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. 2021 Oct 17;9(10):2165.
doi: 10.3390/microorganisms9102165.

Characterization of " Candidatus Ehrlichia Pampeana" in Haemaphysalis juxtakochi Ticks and Gray Brocket Deer (Mazama gouazoubira) from Uruguay

María Laura Félix  1 , Sebastián Muñoz-Leal  2 , Luis Andrés Carvalho  3 , Diego Queirolo  4 , Susana Remesar  5 , María Teresa Armúa-Fernández  1 , José Manuel Venzal  1
Affiliations

Characterization of " Candidatus Ehrlichia Pampeana" in Haemaphysalis juxtakochi Ticks and Gray Brocket Deer (Mazama gouazoubira) from Uruguay

María Laura Félix et al. Microorganisms. .

Abstract

Human ehrlichiosis are scantily documented in Uruguay. The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of Ehrlichia spp. in Haemaphysalis juxtakochi and in a gray brocket deer (Mazama gouazoubira) from Uruguay. The presence of Ehrlichia DNA was investigated in free-living H. juxtakochi in five localities of southeast and northeast Uruguay, as well as blood, spleen, and ticks retrieved from a M. gouazoubira. Ehrlichia spp. DNA was detected in six out of 99 tick pools from vegetation, in the spleen of M. gouazoubira, and in one out of five pools of ticks feeding on this cervid. Bayesian inference analyses for three loci (16S rRNA, dsb, and groEL) revealed the presence of a new rickettsial organism, named herein as "Candidatus Ehrlichia pampeana". This new detected Ehrlichia is phylogenetically related to those found in ticks from Asia, as well as Ehrlichia ewingii from USA and Cameroon. Although the potential pathogenicity of "Ca. E. pampeana" for humans is currently unknown, some eco-epidemiological factors may be relevant to its possible pathogenic role, namely: (i) the phylogenetic closeness with the zoonotic agent E. ewingii, (ii) the evidence of H. juxtakochi parasitizing humans, and (iii) the importance of cervids as reservoirs for zoonotic Ehrlichia spp. The molecular detection of "Ca. E. pampeana" represents the third Ehrlichia genotype described in Uruguay.

Keywords: Anaplasmataceae; Ehrlichia; Haemaphysalis juxtakochi; Rickettsiales; Uruguay; gray brocket deer; molecular characterization; ticks.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Bayesian phylogenetic analyses inferred for partial fragments of the genes (a) 16S rRNA, (b) dsb, and (c) groEL. Bayesian posterior probabilities are indicated upon each branch. The positions of “Candidatus Ehrlichia pampeana” are highlighted with blue. Scale bar indicates the number of substitutions per nucleotide position. GenBank accession numbers are in brackets.
Figure 1
Figure 1
Bayesian phylogenetic analyses inferred for partial fragments of the genes (a) 16S rRNA, (b) dsb, and (c) groEL. Bayesian posterior probabilities are indicated upon each branch. The positions of “Candidatus Ehrlichia pampeana” are highlighted with blue. Scale bar indicates the number of substitutions per nucleotide position. GenBank accession numbers are in brackets.
Figure 1
Figure 1
Bayesian phylogenetic analyses inferred for partial fragments of the genes (a) 16S rRNA, (b) dsb, and (c) groEL. Bayesian posterior probabilities are indicated upon each branch. The positions of “Candidatus Ehrlichia pampeana” are highlighted with blue. Scale bar indicates the number of substitutions per nucleotide position. GenBank accession numbers are in brackets.
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