Molecular detection of Rickettsia spp. in ticks associated with non-volant small mammals from the Brazilian Cerrado, with notes on a divergent morphotype of Ornithodoros guaporensis

Author(s)

Pacheco, Thabata dos Anjos ^{[1, 2]} ; Munoz-Leal, Sebastian ^{[3, 4]} ; Maia, Maerle O. ^[1] ; Martins, Thiago F. ^{[4, 5]} ; de Oliveira, Glauber M. B. ^[4] ; Fonseca, Eduardo P. ^[6] ; Pedroni, Fernando ^[6] ; Rossi, Rogerio V. ^[7] ; Pacheco, Richard C. ^[1]

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Fed Mato Grosso UFMT, Fac Med Vet FAVET, Programa Posgrad Ciencias Vet PPGVET, Av Fernando Correa da Costa 2367, BR-78060900 Cuiaba, MT - Brazil

^[2] Inst Fed Educ Ciencia & Tecnol Rondonia IFRO, Dept Apoio Ensino, Cacoal - Brazil

^[3] Univ Concepcion, Fac Ciencias Vet, Dept Patol & Med Prevent, Chillan - Chile

^[4] Univ Sao Paulo, Fac Med Vet & Zootecnia FMVZ, Dept Med Vet Prevent & Saude Anim VPS, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[5] Superintendencia Controle Endemias SUCEN, Dept Labs Especializados, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[6] Univ Fed Mato Grosso UFMT, Inst Ciencias Biol & Saude, Barra Do Garcas - Brazil

^[7] Univ Fed Mato Grosso UFMT, Inst Biociencias, Dept Biol & Zool, Lab Mastozool, Cuiaba - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ACAROLOGY; v. 47, n. 3 FEB 2021.
• Web of Science Citations: 0

Abstract

This study evaluated species richness and rickettsial infection in ticks infesting non-volant small mammals in a preserved area of the Cerrado biome, located in the region of the Araguaia Valley, Midwestern Brazil. Between 2017 and 2018, 116 wild mammals (102 rodents and 14 marsupials) were captured and 75 ticks were collected and tested for rickettsial infection. Four species of ticks {[}(Amblyomma auricularium, Amblyomma cajennense sensu stricto (s.s.), Amblyomma coelebs, and Ornithodoros guaporensis)] were identified with new tick-host association for small mammals as follows: nymphs of A. cajennense s.s. and A. auricularium parasitizing Thrichomys pachyurus rodents. Our results expand the distributional range of O. guaporensis into the Cerrado Biome and point the occurrence of Rickettsia amblyommatis and Rickettsia bellii in A. auricularium. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 18/02521-1 - Study on tick relapsing fever group spirochetes (Spirochaetaceae: Borrelia) on ticks of genus Ornithodoros (Acari: Argasidae) parasitizing humans in Brazil
• Grantee: Sebastián Alejandro Munoz Leal
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• FAPESP's process: 19/17960-3 - Advanced culture techniques, next generation sequencing, and immunoblot applied to the study of a Brazilian relapsing fever spirochete
• Grantee: Sebastián Alejandro Munoz Leal
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor