Molecular detection of Rickettsia rhipicephaliand other spotted fever group Rickettsiaspecies in Amblyommaticks infesting wild birds in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil

The current study evaluated parasitism of wild birds by ticks in a fragment of Atlantic Forest in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, and examined the ticks for rickettsial agents. Birds were captured during 2014 and 2015 and ticks were identified by sequencing fragments of the 16S and 12S ribosomal DNA. Among 260 birds representing 19 families and 52 species, a total of 69 (26.5%) were found to be infested by larvae (LL) and/or nymphs (NN) of Amblyomma longirostre(Koch, 1844) (45 LL, 4 NN), Amblyomma calcaratumNeumann, 1899 (9 LL, 15 NN), Amblyomma nodosumNeumann, 1899 (2 NN), Amblyomma parkeriFonseca and Aragão, 1952 (21 LL), Amblyommasp. haplotype Nazaré (77 LL), and Haemaphysalis leporispalustris(Packard, 1869) (17 LL, 1 NN). The use of PCR and sequencing of the rickettsial genes gltA, htrA, ompAand ompB, revealed the presence of “CandidatusRickettsia amblyommii” in A. longirostre(13/49; 26%) and Rickettsia parkeri(strain ApPR) in both A. parkeri(1/21; 5%) and haplotype Nazaré (42/77; 55%) ticks. In addition, we detected Rickettsia rhipicephaliin 31 (40%) of the 77 haplotype Nazaré ticks. This is the first record of this rickettsial agent in a species of the genus Amblyomma. The pathogenic potential of this bacterium is undetermined, but the unprecedented association with Amblyommaticks may represent a cause for concern for public and/or animal health.