Molecular characterization and multigenic phylogeography of Rickettsia parkeri isolates in the Americas

• Grant number: 11/51979-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: April 01, 2012
• End date: March 31, 2015
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine - Preventive Veterinary Medicine
• Principal Investigator: Marcelo Bahia Labruna
• Grantee: Fernanda Aparecida Nieri Bastos
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia (FMVZ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The spotted fever caused by Rickettsia parkeri is an emerging tick-borne disease in the Americas, including Brazil, characterized by milder symptoms paintings by regional lymphadenopathy, maculopapular lesions, and typical inoculation eschar("tach noir") at the attachment site of the vector. In Brazil, the main diagnostic method is serology and / or isolation of the agent, but generally without defining the specific taxonomic identification of the agent. If we consider that all species of Rickettsia of the spotted fever group have some type of cross-reactivity in serological tests, cases of rickettsial disease caused by R. parkeri may be occurring in large numbers in the country, especially in the Southern states. The objectives of this study are the characterization and molecular phylogeny of isolates of R. parkeri from different tick species and regions of Brazil and other American countries, through classic molecular markers (gltA, ompA, SCA1, virB4 and dnaA) and intergenic spacers (dksA-Xerces, mpp-pur, rpmE-tRNAfmet). Allowing thus an extensive study of the diversity of R. parkeri providing understanding taxonomic, biogeographic, epidemiological characteristics and relationship with invertebrate hosts, generating data for understanding the evolution of this bacterial species in America (AU)

Scientific publications

(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)

CASTRO SANTIAGO, ANA CAROLINA; DUARTE, LEIDIANE LIMA; MARTINS, THIAGO FERNANDES; ONOFRIO, VALERIA CASTILHO; NIERI-BASTOS, FERNANDA APARECIDA; PACHECO, RICHARD DE CAMPOS; TOME MELO, ANDREIA LIMA; MARCILI, ARLEI; BARROS-BATTESTI, DARCI MORAES. Occurrence of autogeny in a population of Ornithodoros fonsecai (Acari: Argasidae). TICKS AND TICK-BORNE DISEASES, v. 10, n. 5, p. 1078-1084, AUG 2019. (11/51979-1)

NIERI-BASTOS, FERNANDA A.; HORTA, MAURICIO C.; BARROS-BATTESTI, DARCI MORAES; MORAES-FILHO, JONAS; RAMIREZ, DIEGO G.; MARTINS, THIAGO F.; LABRUNA, MARCELO B.. Isolation of the Pathogen Rickettsia sp Strain Atlantic Rainforest From Its Presumed Tick Vector, Amblyomma ovale (Acari: Ixodidae), From Two Areas of Brazil. Journal of Medical Entomology, v. 53, n. 4, p. 977-981, JUL 2016. (11/51979-1)

NIERI-BASTOS, FERNANDA A.; MARCILI, ARLEI; DE SOUSA, RITA; PADDOCK, CHRISTOPHER D.; LABRUNA, MARCELO B.. Phylogenetic Evidence for the Existence of Multiple Strains of Rickettsia parkeri in the New World. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, v. 84, n. 8, APR 2018. (11/51979-1)