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Hoffman T, Wilhelmsson P, Barboutis C, Fransson T, Jaenson TGT, Lindgren PE, Von Loewenich FD, Lundkvist Å, Olsen B, Salaneck E. A divergent Anaplasma phagocytophilum variant in an Ixodes tick from a migratory bird; Mediterranean basin. Infect Ecol Epidemiol 2020; 10:1729653. [PMID: 32284823 PMCID: PMC7144310 DOI: 10.1080/20008686.2020.1729653] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2019] [Accepted: 12/11/2019] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Anaplasma phagocytophilum (AP) has vast geographical and host ranges and causes disease in humans and domesticated animals. We investigated the role of northward migratory birds in the dispersal of tick-borne AP in the African-Western Palearctic. Ticks were collected from northward migratory birds trapped during spring migration of 2010 at two localities in the central Mediterranean Sea. AP DNA was detected by PCR (gltA and 16S rRNA) and variant determination was performed using ankA sequences. In total, 358 ticks were collected. One of 19 ticks determined as Ixodes was confirmed positive for AP DNA. The tick was collected from a woodchat shrike (Lanius senator senator) trapped in Greece, and molecularly determined to belong to the I. ricinus complex and sharing highest (95%) 16S RNA sequence identity to I. gibbosus. The ankA AP sequence exhibited highest similarity to sequences from rodents and shrews (82%) and ruminants (80%). Phylogenetic analyses placed it convincingly outside other clades, suggesting that it represents a novel AP variant. The divergent Ixodes species harboring a novel AP variant could either indicate an enzootic cycle involving co-evolution with birds, or dissemination from other regions by avian migration. None of the 331 Hyalomma marginatum sensu lato ticks, all immature stages, were positive for AP DNA, lending no evidence for the involvement of Hyalomma ticks transported by birds in the ecology of AP.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tove Hoffman
- Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology (IMBIM), Zoonosis Science Center, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Peter Wilhelmsson
- Division of Inflammation and Infection, Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden.,Department of Clinical Microbiology, County Hospital Ryhov, Jönköping, Sweden.,Division of Medical Microbiology, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
| | - Christos Barboutis
- Antikythira Bird Observatory, Hellenic Ornithological Society/Birdlife Greece, Athens, Greece
| | - Thord Fransson
- Department of Environmental Research and Monitoring, Swedish Museum of Natural History, Stockholm, Sweden
| | | | - Per-Eric Lindgren
- Division of Inflammation and Infection, Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden.,Department of Clinical Microbiology, County Hospital Ryhov, Jönköping, Sweden.,Division of Medical Microbiology, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
| | | | - Åke Lundkvist
- Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology (IMBIM), Zoonosis Science Center, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Björn Olsen
- Department of Medical Sciences, Zoonosis Science Center, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Erik Salaneck
- Department of Medical Sciences, Zoonosis Science Center, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
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