Arthropod and Vertebrate Determinants for Horizontal Transmission of Rickettsia felis
Rickettsia felis is a gram-negative bacterium predominantly described in the cat flea, Ctenocephalides felis. Since first described in 1990 in a commercial cat flea colony in the United States, R. felis has been detected in numerous arthropod species in 28 countries around the world. Additionally, a...
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ndltd-LSU-oai-etd.lsu.edu-etd-04172009-0759162013-01-07T22:52:09Z Arthropod and Vertebrate Determinants for Horizontal Transmission of Rickettsia felis Reif, Kathryn Elizabeth Pathobiological Sciences (Veterinary Medical Sciences) Rickettsia felis is a gram-negative bacterium predominantly described in the cat flea, Ctenocephalides felis. Since first described in 1990 in a commercial cat flea colony in the United States, R. felis has been detected in numerous arthropod species in 28 countries around the world. Additionally, as the etiologic agent of flea-borne rickettsiosis, R. felis can cause disease in humans, with patients presenting with clinical symptoms typical of rickettsial diseases including: fever, headache, and myalgia. Transmission of R. felis within flea colonies is predominantly via vertical (transovarial and transstadial) transmission and mechanisms of horizontal transmission are undescribed. Studies are needed to describe both arthropod and vertebrate determinants of R. felis horizontal transmission. Here we describe the development of both arthropod and vertebrate models of R. felis infection and use the tools of molecular biology to characterize R. felis infection in both models. We first characterized R. felis-infection in a naturally R. felis-infected cat flea colony and observed that the prevalence of R. felis-infection within a cat flea colony is dynamic with an inverse relationship between R. felis-infection density and prevalence of R. felis-infection in the colony. Also, over the flea lifespan, R. felis infection remains steady with little fluctuation during the onset of flea bloodmeal acquisition and oogenesis. After characterizing R. felis replication in naturally infected fleas, we developed a biological assay to infect naïve fleas. This is the first demonstration of oral acquisition and persistent R. felis-infection of fleas fed an R. felis-infected bloodmeal. Lastly, we describe the initial results of a murine model of R. felis infection. In this model, R. felis efficiently disseminated in the mouse and is detectable in several tissues including the spleen and liver for up to 14-days post-inoculation. Elucidation of both arthropod and vertebrate determinant for R. felis transmission is necessary to understand the ecology of R. felis in nature. Lane Foil Thomas Klei Kevin Macaluso Philip Elzer Tin-Wein Yu Abdu Azad LSU 2009-04-17 text application/pdf http://etd.lsu.edu/docs/available/etd-04172009-075916/ http://etd.lsu.edu/docs/available/etd-04172009-075916/ en unrestricted I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached herein a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to LSU or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below and in appropriate University policies, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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Pathobiological Sciences (Veterinary Medical Sciences) Reif, Kathryn Elizabeth Arthropod and Vertebrate Determinants for Horizontal Transmission of Rickettsia felis |
description |
Rickettsia felis is a gram-negative bacterium predominantly described in the cat flea, Ctenocephalides felis. Since first described in 1990 in a commercial cat flea colony in the United States, R. felis has been detected in numerous arthropod species in 28 countries around the world. Additionally, as the etiologic agent of flea-borne rickettsiosis, R. felis can cause disease in humans, with patients presenting with clinical symptoms typical of rickettsial diseases including: fever, headache, and myalgia. Transmission of R. felis within flea colonies is predominantly via vertical (transovarial and transstadial) transmission and mechanisms of horizontal transmission are undescribed. Studies are needed to describe both arthropod and vertebrate determinants of R. felis horizontal transmission. Here we describe the development of both arthropod and vertebrate models of R. felis infection and use the tools of molecular biology to characterize R. felis infection in both models. We first characterized R. felis-infection in a naturally R. felis-infected cat flea colony and observed that the prevalence of R. felis-infection within a cat flea colony is dynamic with an inverse relationship between R. felis-infection density and prevalence of R. felis-infection in the colony. Also, over the flea lifespan, R. felis infection remains steady with little fluctuation during the onset of flea bloodmeal acquisition and oogenesis. After characterizing R. felis replication in naturally infected fleas, we developed a biological assay to infect naïve fleas. This is the first demonstration of oral acquisition and persistent R. felis-infection of fleas fed an R. felis-infected bloodmeal. Lastly, we describe the initial results of a murine model of R. felis infection. In this model, R. felis efficiently disseminated in the mouse and is detectable in several tissues including the spleen and liver for up to 14-days post-inoculation. Elucidation of both arthropod and vertebrate determinant for
R. felis transmission is necessary to understand the ecology of R. felis in nature.
|
author2 |
Lane Foil |
author_facet |
Lane Foil Reif, Kathryn Elizabeth |
author |
Reif, Kathryn Elizabeth |
author_sort |
Reif, Kathryn Elizabeth |
title |
Arthropod and Vertebrate Determinants for Horizontal Transmission of Rickettsia felis |
title_short |
Arthropod and Vertebrate Determinants for Horizontal Transmission of Rickettsia felis |
title_full |
Arthropod and Vertebrate Determinants for Horizontal Transmission of Rickettsia felis |
title_fullStr |
Arthropod and Vertebrate Determinants for Horizontal Transmission of Rickettsia felis |
title_full_unstemmed |
Arthropod and Vertebrate Determinants for Horizontal Transmission of Rickettsia felis |
title_sort |
arthropod and vertebrate determinants for horizontal transmission of rickettsia felis |
publisher |
LSU |
publishDate |
2009 |
url |
http://etd.lsu.edu/docs/available/etd-04172009-075916/ |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT reifkathrynelizabeth arthropodandvertebratedeterminantsforhorizontaltransmissionofrickettsiafelis |
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