Spotted fever group rickettsia infection and transmission dynamics in Amblyomma maculatum

Abstract

Tick vectors are capable of transmitting several rickettsial species to vertebrate hosts, resulting in various levels of disease. Studies have demonstrated the transmissibility of both rickettsial pathogens and novel Rickettsia species or strains with unknown pathogenicity to vertebrate hosts during tick blood meal acquisition; however, the quantitative nature of transmission remains unknown. We tested the hypothesis that if infection severity is a function of the rickettsial load delivered during tick transmission, then a more virulent spotted fever group (SFG) Rickettsia species is transmitted at higher levels during tick feeding. Using Amblyomma maculatum cohorts infected with Rickettsia parkeri or “Candidatus Rickettsia andeanae,” a quantitative PCR (qPCR) assay was employed to quantify rickettsiae in tick salivary glands and saliva, as well as in the vertebrate hosts at the tick attachment site over the duration of tick feeding. Significantly greater numbers of R. parkeri than of “Ca. Rickettsia andeanae” rickettsiae were present in tick saliva and salivary glands and in the vertebrate hosts at the feeding site during tick feeding. Microscopy demonstrated the presence of both rickettsial species in tick salivary glands, and immunohistochemical analysis of the attachment site identified localized R. parkeri, but not “Ca. Rickettsia andeanae,” in the vertebrate host. Lesions were also distinct and more severe in vertebrate hosts exposed to R. parkeri than in those exposed to “Ca. Rickettsia andeanae.” The specific factors that contribute to the generation of a sustained rickettsial infection and subsequent disease have yet to be elucidated, but the results of this study suggest that the rickettsial load in ticks and during transmission may be an important element.