Rickettsia aeschlimannii and wolbachia endosymbiont in ctenocephalides canis from eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) near the china-kazakhstan border

Abstract

Twenty-five dog fleas (Ctenocephalides canis) and five ticks identified as Hyalomma asiaticum were collected from a Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) pup in northwestern China. Molecular analyses of four genetic markers showed the presence of Rickettsia aeschlimannii DNA in 5 out of 20 fleas. Only rickettsial 17-kDa gene was detected in the blood sample of the lynx. In addition, 2 out of 20 fleas were positive to Wolbachia endosymbiont by targeting 16S rDNA while there was no Bartonella DNA found both in 5 ticks and 20 fleas by using gltA and 16S-23S ITS. Our findings suggest that i) C. canis parasitizing wild Eurasian lynx harbors R. aeschlimannii and Wolbachia endosymbiont in the China-Kazakhstan border, and ii) Wolbachia endosymbiont in present study is closer to that in C. canis infesting sheltered dogs in Turkey.