Low genetic diversity of Ehrlichia canis associated with high co-infection rates in Rhipicephalus sanguineus (s.l.)

Abstract Background Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato (s.l.) is the most widely distributed ixodid tick and is a vector of major canine and human pathogens. High-throughput technologies have revealed that individual ticks carry a high diversity of pathogens, including bacteria, protozoa and viruse...

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Main Authors: Alejandro Cabezas-Cruz, Eleonore Allain, Abdullah S. Ahmad, Muhammad A. Saeed, Imran Rashid, Kamran Ashraf, Lena Yousfi, Wasim Shehzad, Lea Indjein, Manuel Rodriguez-Valle, Agustin Estrada-Peña, Dasiel Obregón, Abdul Jabbar, Sara Moutailler
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2019-01-01
Series:Parasites & Vectors
Subjects:
Online Access:http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13071-018-3194-9
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author Alejandro Cabezas-Cruz
Eleonore Allain
Abdullah S. Ahmad
Muhammad A. Saeed
Imran Rashid
Kamran Ashraf
Lena Yousfi
Wasim Shehzad
Lea Indjein
Manuel Rodriguez-Valle
Agustin Estrada-Peña
Dasiel Obregón
Abdul Jabbar
Sara Moutailler
spellingShingle Alejandro Cabezas-Cruz
Eleonore Allain
Abdullah S. Ahmad
Muhammad A. Saeed
Imran Rashid
Kamran Ashraf
Lena Yousfi
Wasim Shehzad
Lea Indjein
Manuel Rodriguez-Valle
Agustin Estrada-Peña
Dasiel Obregón
Abdul Jabbar
Sara Moutailler
Low genetic diversity of Ehrlichia canis associated with high co-infection rates in Rhipicephalus sanguineus (s.l.)
Parasites & Vectors
Rhipicephalus sanguineus (s.l.)
Co-infection
Ehrlichia canis
Rickettsia massiliae
Genetic diversity
author_facet Alejandro Cabezas-Cruz
Eleonore Allain
Abdullah S. Ahmad
Muhammad A. Saeed
Imran Rashid
Kamran Ashraf
Lena Yousfi
Wasim Shehzad
Lea Indjein
Manuel Rodriguez-Valle
Agustin Estrada-Peña
Dasiel Obregón
Abdul Jabbar
Sara Moutailler
author_sort Alejandro Cabezas-Cruz
title Low genetic diversity of Ehrlichia canis associated with high co-infection rates in Rhipicephalus sanguineus (s.l.)
title_short Low genetic diversity of Ehrlichia canis associated with high co-infection rates in Rhipicephalus sanguineus (s.l.)
title_full Low genetic diversity of Ehrlichia canis associated with high co-infection rates in Rhipicephalus sanguineus (s.l.)
title_fullStr Low genetic diversity of Ehrlichia canis associated with high co-infection rates in Rhipicephalus sanguineus (s.l.)
title_full_unstemmed Low genetic diversity of Ehrlichia canis associated with high co-infection rates in Rhipicephalus sanguineus (s.l.)
title_sort low genetic diversity of ehrlichia canis associated with high co-infection rates in rhipicephalus sanguineus (s.l.)
publisher BMC
series Parasites & Vectors
issn 1756-3305
publishDate 2019-01-01
description Abstract Background Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato (s.l.) is the most widely distributed ixodid tick and is a vector of major canine and human pathogens. High-throughput technologies have revealed that individual ticks carry a high diversity of pathogens, including bacteria, protozoa and viruses. Currently, it is accepted that co-infections (multiple pathogen species within an individual) are very common in ticks and influence pathogen acquisition and transmission as well as host infection risk. However, little is known on the impact of the genetic diversity of pathogens on the incidence of co-infections. Herein, we studied the frequency of co-infections in R. sanguineus (s.l.) and their association with the genetic diversity of Ehrlichia canis. Methods Rhipicephalus sanguineus (s.l.) female ticks (n = 235) were collected from healthy farm dogs in three districts of Pakistan. Microfluidic real-time PCR, a powerful nanotechnology for high-throughput molecular detection of pathogens, was used to test the presence of 25 bacterial and seven parasitic species in individual ticks. The genetic diversity of E. canis was evaluated by characterizing the trp36 gene. Results A total of 204 ticks were infected with at least one pathogen and 109 co-infected with two (80%) or three (20%) pathogens. Rickettsia massiliae (human pathogen) and E. canis (zoonotic dog pathogen) were the most common pathogens co-infecting (30.4%) ticks. Furthermore, all identified co-infections included R. massiliae and/or E. canis. Multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) revealed that single infections did not show clear regional association whereas some co-infections were restricted to certain geographical regions. The sequence analysis of trp36 in representative samples allowed the identification of three E. canis strains with low genetic diversity, and the strain found in Muzaffargarh district appeared to be more adapted to co-infection with R. massiliae. Conclusions Rhipicephalus sanguineus (s.l.) harbors multiple co-infections with human and dog pathogens of zoonotic potential. Findings of this study suggest that genetic diversity of E. canis may favor co-infections with different pathogens.
topic Rhipicephalus sanguineus (s.l.)
