Primarily molecular detection and phylogenetic analyses of spotted fever group Rickettsia species in cats in Türkiye: With new host reports of Rickettsia aeschlimannii, Rickettsia slovaca, and Candidatus Rickettsia barbariae

IF 2 3区农林科学 Q4 IMMUNOLOGY

Comparative Immunology Microbiology and Infectious Diseases Pub Date : 2025-02-06 DOI:10.1016/j.cimid.2025.102319

Ufuk Erol , Omer Faruk Sahin , Osman Furkan Urhan , Melih Gazi Genc , Kursat Altay

{"title":"Primarily molecular detection and phylogenetic analyses of spotted fever group Rickettsia species in cats in Türkiye: With new host reports of Rickettsia aeschlimannii, Rickettsia slovaca, and Candidatus Rickettsia barbariae","authors":"Ufuk Erol , Omer Faruk Sahin , Osman Furkan Urhan , Melih Gazi Genc , Kursat Altay","doi":"10.1016/j.cimid.2025.102319","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Domestic cats are companion animals that live with people in their households or outdoors, and strong relationships exist between cats and humans. However, this animal is also a host/reservoir of zoonotic pathogens, including Rickettsia species. In Türkiye, cat ownership has increased over the years, but there is a lack of data on the pathogens in cats. In this study, 396 cat blood samples were collected from different parts of Türkiye, and these samples were investigated for Rickettsia species with PCR assay. In addition, DNA sequences were performed for species identification and phylogenetic analyses of detected Rickettsia species. 24 out of 396 cat blood samples (6.06 %) were found to be infected with Rickettsia species. The DNA sequence analyses of all PCR-positive samples were done, and Ri. aeschlimannii was identified in 17 samples, Ri. slovaca in four, Candidatus Rickettsia barbariae in two, and Ri. raoultii in one sample. The phylogenetic analyses of obtained DNA from the above-mentioned species were performed. The sequence data belonging to the species were uploaded to the GenBank, and accession numbers for Rickettsia aeschlimannii (PP998242-PP998258), Ri. slovaca (PP998259-PP998262), Candidatus Rickettsia barbariae (PP998263-PP998264), and Ri. raoultii (PP998265) were taken. This result provides the first molecular detection of Ri. aeschlimannii, Ri. slovaca, Candidatus Rickettsia barbariae, and Ri. raoultii in Türkiye. Moreover, the DNA of Ri. aeschlimannii, Ri. slovaca, and Candidatus Rickettsia barbariae were identified in cat blood samples for the first time in the world, and the cats were a new host for these Rickettsia species. Detailed studies are, however, needed to determine the pathogenicity, biological characteristics, and vectors of these Rickettsia species in this new host.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50999,"journal":{"name":"Comparative Immunology Microbiology and Infectious Diseases","volume":"118 ","pages":"Article 102319"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0000,"publicationDate":"2025-02-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Comparative Immunology Microbiology and Infectious Diseases","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S014795712500027X","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q4","JCRName":"IMMUNOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

Domestic cats are companion animals that live with people in their households or outdoors, and strong relationships exist between cats and humans. However, this animal is also a host/reservoir of zoonotic pathogens, including Rickettsia species. In Türkiye, cat ownership has increased over the years, but there is a lack of data on the pathogens in cats. In this study, 396 cat blood samples were collected from different parts of Türkiye, and these samples were investigated for Rickettsia species with PCR assay. In addition, DNA sequences were performed for species identification and phylogenetic analyses of detected Rickettsia species. 24 out of 396 cat blood samples (6.06 %) were found to be infected with Rickettsia species. The DNA sequence analyses of all PCR-positive samples were done, and Ri. aeschlimannii was identified in 17 samples, Ri. slovaca in four, Candidatus Rickettsia barbariae in two, and Ri. raoultii in one sample. The phylogenetic analyses of obtained DNA from the above-mentioned species were performed. The sequence data belonging to the species were uploaded to the GenBank, and accession numbers for Rickettsia aeschlimannii (PP998242-PP998258), Ri. slovaca (PP998259-PP998262), Candidatus Rickettsia barbariae (PP998263-PP998264), and Ri. raoultii (PP998265) were taken. This result provides the first molecular detection of Ri. aeschlimannii, Ri. slovaca, Candidatus Rickettsia barbariae, and Ri. raoultii in Türkiye. Moreover, the DNA of Ri. aeschlimannii, Ri. slovaca, and Candidatus Rickettsia barbariae were identified in cat blood samples for the first time in the world, and the cats were a new host for these Rickettsia species. Detailed studies are, however, needed to determine the pathogenicity, biological characteristics, and vectors of these Rickettsia species in this new host.

查看原文本刊更多论文

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

Comparative Immunology Microbiology and Infectious Diseases 医学-免疫学

CiteScore

4.60

自引率

0.00%

发文量

102

审稿时长

40 days

期刊介绍： Comparative Immunology, Microbiology & Infectious Diseases aims to respond to the concept of "One Medicine" and to provide a venue for scientific exchange. Based on the concept of "Comparative Medicine" interdisciplinary cooperation between specialists in human and animal medicine is of mutual interest and benefit. Therefore, there is need to combine the respective interest of physicians, veterinarians and other health professionals for comparative studies relevant to either human or animal medicine . The journal is open to subjects of common interest related to the immunology, immunopathology, microbiology, parasitology and epidemiology of human and animal infectious diseases, especially zoonotic infections, and animal models of human infectious diseases. The role of environmental factors in disease emergence is emphasized. CIMID is mainly focusing on applied veterinary and human medicine rather than on fundamental experimental research.