Browse
Submit Data
Databases
API
Help

Dataset Information

21 Views

0 Connections

0 Citations

0 Reanalyses

0 Downloads

Omics score: 0

The role of cofeeding arthropods in the transmission of Rickettsia felis.

ABSTRACT: Rickettsia felis is an emerging etiological agent of rickettsioses worldwide. The cosmopolitan cat flea (Ctenocephalides felis) is the primary vector of R. felis, but R. felis has also been reported in other species of hematophagous arthropods including ticks and mosquitoes. Canines can serve as a bacteremic host to infect fleas under laboratory conditions, yet isolation of R. felis from the blood of a vertebrate host in nature has not been realized. Cofeeding transmission is an efficient mechanism for transmitting rickettsiae between infected and uninfected fleas; however, the mechanism of transmission among different orders and classes of arthropods is not known. The potential for R. felis transmission between infected fleas and tick (Dermacentor variabilis) and mosquito (Anopheles quadrimaculatus) hosts was examined via cofeeding bioassays. Donor cat fleas infected with R. felis transmitted the agent to naïve D. variabilis nymphs via cofeeding on a rat host. Subsequent transstadial transmission of R. felis from the engorged nymphs to the adult ticks was observed with reduced prevalence in adult ticks. Using an artificial host system, An. quadrimaculatus exposed to a R. felis-infected blood meal acquired rickettsiae and maintained infection over 12 days post-exposure (dpe). Similar to ticks, mosquitoes were able to acquire R. felis while cofeeding with infected cat fleas on rats infection persisting in the mosquito for up to 3 dpe. The results indicate R. felis-infected cat fleas can transmit rickettsiae to both ticks and mosquitoes via cofeeding on a vertebrate host, thus providing a potential avenue for the diversity of R. felis-infected arthropods in nature.

SUBMITTER: Fongsaran C

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9269922 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Json Xml

Similar Datasets

Genomic diversification in strains of Rickettsia felis Isolated from different arthropods.

Project description:Rickettsia felis (Alphaproteobacteria: Rickettsiales) is the causative agent of an emerging flea-borne rickettsiosis with worldwide occurrence. Originally described from the cat flea, Ctenocephalides felis, recent reports have identified R. felis from other flea species, as well as other insects and ticks. This diverse host range for R. felis may indicate an underlying genetic variability associated with host-specific strains. Accordingly, to determine a potential genetic basis for host specialization, we sequenced the genome of R. felis str. LSU-Lb, which is an obligate mutualist of the parthenogenic booklouse Liposcelis bostrychophila (Insecta: Psocoptera). We also sequenced the genome of R. felis str. LSU, the second genome sequence for cat flea-associated strains (cf. R. felis str. URRWXCal2), which are presumably facultative parasites of fleas. Phylogenomics analysis revealed R. felis str. LSU-Lb diverged from the flea-associated strains. Unexpectedly, R. felis str. LSU was found to be divergent from R. felis str. URRWXCal2, despite sharing similar hosts. Although all three R. felis genomes contain the pRF plasmid, R. felis str. LSU-Lb carries an additional unique plasmid, pLbaR (plasmid of L. bostrychophila associated Rickettsia), nearly half of which encodes a unique 23-gene integrative conjugative element. Remarkably, pLbaR also encodes a repeats-in-toxin-like type I secretion system and associated toxin, heretofore unknown from other Rickettsiales genomes, which likely originated from lateral gene transfer with another obligate intracellular parasite of arthropods, Cardinium (Bacteroidetes). Collectively, our study reveals unexpected genomic diversity across three R. felis strains and identifies several diversifying factors that differentiate facultative parasites of fleas from obligate mutualists of booklice.

| S-EPMC4316617 | biostudies-literature

Horizontal transmission of Rickettsia felis between cat fleas, Ctenocephalides felis.

