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Veterinary Sciences
Special Issues
Tick-Borne Pathogens and Symbionts
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Tick-Borne Pathogens and Symbionts

A special issue of Veterinary Sciences (ISSN 2306-7381). This special issue belongs to the section "Veterinary Microbiology, Parasitology and Immunology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 March 2022) | Viewed by 16713

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Ryo Nakao

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Laboratory of Parasitology, Graduate School of Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-0818, Japan
Interests: microbiome; mitogenome; parasitology; symbionts; tick-borne diseases; ticks; vector
Dr. Mohamed Abdallah Mohamed Moustafa

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Laboratory of Parasitology, Graduate School of Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-0818, Japan
Interests: molecular biology; microbiome; tick genetics; wildlife diseases; mitogenome

Special Issue Information

Many tick-borne pathogens (TBPs) cause life-threatening infections in humans and animals. Recently, more than 90,000 human cases of Lyme disease have been reported globally every year. Climate change, expanding tick population, and increasing numbers of reservoir hosts are expected to contribute to the spread of TBPs. Traditionally, the main strategies for studying TBPs focus on the detection of these pathogens in ticks and animal hosts in relation to the surrounding environmental variables. However, in recent years, tick microbiome studies have expanded our knowledge of the diversity of microorganisms in ticks. It is now evident that ticks are hosts for several bacterial symbionts, some of which are crucial for tick physiology and TBPs transmission. Tick genetic background is another important aspect to be addressed to understand the tripartite relationship between pathogens, symbionts, and ticks. This Special Issue illustrates current advances in identifying and characterizing the pathogenic and symbiotic microorganisms in both ticks and animal hosts. We are also seeking papers with a broader scope, including molecular epidemiology, population genetics, and phylogenetic analysis of both TBPs and ticks.

Dr. Ryo Nakao
Dr. Mohamed Abdallah Mohamed Moustafa
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Veterinary Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • infection
  • microbiome
  • pathogens
  • symbionts
  • ticks
  • tick-borne diseases

