Rickettsia raoultii sp. nov., a spotted fever group rickettsia associated with Dermacentor ticks in Europe and Russia

Abstract

We describe the characterization of a novel Rickettsia species cultivated from Dermacentor ticks collected in Russia and France, for which we propose the name Rickettsia raoultii sp. nov. Using multigene sequencing, we demonstrated that five rickettsial isolates from Dermacentor silvarum, Dermacentor reticulatus, Dermacentor marginatus and Dermacentor nuttalli ticks were classified within this novel spotted fever rickettsia species. This rickettsia also exhibited a serotype distinct from previously described Rickettsia species. The type strain of Rickettsia raoultii sp. nov. is strain KhabarovskT (=CSUR R3T =ATCC VR-1596T). © 2008 IUMS.