Prevalence and infection load dynamics of Rickettsia felis in actively feeding cat fleas.
Rickettsia felis is a flea-associated rickettsial pathogen recurrently identified in both colonized and wild-caught cat fleas, Ctenocephalides felis. We hypothesized that within colonized fleas, the intimate relationship between R. felis and C. felis allows for the coordination of rickettsial replic...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2008-07-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC2474969?pdf=render |
| _version_ | 1818119946360586240 |
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| author | Kathryn E Reif Rhett W Stout Gretchen C Henry Lane D Foil Kevin R Macaluso |
| author_facet | Kathryn E Reif Rhett W Stout Gretchen C Henry Lane D Foil Kevin R Macaluso |
| author_sort | Kathryn E Reif |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Rickettsia felis is a flea-associated rickettsial pathogen recurrently identified in both colonized and wild-caught cat fleas, Ctenocephalides felis. We hypothesized that within colonized fleas, the intimate relationship between R. felis and C. felis allows for the coordination of rickettsial replication and metabolically active periods during flea bloodmeal acquisition and oogenesis.A quantitative real-time PCR assay was developed to quantify R. felis in actively feeding R. felis-infected fleas. In three separate trials, fleas were allowed to feed on cats, and a mean of 3.9x10(6) R. felis 17-kDa gene copies was detected for each flea. A distinct R. felis infection pattern was not observed in fleas during nine consecutive days of bloodfeeding. However, an inverse correlation between the prevalence of R. felis-infection, which ranged from 96% in Trial 1 to 35% in Trial 3, and the R. felis-infection load in individual fleas was identified. Expression of R. felis-infection load as a ratio of R. felis/C. felis genes confirmed that fleas in Trial 3 had significantly greater rickettsial loads than those in Trial 1.Examining rickettsial infection dynamics in the flea vector will further elucidate the intimate relationship between R. felis and C. felis, and facilitate a more accurate understanding of the ecology and epidemiology of R. felis transmission in nature. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-11T05:18:16Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d563ee2e17894d3fb40555c7b10b589e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-11T05:18:16Z |
| publishDate | 2008-07-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-d563ee2e17894d3fb40555c7b10b589e2022-12-22T01:19:45ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032008-07-0137e280510.1371/journal.pone.0002805Prevalence and infection load dynamics of Rickettsia felis in actively feeding cat fleas.Kathryn E ReifRhett W StoutGretchen C HenryLane D FoilKevin R MacalusoRickettsia felis is a flea-associated rickettsial pathogen recurrently identified in both colonized and wild-caught cat fleas, Ctenocephalides felis. We hypothesized that within colonized fleas, the intimate relationship between R. felis and C. felis allows for the coordination of rickettsial replication and metabolically active periods during flea bloodmeal acquisition and oogenesis.A quantitative real-time PCR assay was developed to quantify R. felis in actively feeding R. felis-infected fleas. In three separate trials, fleas were allowed to feed on cats, and a mean of 3.9x10(6) R. felis 17-kDa gene copies was detected for each flea. A distinct R. felis infection pattern was not observed in fleas during nine consecutive days of bloodfeeding. However, an inverse correlation between the prevalence of R. felis-infection, which ranged from 96% in Trial 1 to 35% in Trial 3, and the R. felis-infection load in individual fleas was identified. Expression of R. felis-infection load as a ratio of R. felis/C. felis genes confirmed that fleas in Trial 3 had significantly greater rickettsial loads than those in Trial 1.Examining rickettsial infection dynamics in the flea vector will further elucidate the intimate relationship between R. felis and C. felis, and facilitate a more accurate understanding of the ecology and epidemiology of R. felis transmission in nature.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC2474969?pdf=render |
| spellingShingle | Kathryn E Reif Rhett W Stout Gretchen C Henry Lane D Foil Kevin R Macaluso Prevalence and infection load dynamics of Rickettsia felis in actively feeding cat fleas. PLoS ONE |
| title | Prevalence and infection load dynamics of Rickettsia felis in actively feeding cat fleas. |
| title_full | Prevalence and infection load dynamics of Rickettsia felis in actively feeding cat fleas. |
| title_fullStr | Prevalence and infection load dynamics of Rickettsia felis in actively feeding cat fleas. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Prevalence and infection load dynamics of Rickettsia felis in actively feeding cat fleas. |
| title_short | Prevalence and infection load dynamics of Rickettsia felis in actively feeding cat fleas. |
| title_sort | prevalence and infection load dynamics of rickettsia felis in actively feeding cat fleas |
| url | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC2474969?pdf=render |
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