Project description:Rickettsia felis is a rickettsial pathogen primarily associated with the cat flea, Ctenocephalides felis. Although laboratory studies have confirmed that R. felis is maintained by transstadial and transovarial transmission in C. felis, distinct mechanisms of horizontal transmission of R. felis among cat fleas are undefined. Based on the inefficient vertical transmission of R. felis by cat fleas and the detection of R. felis in a variety of haematophagous arthropods, we hypothesize that R. felis is horizontally transmitted between cat fleas. Towards testing this hypothesis, flea transmission of R. felis via a bloodmeal was assessed weekly for 4 weeks. Rhodamine B was used to distinguish uninfected recipient and R. felis-infected donor fleas in a rickettsial horizontal transmission bioassay, and quantitative real-time PCR assay was used to measure transmission frequency; immunofluorescence assay also confirmed transmission. Female fleas acquired R. felis infection more readily than male fleas after feeding on a R. felis-infected bloodmeal for 24 h (69.3% and 43.3%, respectively) and both Rickettsia-uninfected recipient male and female fleas became infected with R. felis after cofeeding with R. felis-infected donor fleas (3.3-40.0%). Distinct bioassays were developed to further determine that R. felis was transmitted from R. felis-infected to uninfected fleas during cofeeding and copulation. Vertical transmission of R. felis by infected fleas was not demonstrated in this study. The demonstration of horizontal transmission of R. felis between cat fleas has broad implications for the ecology of R. felis rickettsiosis.

| S-EPMC3740205 | biostudies-literature

Transmission potential of Rickettsia felis infection by Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes.

Project description:A growing number of recent reports have implicated Rickettsia felis as a human pathogen, paralleling the increasing detection of R. felis in arthropod hosts across the globe, primarily in fleas. Here Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes, the primary malarial vectors in sub-Saharan Africa, were fed with either blood meal infected with R. felis or infected cellular media administered in membrane feeding systems. In addition, a group of mosquitoes was fed on R. felis-infected BALB/c mice. The acquisition and persistence of R. felis in mosquitoes was demonstrated by quantitative PCR detection of the bacteria up to day 15 postinfection. R. felis was detected in mosquito feces up to day 14. Furthermore, R. felis was visualized by immunofluorescence in salivary glands, in and around the gut, and in the ovaries, although no vertical transmission was observed. R. felis was also found in the cotton used for sucrose feeding after the mosquitoes were fed infected blood. Natural bites from R. felis-infected An. gambiae were able to cause transient rickettsemias in mice, indicating that this mosquito species has the potential to be a vector of R. felis infection. This is particularly important given the recent report of high prevalence of R. felis infection in patients with "fever of unknown origin" in malaria-endemic areas.

| S-EPMC4491796 | biostudies-other

Rickettsia felis infection in cat fleas ctenocephalides felis felis.

Project description:The present study evaluated the rickettsial infection in a laboratory colony of cat fleas, Ctenocephalides felis felis (Bouche) in Brazil. All flea samples (30 eggs, 30 larvae, 30 cocoons, 30 males, and 30 females) tested by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) were shown to contain rickettsial DNA. PCR products, corresponding to the rickettsial gltA, htrA, ompA and ompB gene partial sequences were sequenced and showed to correspond to Rickettsia felis, indicating that the flea colony was 100% infected by R. felis. The immunofluorescence assay (IFA) showed the presence of R. felis-reactive antibodies in blood sera of 7 (87.5%) out of 8 cats that were regularly used to feed the flea colony. From 15 humans that used to work with the flea colony in the laboratory, 6 (40.0%) reacted positively to R. felis by IFA. Reactive feline and human sera showed low endpoint titers against R. felis, varying from 64 to 256. With the exception of one human serum, all R. felis-reactive sera were also reactive to Rickettsia rickettsii and/or Rickettsia parkeri antigens at similar titers to R. felis. The single human serum that was reactive solely to R. felis had an endpoint titer of 256, indicating that this person was infected by R. felis.

| S-EPMC3768654 | biostudies-literature

Rickettsia felis in Ctenocephalides felis felis from five geographic regions of Brazil.

