Francisella-Like Endosymbiont in a Tick Collected from a Chicken in Southern Thailand
Rakthong, P.; Ruang-Areerate, T.; Baimai, V.; Trinachartvanit, W.; Ahantarig, A.
Southeast Asian Journal of Tropical Medicine and Public Health 47(2): 245-249
2016
ISSN/ISBN: 0125-1562 PMID: 27244963 Document Number: 688356
Francisella is a genus of bacterial pathogens potentially lethal to humans. We report here for the first time a novel Francisella-like endosymbiont discovered in a hard-tick (Rhipicephalus sanguineus s.l.) obtained from a chicken (Gallus domesticus) in Thailand. The phylogenetic results indicate the 16S rDNA sequences of this Francisella bacterium form a unique clade with the Francisella-like endosymbiont of the tick species, Amblyomma varanense and Amblyomma helvolum, that have previously been found on snakes in Thailand. This species of Francisella is in a different group from the other Francisella-like endosymbionts previously reported from other countries. No Francisella was detected in Haemaphysalis wellingtoni ticks obtained from chickens in this study.