Detection of relapsing fever Borrelia spp., Bartonella spp. and Anaplasmataceae bacteria in argasid ticks in Algeria.

Argasid ticks (soft ticks) are blood-feeding arthropods that can parasitize rodents, birds, humans, livestock and companion animals. Ticks of the Ornithodoros genus are known to be vectors of relapsing fever borreliosis in humans. In Algeria, little is known about relapsing fever borreliosis and other bacterial pathogens transmitted by argasid ticks.Between May 2013 and October 2015, we investigated the presence of soft ticks in 20 rodent burrows, 10 yellow-legged gull (Larus michahellis) nests and animal shelters in six locations in two different bioclimatic zones in Algeria. Six species of argasid ticks were identified morphologically and through 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The presence and prevalence of Borrelia spp., Bartonella spp., Rickettsia spp. and Anaplasmataceae was assessed by qPCR template assays in each specimen. All qPCR-positive samples were confirmed by standard PCR, followed by sequencing the amplified fragments. Two Borrelia species were identified: Borrelia hispanica in Ornithodoros occidentalis in Mostaganem, and Borrelia cf. turicatae in Carios capensis in Algiers. One new Bartonella genotype and one new Anaplasmataceae genotype were also identified in Argas persicus.The present study highlights the presence of relapsing fever borreliosis agents, although this disease is rarely diagnosed in Algeria. Other bacteria of unknown pathogenicity detected in argasid ticks which may bite humans deserve further investigation

A consensus phylogenetic tree showing the relationships between <i>Bartonella</i> identified in the present study compared with other <i>Bartonella</i> species, based on concatenated <i>ftsZ</i> (292 bps) and <i>gltA</i> (200 bps) gene sequence comparisons.

<p>GenBank accession numbers are indicated at the beginning. Sequences were aligned using CLUSTALW, and phylogenetic inferences were obtained using the ML phylogenetic analysis with TOPALi 2.5 software (Biomathematics and Statistics Scotland, Edinburgh, UK) within the integrated ML application, using the K81uf + I + Г substitution model. Numbers at the nodes are percentages of bootstrap values obtained by repeating the analysis 100 times to generate a majority consensus tree (only those equal or higher than 80 were retained). The final set includes 492 base pairs. The scale bar represents a 20% nucleotide sequence divergence. Genbank accession numbers of <i>ftsZ</i> and <i>gltA</i> genes respectively are indicated at the beginning.</p

Detection and identification of <i>Borrelia</i> spp., <i>Bartonella</i> spp. and Anaplasmataceae in Algerian argasid ticks.

<p>Detection and identification of <i>Borrelia</i> spp., <i>Bartonella</i> spp. and Anaplasmataceae in Algerian argasid ticks.</p

Geographical distribution of argasid ticks collected and screened for the presence of <i>Borrelia</i>, <i>Bartonella</i> and Anaplasmataceae DNA in Algeria.

<p>Geographical distribution of argasid ticks collected and screened for the presence of <i>Borrelia</i>, <i>Bartonella</i> and Anaplasmataceae DNA in Algeria.</p

Phylogenetic tree showing the position of <i>Anaplasma</i> sp. amplified from <i>Argas persicus</i> in this study compared to other species.

<p>Phylogenetic inferences were obtained using MEGA 6. GenBank accession numbers are indicated at the beginning and the geographic origin of the species is indicated at the end. The 23S rRNA gene sequences were aligned using CLUSTALW, and phylogenetic inferences were obtained using the ML phylogenetic analysis with TOPALi 2.5 software (Biomathematics and Statistics Scotland, Edinburgh, UK) within the integrated ML application, using the K81uf + I + Г substitution model.</p

Phylogenetic tree showing the position of <i>Borrelia hispanica</i> amplified from <i>Ornithodoros occidentalis</i> and <i>Borrelia cf</i>. <i>turicatae</i> amplified from <i>Carios capensis</i> in this study compared to other species.

<p>Phylogenetic inferences were obtained using MEGA 6. GenBank accession numbers are indicated at the beginning and the geographic origin of the species is indicated at the end. The <i>flaB</i> gene of <i>Borrelia</i> sp sequences was aligned using CLUSTALW, and phylogenetic inferences obtained using the ML phylogenetic analysis with TOPALi 2.5 software (Biomathematics and Statistics Scotland, Edinburgh, UK) within the integrated ML application, using the K81uf + I + Г substitution model.</p