Publicação
Rhipicephalus sanguineus (Latreille, 1806) an important pathogen tick vector in Portugal: a metagenomic approach
| Resumo: | Ticks are hematophagous arthropods represented by approximately 900 species, divided into three families: Argasidae (soft-bodied ticks), Ixodidae (hard-bodied ticks) and Nuttalliellidae (intermediate features). Rhipicephalus sanguineus, belonging to the Ixodidae family, is the dominant species in mainland Portugal. This species is the vector of several pathogens, many of them emerging in our country. Most of them belong to Rickettsia (Rickettsia massiliae, Ri. conorii), Coxiella, Anaplasma, Babesia and Ehrlichia. It is therefore necessary to know the true epidemiological situation in mainland Portugal, which tick species are present and which potential pathogens they carry. Thus, this work aims to identify which tick species are present in dogs and cats from mainland Portugal and which pathogens are found in Rhipicephalus sanguineus ticks, in particular. Ticks were morphological identified based on diagnostic characteristics, and when in doubt, we resorted to molecular identification through Cytochrome C Oxidase subunit I (COI) and 16S gene. Next, the presence of potential pathogens from Rickettsia, Anaplasma/Ehrlichia, and Babesia/Hepatozoon genera was obtained using specific molecular markers by RT-PCR. A Shotgun metagenomic sequencing analysis was also carried out with Kraken 2 and Krona, to obtain more detailed information on the set of pathogens present in R. sanguineus samples, one for each studied region (North, Centre and South). The results showed a more evident presence of Rickettsia genus, namely Rickettsia massiliae, and, for the first time, the bacterium Rickettsia amblyommatis and the endosymbiont Candidatus Coxiella mudrowiae were identified in mainland Portugal. The presence of Klebsiella pneumoniae and Staphylococcus pseudointermedius was also detected in Rhipicephalus sanguineus. To conclude, the data obtained from this study contributed to a better understanding of ticks’ distribution in Portugal, the bacterial communities hosted by Rhipicephalus sanguineus and allowed us to see what other pathogens not frequently associated with this species are circulating in Portuguese territory. |
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| Autores principais: | Vieira, Mariana Esteves |
| Assunto: | Rhipicephalus sanguineus patogénios COI sequenciação metagenómica por Shotgun Portugal Continental Teses de mestrado - 2024 |
| Ano: | 2024 |
| País: | Portugal |
| Tipo de documento: | dissertação de mestrado |
| Tipo de acesso: | acesso embargado |
| Instituição associada: | Universidade de Lisboa |
| Idioma: | inglês |
| Origem: | Repositório da Universidade de Lisboa |
| Resumo: | Ticks are hematophagous arthropods represented by approximately 900 species, divided into three families: Argasidae (soft-bodied ticks), Ixodidae (hard-bodied ticks) and Nuttalliellidae (intermediate features). Rhipicephalus sanguineus, belonging to the Ixodidae family, is the dominant species in mainland Portugal. This species is the vector of several pathogens, many of them emerging in our country. Most of them belong to Rickettsia (Rickettsia massiliae, Ri. conorii), Coxiella, Anaplasma, Babesia and Ehrlichia. It is therefore necessary to know the true epidemiological situation in mainland Portugal, which tick species are present and which potential pathogens they carry. Thus, this work aims to identify which tick species are present in dogs and cats from mainland Portugal and which pathogens are found in Rhipicephalus sanguineus ticks, in particular. Ticks were morphological identified based on diagnostic characteristics, and when in doubt, we resorted to molecular identification through Cytochrome C Oxidase subunit I (COI) and 16S gene. Next, the presence of potential pathogens from Rickettsia, Anaplasma/Ehrlichia, and Babesia/Hepatozoon genera was obtained using specific molecular markers by RT-PCR. A Shotgun metagenomic sequencing analysis was also carried out with Kraken 2 and Krona, to obtain more detailed information on the set of pathogens present in R. sanguineus samples, one for each studied region (North, Centre and South). The results showed a more evident presence of Rickettsia genus, namely Rickettsia massiliae, and, for the first time, the bacterium Rickettsia amblyommatis and the endosymbiont Candidatus Coxiella mudrowiae were identified in mainland Portugal. The presence of Klebsiella pneumoniae and Staphylococcus pseudointermedius was also detected in Rhipicephalus sanguineus. To conclude, the data obtained from this study contributed to a better understanding of ticks’ distribution in Portugal, the bacterial communities hosted by Rhipicephalus sanguineus and allowed us to see what other pathogens not frequently associated with this species are circulating in Portuguese territory. |
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