Prevalence of Spotted Fever Group <i>Rickettsia</i> and <i>Candidatus</i> Lariskella in Multiple Tick Species from Guizhou Province, China
Miao Lu,
Chao Meng,
Bing Zhang,
Xiao Wang,
Junhua Tian,
Guangpeng Tang,
Wen Wang,
Na Li,
Mengyao Li,
Xiaoyu Xu,
Yue Sun,
Chengyu Duan,
Xincheng Qin,
Kun Li
Affiliations
Miao Lu
National Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Changping District, Beijing 102206, China
Chao Meng
College of Life Sciences, Shandong First Medical University & Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Tai’an 271016, China
Bing Zhang
School of Basic Medical Sciences, Xinjiang Medical University, Urumqi 830011, China
Xiao Wang
The Military General Hospital of Xinjiang PLA, Urumqi 830000, China
Junhua Tian
Wuhan Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Wuhan 430024, China
Guangpeng Tang
Guizhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Guiyang 550004, China
Wen Wang
National Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Changping District, Beijing 102206, China
Na Li
College of Life Sciences, Shandong First Medical University & Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Tai’an 271016, China
Mengyao Li
College of Life Sciences, Shandong First Medical University & Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Tai’an 271016, China
Xiaoyu Xu
College of Life Sciences, Shandong First Medical University & Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Tai’an 271016, China
Yue Sun
College of Life Sciences, Shandong First Medical University & Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Tai’an 271016, China
Chengyu Duan
College of Life Sciences, Shandong First Medical University & Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Tai’an 271016, China
Xincheng Qin
National Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Changping District, Beijing 102206, China
Kun Li
National Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Changping District, Beijing 102206, China
Rickettsiales (Rickettsia spp., Ehrlichia spp., and Anaplasma spp., etc.) are generally recognized as potentially emerging tick-borne pathogens. However, some bacteria and areas in China remain uninvestigated. In this study, we collected 113 ticks from mammals in Guizhou Province, Southwest China, and screened for the Rickettsiales bacteria. Subsequently, two spotted fever group Rickettsia species and one Candidatus Lariskella sp. were detected and characterized. “Candidatus Rickettsia jingxinensis” was detected in Rhipicephalus microplus (1/1), Haemaphysalis flava (1/3, 33.33%), Haemaphysalis kitaokai (1/3), and Ixodes sinensis (4/101, 3.96%), whereas Rickettsia monacensis was positive in H. flava (1/3), H. kitaokai (2/3), and I. sinensis ticks (74/101, 73.27%). At least two variants/sub-genotypes were identified in the R. monacensis isolates, and the strikingly high prevalence of R. monacensis may suggest a risk of human infection. Unexpectedly, a Candidatus Lariskella sp. belonging to the family Candidatus Midichloriaceae was detected from Ixodes ovatus (1/4) and I. sinensis (10/101, 9.90%). The gltA and groEL gene sequences were successfully obtained, and they show the highest (74.63–74.89% and 73.31%) similarities to “Candidatus Midichloria mitochondrii”, respectively. Herein, we name the species “Candidatus Lariskella guizhouensis”. These may be the first recovered gltA and groEL sequences of the genus Candidatus Lariskella.