Co-infection
Ehrlichia canis
Rickettsia massiliae
Genetic diversity
url http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13071-018-3194-9
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spelling doaj-653707ec20e94b7eb00b4f34371276fd2020-11-25T01:29:33ZengBMCParasites & Vectors1756-33052019-01-0112111310.1186/s13071-018-3194-9Low genetic diversity of Ehrlichia canis associated with high co-infection rates in Rhipicephalus sanguineus (s.l.)Alejandro Cabezas-Cruz0Eleonore Allain1Abdullah S. Ahmad2Muhammad A. Saeed3Imran Rashid4Kamran Ashraf5Lena Yousfi6Wasim Shehzad7Lea Indjein8Manuel Rodriguez-Valle9Agustin Estrada-Peña10Dasiel Obregón11Abdul Jabbar12Sara Moutailler13UMR BIPAR, INRA, ANSES, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire d’Alfort, Université Paris-EstUMR BIPAR, INRA, ANSES, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire d’Alfort, Université Paris-EstDepartment of Veterinary Biosciences, Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, The University of MelbourneDepartment of Veterinary Biosciences, Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, The University of MelbourneDepartment of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, University of Veterinary and Animal SciencesDepartment of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, University of Veterinary and Animal SciencesUMR BIPAR, INRA, ANSES, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire d’Alfort, Université Paris-EstInstitute of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, Faculty of Biosciences, University of Veterinary and Animal SciencesDepartment of Veterinary Biosciences, Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, The University of MelbourneQueensland Alliance for Agriculture & Food Innovation, The University of QueenslandFaculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of ZaragozaCell and Molecular Biology Laboratory, Center for Nuclear Energy in Agriculture, University of Sao PauloDepartment of Veterinary Biosciences, Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, The University of MelbourneUMR BIPAR, INRA, ANSES, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire d’Alfort, Université Paris-EstAbstract Background Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato (s.l.) is the most widely distributed ixodid tick and is a vector of major canine and human pathogens. High-throughput technologies have revealed that individual ticks carry a high diversity of pathogens, including bacteria, protozoa and viruses. Currently, it is accepted that co-infections (multiple pathogen species within an individual) are very common in ticks and influence pathogen acquisition and transmission as well as host infection risk. However, little is known on the impact of the genetic diversity of pathogens on the incidence of co-infections. Herein, we studied the frequency of co-infections in R. sanguineus (s.l.) and their association with the genetic diversity of Ehrlichia canis. Methods Rhipicephalus sanguineus (s.l.) female ticks (n = 235) were collected from healthy farm dogs in three districts of Pakistan. Microfluidic real-time PCR, a powerful nanotechnology for high-throughput molecular detection of pathogens, was used to test the presence of 25 bacterial and seven parasitic species in individual ticks. The genetic diversity of E. canis was evaluated by characterizing the trp36 gene. Results A total of 204 ticks were infected with at least one pathogen and 109 co-infected with two (80%) or three (20%) pathogens. Rickettsia massiliae (human pathogen) and E. canis (zoonotic dog pathogen) were the most common pathogens co-infecting (30.4%) ticks. Furthermore, all identified co-infections included R. massiliae and/or E. canis. Multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) revealed that single infections did not show clear regional association whereas some co-infections were restricted to certain geographical regions. The sequence analysis of trp36 in representative samples allowed the identification of three E. canis strains with low genetic diversity, and the strain found in Muzaffargarh district appeared to be more adapted to co-infection with R. massiliae. Conclusions Rhipicephalus sanguineus (s.l.) harbors multiple co-infections with human and dog pathogens of zoonotic potential. Findings of this study suggest that genetic diversity of E. canis may favor co-infections with different pathogens.http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13071-018-3194-9Rhipicephalus sanguineus (s.l.)Co-infectionEhrlichia canisRickettsia massiliaeGenetic diversity