First record of Coxiella sp. in Ornithodoros hasei parasitizing Rhogeessa tumida in México

Abstract

Soft ticks represent a neglected group of ectoparasites associated with a wide range of vertebrates.  In México, 24 species have been reported, the majority parasitizing bats.  Several species are competent vectors of a wide range of pathogenic microorganisms.  For this reason, the aim of the present work was to identify ticks associated with bats from Tuxpan de Rodriguez Cano, Veracruz, México.  Bats were captured using mist nets and were visually inspected for tick presence.  The ectoparasites were identified morphologically and molecularly with the use of the mitochondrial marker 16SrDNA, and molecular detection of several bacterial and protozoan pathogens was also performed.  Twenty-five bats of 9 species were inspected.  We collected 7 tick larvae morphologically identified as Ornithodoros hasei from a female black-winged little yellow bat (Rhogeessa tumida).  Sequencing of the 400-bp fragment of the 16S rDNA gene, demonstrated a similarity of 96 % (373/388 bp) with O. hasei from Argentina and Brazil.  In addition, the presence of Coxiella sp. was confirmed.  Our findings provide relevant information on the biology of O. hasei by identifying R. tumida as a new host, providing the most north-eastern record for the geographical distribution of this tick in the Gulf of México and detecting the presence of a new endosymbiont in this tick.