Molecular Detection and Genotyping of <i>Coxiella-</i>Like Endosymbionts in Ticks Collected from Animals and Vegetation in Zambia
Toshiya Kobayashi,
Elisha Chatanga,
Yongjin Qiu,
Martin Simuunza,
Masahiro Kajihara,
Bernard Mudenda Hang’ombe,
Yoshiki Eto,
Ngonda Saasa,
Akina Mori-Kajihara,
Edgar Simulundu,
Ayato Takada,
Hirofumi Sawa,
Ken Katakura,
Nariaki Nonaka,
Ryo Nakao
Affiliations
Toshiya Kobayashi
Laboratory of Parasitology, Department of Disease Control, Graduate School of Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, N 18 W 9, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-0818, Japan
Elisha Chatanga
Laboratory of Parasitology, Department of Disease Control, Graduate School of Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, N 18 W 9, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-0818, Japan
Yongjin Qiu
Division of International Research Promotion, International Institute for Zoonosis Control, Hokkaido University, N 20 W10, Kita-ku, Sapporo 001-0020, Japan
Martin Simuunza
Department of Diseases Control, School of Veterinary Medicine, The University of Zambia, Lusaka P.O. Box 32379, Zambia
Masahiro Kajihara
Division of Global Epidemiology, International Institute for Zoonosis Control, Hokkaido University, N 20 W10, Kita-ku, Sapporo 001-0020, Japan
Bernard Mudenda Hang’ombe
Africa Centre of Excellence for Infectious Diseases of Humans and Animals, The University of Zambia, Lusaka P.O. Box 32379, Zambia
Yoshiki Eto
Division of Global Epidemiology, International Institute for Zoonosis Control, Hokkaido University, N 20 W10, Kita-ku, Sapporo 001-0020, Japan
Ngonda Saasa
Department of Diseases Control, School of Veterinary Medicine, The University of Zambia, Lusaka P.O. Box 32379, Zambia
Akina Mori-Kajihara
Division of Global Epidemiology, International Institute for Zoonosis Control, Hokkaido University, N 20 W10, Kita-ku, Sapporo 001-0020, Japan
Edgar Simulundu
Department of Diseases Control, School of Veterinary Medicine, The University of Zambia, Lusaka P.O. Box 32379, Zambia
Ayato Takada
Department of Diseases Control, School of Veterinary Medicine, The University of Zambia, Lusaka P.O. Box 32379, Zambia
Hirofumi Sawa
Department of Diseases Control, School of Veterinary Medicine, The University of Zambia, Lusaka P.O. Box 32379, Zambia
Ken Katakura
Laboratory of Parasitology, Department of Disease Control, Graduate School of Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, N 18 W 9, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-0818, Japan
Nariaki Nonaka
Laboratory of Parasitology, Department of Disease Control, Graduate School of Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, N 18 W 9, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-0818, Japan
Ryo Nakao
Laboratory of Parasitology, Department of Disease Control, Graduate School of Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, N 18 W 9, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-0818, Japan
Ticks are obligate ectoparasites as they require to feed on their host blood during some or all stages of their life cycle. In addition to the pathogens that ticks harbor and transmit to vertebrate hosts, they also harbor other seemingly nonpathogenic microorganisms including nutritional mutualistic symbionts. Tick nutritional mutualistic symbionts play important roles in the physiology of the host ticks as they are involved in tick reproduction and growth through the supply of B vitamins as well as in pathogen maintenance and propagation. Coxiella-like endosymbionts (CLEs) are the most widespread endosymbionts exclusively reported in ticks. Although CLEs have been investigated in ticks in other parts of the world, there is no report of their investigation in ticks in Zambia. To investigate the occurrence of CLEs, their maintenance, and association with host ticks in Zambia, 175 ticks belonging to six genera, namely Amblyomma, Argas, Haemaphysalis, Hyalomma, Ornithodoros, and Rhipicephalus, were screened for CLEs, followed by characterization of CLEs by multi-locus sequence typing of the five Coxiella housekeeping genes (dnaK, groEL, rpoB, 16S rRNA, and 23S rRNA). The results showed that 45.7% (n = 80) were positive for CLEs. The comparison of the tick 16S rDNA phylogenetic tree with that of the CLEs concatenated sequences showed that there was a strong correlation between the topology of the trees. The results suggest that most of the CLEs have evolved within tick species, supporting the vertical transmission phenomenon. However, the negative results for CLE in some ticks warrants further investigations of other endosymbionts that the ticks in Zambia may also harbor.