Project description:This study evaluated rickettsial infection in 701 Ctenocephalides felis felis fleas that were collected from dogs and cats in 31 municipalities, encompassing all regions and major biomes of Brazil. A total of 268 (38.2%) fleas from 30 municipalities were polymerase chain reaction (PCR) positive for the rickettsial gltA gene. The PCR products from 44 fleas, consisting of at least 1 PCR-positive flea from each of 30 municipalities, generated DNA sequences identical to Rickettsia felis. Rickettsial prevalence was highly variable among 30 municipalities, with values ranging from 2.9% to 100%. Significantly higher infection rates by R. felis were associated with the Pampa biome (southern Brazil), and the temperate climate that prevails in southern Brazil. In contrast, lowest R. felis-infection rates were significantly associated with the Caatinga biome, and its semiarid climate. Further studies should evaluate the effect of temperature and moisture on the R. felis infection in Ctenocephalides fleas world widely.

| S-EPMC4080579 | biostudies-literature

Rickettsia felis in fleas, Germany.

Project description:Among 310 fleas collected from dogs and cats in Germany, Rickettsia felis was detected in all specimens (34) of Archaeopsylla erinacei (hedgehog flea) and in 9% (24/226) of Ctenocephalides felis felis (cat flea). R. helvetica was detected in 1 Ceratophyllus gallinae (hen flea).

| S-EPMC2600387 | biostudies-literature

Rickettsia felis in Ctenocephalides felis from Guatemala and Costa Rica.

Project description:Rickettsia felis is an emerging human pathogen associated primarily with the cat flea Ctenocephalides felis. In this study, we investigated the presence of Rickettsia felis in C. felis from Guatemala and Costa Rica. Ctenocephalides felis were collected directly from dogs and cats, and analyzed by polymerase chain reaction for Rickettsia-specific fragments of 17-kDa protein, OmpA, and citrate synthase genes. Rickettsia DNA was detected in 64% (55 of 86) and 58% (47 of 81) of flea pools in Guatemala and Costa Rica, respectively. Sequencing of gltA fragments identified R. felis genotype URRWXCal(2) in samples from both countries, and genotype Rf2125 in Costa Rica. This is the first report of R. felis in Guatemala and of genotype Rf2125 in Costa Rica. The extensive presence of this pathogen in countries of Central America stresses the need for increased awareness and diagnosis.

| S-EPMC3366522 | biostudies-literature

Rickettsia felis: a new species of pathogenic rickettsia isolated from cat fleas.

Project description:A flea-borne rickettsia, previously referred to as ELB, has been implicated as a cause of human illness. Using sequence data obtained from a fragment of the citrate synthase gene, we compared ELB, Rickettsia australis, R. rickettsii, and R. akari with the louse-borne R. prowazekii. We tallied 24 base pair differences between ELB and R. prowazekii and 25 between R. rickettsii and R. prowazekii; there were 30 base pair differences between R. australis and R. prowazekii and 29 between R. akari and R. prowazekii. We observed 32 differences between Rickettsia typhi and ELB. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and immunoblot analyses of ELB, with typing sera against R. typhi indicate that ELB surface antigens are more closely related to the flea-borne R. typhi than to the mite-borne R. akari. On the basis of the results of citrate synthase gene sequence comparisons, as well as previous comparisons with 16S rRNA and 17-kDa-protein gene segments, we found that ELB is sufficiently genetically distinct from other rickettsiae to be designated a new species, Rickettsia felis.

| S-EPMC228867 | biostudies-other

Rickettsia felis-associated uneruptive fever, Senegal.

Project description:During November 2008-July 2009, we investigated the origin of unknown fever in Senegalese patients with a negative malaria test result, focusing on potential rickettsial infection. Using molecular tools, we found evidence for Rickettsia felis-associated illness in the initial days of infection in febrile Senegalese patients without malaria.

| S-EPMC3321914 | biostudies-literature

Rickettsia felis infection in man, France.

Project description: Not available

| S-EPMC2744249 | biostudies-literature