/05615-2, 19/19853-0)

CASTRO-SANTIAGO, ANA CAROLINA; LIMA-DUARTE, LEIDIANE; CAMARGO, JAQUELINE VALERIA; SIMONS, SIMONE MICHAELA; BASSINI-SILVA, RICARDO; CALCHI, ANA CLAUDIA; DE OLIVEIRA, GLAUBER MENESES BARBOZA; HORTA, MAURICIO CLAUDIO; MUNOZ-LEAL, SEBASTIAN; LABRUNA, MARCELO BAHIA; et al. New records on autogenic behavior among populations of Ornithodoros fonsecai (Labruna and Venzal, 2009) (Ixodida: Argasidae) from northeastern Brazil. VETERINARY RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS, v. 49, n. 2, p. 9-pg., 2025-04-01. (20/11755-6, 23/07786-1, 21/06758-9, 20/07826-5, 22/05615-2)

BASSINI-SILVA, RICARDO; BARBIER, EDER; ANDRE, MARCOS ROGERIO; BARROS-BATTESTI, DARCI MORAES; JACINAVICIUS, FERNANDO DE CASTRO. New records of Spelaeorhynchus praecursor Neumann, 1902 (Mesostigmata: Spelaeorhynchidae) in the Brazilian Caatinga. Systematic Parasitology, v. 102, n. 1, p. 5-pg., 2025-02-01. (20/11755-6, 24/01231-0, 23/09610-8, 23/01606-1, 22/05615-2, 19/19853-0)

BASSINI-SILVA, RICARDO; CALCHI, ANA CLAUDIA; CASTRO-SANTIAGO, ANA CAROLINA; MAROCCO, JOAO CARLOS; DORIGONI, LETICIA; DE QUADROS, ROSILEIA MARINHO; ANDRE, MARCOS ROGERIO; BARROS-BATTESTI, DARCI MORAES; DOWLING, ASHLEY P. G.; LABRUNA, MARCELO BAHIA; et al. Molecular evidence of Wolbachia in bat-associated mite Periglischrus Iheringi Oudemans, 1902 (Mesostigmata: Spinturnicidae) from Brazil. VETERINARY RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS, v. 49, n. 1, p. 8-pg., 2025-02-01. (20/11755-6, 24/01231-0, 21/06758-9, 20/07826-5, 22/05615-2, 19/19853-0)

ANDRE, MARCOS ROGERIO; IKEDA, PRISCILA; LEE, DANIEL ANTONIO BRAGA; DO AMARAL, RENAN BRESSIANINI; CARVALHO, LUCAS AMOROSO LOPES; PINHEIRO, DANIEL GUARIZ; TORRES, JAIRE MARINHO; DE MELLO, VICTORIA VALENTE CALIFRE; RICE, GREGORY K.; CER, REGINA Z.; et al. Characterization of the bacterial microbiome of non-hematophagous bats and associated ectoparasites from Brazil. FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY, v. 14, p. 15-pg., 2023-10-19. (22/05615-2, 18/19672-2, 22/07008-6, 19/13232-3)