Isolation of “Candidatus Rickettsia andeanae” (Rickettsiales: Rickettsiaceae) in Embryonic Cells of Naturally Infected Amblyomma maculatum (Ixodida: Ixodidae)

ORCID

Goddard: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2617-7141

MSU Affiliation

College of Veterinary Medicine; Department of Basic Sciences; College of Agriculture and Life Sciences; Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Entomology and Plant Pathology

Creation Date

2026-09-30

Abstract

The Gulf Coast tick, Amblyomma maculatum Koch, has become increasingly important in public health for its role as a vector of the recently recognized human pathogen, Rickettsia parkeri. More recently, these ticks were also found to harbor a novel spotted fever group rickettsia, "Candidatus Rickettsia andeanae." First identified in Peru, and subsequently reported in ticks collected in the United States, Chile, and Argentina, "Ca. R. andeanae" remains largely uncharacterized, in part because of the lack of a stable isolate. Although the isolation of "Ca, R. andeanae" was recently described in DH82, Vero, and Drosophila S2 cells, its stability in these cell lines was not shown. To evaluate "Ca. R. andeanae" transmission and pathogenicity in vertebrates, as well as further describe biological characteristics of this candidate species to fulfill criteria for its establishment as a new species, availability of a stable isolate is essential. Here we describe the propagation of "Ca. R. andeanae" by using a primary culture derived from naturally infected A. maculatum embryos. Subsequent passage of the "Ca. R. andeanae" isolate to ISE6 (Ixodes scapularis embryonic) and Vero (African green monkey kidney epithelial) cell lines demonstrated limited propagation of the rickettsiae. Treatment of the infected primary cells with tetracycline resulted in cultures negative for "Ca. R. andeanae" by polymerase chain reaction and microscopy. Establishment of an isolate of "Ca. R. andeanae" will promote further investigation into the significance of this tick-associated rickettsia, including its role in spotted fever and interactions with the sympatric species, R. parkeri in A. maculatum. © 2013 Entomological Society of America.

Keywords

Amblyomma maculatum, Candidatus Rickettsia andeanae, culture, Gulf Coast tick, spotted fever group rickettsiae

Publication Date

9-1-2013

Publication Title

Journal of Medical Entomology

Publisher

Oxford University Press; Entomological Society of America

First Page

1118

Last Page

1125

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License

Rights

© 2013 Entomological Society of America

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Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.1603/ME13010