Association of different genetic types of Francisella-like organisms with the rocky mountain wood tick (Dermacentor andersoni) and the American dog tick (Dermacentor variabilis) in localities near their northern distributional limits.

ABSTRACT: Dermacentor andersoni and Dermacentor variabilis from allopatric and sympatric populations near their northern distributional limits were examined for the presence of Francisella species using molecular techniques that targeted 373 bp of the 16S rRNA gene. Although there was no evidence for the presence of Francisella tularensis in any tick, Francisella-like endosymbionts (FLEs) were common in D. andersoni and D. variabilis adults and immatures. A significantly greater proportion of female ticks contained FLEs compared to male ticks. In addition, significantly more D. variabilis adult individuals contained multiple FLE sequence types than did D. andersoni adults. Ten different types of FLEs were identified based on the sequence data, which has implications for diagnostic tests and epidemio

SUBMITTER: Dergousoff SJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3272999 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature