Vector Competence of Geographical Populations of Ornithodoros turicata for the Tick-Borne Relapsing Fever Spirochete Borrelia turicatae

Applied and Environmental Microbiology
Aparna KrishnavajhalaJob E Lopez

Abstract

Vector competence refers to the ability of an arthropod to acquire, maintain, and successfully transmit a microbial pathogen. Tick-borne relapsing fever (TBRF) spirochetes are globally distributed pathogens, and most species are transmitted by argasid ticks of the genus Ornithodoros. A defining characteristic in vector competence is an apparent specificity of a species of TBRF spirochete to a given tick species. In arid regions of the southern United States, Borrelia turicatae is the primary cause of TBRF. Interestingly, there are two populations of the tick vector distributed throughout this region. Ornithodoros turicata is a western population that ranges from California to Texas. There is a gap through Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama where the tick has not been identified. An isolated eastern population exists in Florida and was designated a subspecies, O. turicata americanus. A knowledge gap that exists is the poor understanding of vector competence between western and eastern populations of ticks for B. turicatae. In this study, we generated uninfected colonies of O. turicata that originated in Texas and Kansas and of O. turicataamericanus. B. turicatae acquisition, maintenance through the molt, and subsequent transmis...Continue Reading

References

Jan 1, 1990·Annual Review of Microbiology·A G Barbour
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Feb 1, 1994·Journal of Clinical Microbiology·E B BreitschwerdtJ F Levine
May 30, 2013·Infection and Immunity·Paul F PolicastroTom G Schwan
Sep 27, 2013·PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases·Job E LopezAndrea Varela-Stokes
Apr 5, 2014·PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases·William K BoyleJob E Lopez

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