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

Jump to: Review

15 pages, 1220 KiB  
Article
Local Community Composition Drives Avian Borrelia burgdorferi Infection and Tick Infestation
by Marie Lilly, Wilmer Amaya-Mejia, Lucas Pavan, Ceili Peng, Arielle Crews, Nghia Tran, Ravinder Sehgal and Andrea Swei
Vet. Sci. 2022, 9(2), 55; https://doi.org/10.3390/vetsci9020055 - 29 Jan 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3049
Abstract
Globally, zoonotic vector-borne diseases are on the rise and understanding their complex transmission cycles is pertinent to mitigating disease risk. In North America, Lyme disease is the most commonly reported vector-borne disease and is caused by transmission of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (s.l.) [...] Read more.
Globally, zoonotic vector-borne diseases are on the rise and understanding their complex transmission cycles is pertinent to mitigating disease risk. In North America, Lyme disease is the most commonly reported vector-borne disease and is caused by transmission of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (s.l.) from Ixodes spp. ticks to a diverse group of vertebrate hosts. Small mammal reservoir hosts are primarily responsible for maintenance of B. burgdorferi s.l. across the United States. Nevertheless, birds can also be parasitized by ticks and are capable of infection with B. burgdorferi s.l. but their role in B. burgdorferi s.l. transmission dynamics is understudied. Birds could be important in both the maintenance and spread of B. burgdorferi s.l. and ticks because of their high mobility and shared habitat with important mammalian reservoir hosts. This study aims to better understand the role of avian hosts in tick-borne zoonotic disease transmission cycles in the western United States. We surveyed birds, mammals, and ticks at nine sites in northern California for B. burgdorferi s.l. infection and collected data on other metrics of host community composition such as abundance and diversity of birds, small mammals, lizards, predators, and ticks. We found 22.8% of birds infected with B. burgdorferi s.l. and that the likelihood of avian B. burgdorferi s.l. infection was significantly associated with local host community composition and pathogen prevalence in California. Additionally, we found an average tick burden of 0.22 ticks per bird across all species. Predator and lizard abundances were significant predictors of avian tick infestation. These results indicate that birds are relevant hosts in the local B. burgdorferi s.l. transmission cycle in the western United States and quantifying their role in the spread and maintenance of Lyme disease requires further research. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Tick-Borne Pathogens and Symbionts)
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12 pages, 1657 KiB  
Article
Molecular Survey of Babesia and Anaplasma Infection in Cattle in Bolivia
by Shohei Ogata, Juan Antonio Cristian Pereira, Loza Vega Ariel Jhonny, Herbas Perez Gladys Carolina, Keita Matsuno, Yasuko Orba, Hirofumi Sawa, Fumihiko Kawamori, Nariaki Nonaka and Ryo Nakao
Vet. Sci. 2021, 8(9), 188; https://doi.org/10.3390/vetsci8090188 - 7 Sep 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3583
Abstract
Latin American countries produce more than a quarter of the world’s beef and are a major global supplier of livestock protein. Tick-borne diseases (TBDs) are a major constraint to the livestock industry worldwide, including in Latin America. The aim of this study was [...] Read more.
Latin American countries produce more than a quarter of the world’s beef and are a major global supplier of livestock protein. Tick-borne diseases (TBDs) are a major constraint to the livestock industry worldwide, including in Latin America. The aim of this study was to detect and characterise tick-borne pathogens in cattle from Santa Cruz, Bolivia, where no detailed epidemiological data are available. Blood samples were collected from 104 cattle. Apicomplexan parasites were detected by nested PCR amplification of the 18S ribosomal RNA gene (rDNA), and Anaplasmataceae was screened by the PCR amplification of 16S rDNA, followed by characterisation based on the heat shock protein and citrate synthase gene sequences. Babesia infection was observed in nine cattle (one Babesia bovis and eight Babesia bigemina), while Anaplasmataceae infection was detected in thirty-two cattle. A sequencing analysis confirmed the presence of Anaplasma marginale and Anaplasma platys-like. These results provide the first molecular evidence for the four above-mentioned tick-borne pathogens in cattle in Bolivia. This information improves our understanding of the epidemiology of TBDs and will help in formulating appropriate and improved pathogen control strategies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Tick-Borne Pathogens and Symbionts)
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12 pages, 2312 KiB  
Article
Flow Cytometric Analysis of the Cytotoxic T-Cell Recall Response to Theileria parva in Cattle Following Vaccination by the Infection and Treatment Method
by Mahmoud M. Elnaggar, Donald P. Knowles, William C. Davis and Lindsay M. Fry
Vet. Sci. 2021, 8(6), 114; https://doi.org/10.3390/vetsci8060114 - 18 Jun 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3724
Abstract
The apicomplexan hemoparasite, Theileria parva, causes East Coast fever (ECF), a frequently fatal disease of African cattle. Vaccine development has been impeded by incomplete understanding of protective immunity following natural exposure or the infection and treatment method (ITM) of immunization. This is [...] Read more.
The apicomplexan hemoparasite, Theileria parva, causes East Coast fever (ECF), a frequently fatal disease of African cattle. Vaccine development has been impeded by incomplete understanding of protective immunity following natural exposure or the infection and treatment method (ITM) of immunization. This is attributable to a paucity of methods to characterize the memory T-cell repertoire following infection. To overcome this impediment, assays developed to study the immune response to other intracellular pathogens were adapted for use in studies with T. parva to enable definition of the phenotype and function of effector T cells in T. parva-immune cattle, facilitating vaccine development. As reported herein, stimulation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from ITM-immunized steers with irradiated, autologous, T. parva-infected cell lines elicited a proliferative recall response comprised of CD45R0+/CCR7− CD4+ and CD8+ T cells. Subsequent co-incubation of stimulated cultures with infected cells demonstrated the presence of cytotoxic T cells (CTLs) with the ability to kill infected cells. Comparison of CTL activity in cultures depleted of CD4+ or CD8+ T cells demonstrated CTL activity was primarily attributed to CD8+ T cells. Importantly, stimulation of PBMC from vaccinated steers always elicited proliferation of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells. This was the first important observation obtained from the use of the assay described herein. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Tick-Borne Pathogens and Symbionts)
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Review

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11 pages, 1408 KiB  
Review
Recent Advances in Molecular Genetic Tools for Babesia
by Hassan Hakimi, Masahito Asada and Shin-ichiro Kawazu
Vet. Sci. 2021, 8(10), 222; https://doi.org/10.3390/vetsci8100222 - 8 Oct 2021
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 5403
Abstract
Development of in vitro culture and completion of genome sequencing of several Babesia parasites promoted the efforts to establish transfection systems for these parasites to dissect the gene functions. It has been more than a decade since the establishment of first transfection for [...] Read more.
Development of in vitro culture and completion of genome sequencing of several Babesia parasites promoted the efforts to establish transfection systems for these parasites to dissect the gene functions. It has been more than a decade since the establishment of first transfection for Babesia bovis, the causative agent of bovine babesiosis. However, the number of genes that were targeted by genetic tools in Babesia parasites is limited. This is partially due to the low efficiencies of these methods. The recent adaptation of CRISPR/Cas9 for genome editing of Babesia bovis can accelerate the efforts for dissecting this parasite’s genome and extend the knowledge on biological aspects of erythrocytic and tick stages of Babesia. Additionally, glmS ribozyme as a conditional knockdown system is available that could be used for the characterization of essential genes. The development of high throughput genetic tools is needed to dissect the function of multigene families, targeting several genes in a specific pathway, and finally genome-wide identification of essential genes to find novel drug targets. In this review, we summarized the current tools that are available for Babesia and the genes that are being targeted by these tools. This may draw a perspective for the future development of genetic tools and pave the way for the identification of novel drugs or vaccine targets. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Tick-Borne Pathogens and Symbionts)
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