Integrative taxonomy reveals Parakaliella harimensis (Pilsbry, 1901) as a distinct East Asian Euconulus species with deep genetic structure.

The remarkable phenotypic plasticity of land snail shells often results in convergent evolution, leading to frequent taxonomic misidentifications and non-monophyletic classifications. The taxonomy of the Holarctic micro land snails related to Euconulus fulvus has been particularly challenging to resolve. This study integrates mitochondrial and nuclear DNA phylogenetics, geometric morphometrics, and climate suitability modeling to clarify the phylogenetic and taxonomic status of an East Asian lineage within this group.

The importance of the tortoise tick Hyalomma aegyptium as a carrier of bacterial agents on a wide range.

Ticks are important vectors of various microorganisms, including bacteria. In this study, we examined Hyalomma aegyptium ticks collected from 240 spur-thighed tortoises Testudo graeca at 42 localities in the Mediterranean and Middle East and analysed them for the presence of bacteria of the genera Anaplasma, Borrelia, Coxiella, and Rickettsia. Altogether, 576 out of 928 analysed ticks (62.

Italian peninsula as a hybridization zone of Ixodes inopinatus and I. ricinus and the prevalence of tick-borne pathogens in I. inopinatus, I. ricinus, and their hybrids.

Background: Ixodes inopinatus was described from Spain on the basis of morphology and partial sequencing of 16S ribosomal DNA. However, several studies suggested that morphological differences between I. inopinatus and Ixodes ricinus are minimal and that 16S rDNA lacks the power to distinguish the two species.

Complete Chromosomal Sequences of Two Borrelia miyamotoi Samples Obtained from Ixodes ricinus Eggs in Czechia.

Here, we present complete chromosome sequences of samples CZ-F1E and CZ-F190E, which were obtained from eggs from Czechia. The chromosome sequences, assembled from Illumina and Sanger sequencing data, had average coverage values of 647× and 3,216×, respectively. They belong to the European genotype, distinct from the Asian and American strains.

Whole genome sequence of the Treponema pallidum subsp. endemicum strain Iraq B: A subpopulation of bejel treponemes contains full-length tprF and tprG genes similar to those present in T. p. subsp. pertenue strains.

Treponema pallidum subsp. endemicum (TEN) is the causative agent of endemic syphilis (bejel). Until now, only a single TEN strain, Bosnia A, has been completely sequenced.

High syphilis seropositivity in European brown hares (Lepus europaeus), Lower Saxony, Germany.

The lagomorph-infecting Treponema paraluisleporidarum is a close relative of the human syphilis-bacterium Treponema pallidum. There is a paucity of information on the epidemiology of hare syphilis and its relationship to the rabbit- and human-infecting treponemes that cause syphilis. In our study, we tested 734 serum samples from European brown hares (Lepus europaeus) collected between 2007 and 2019 in the federal state of Lower Saxony, Germany, for the presence of antibodies against T.

Host dispersal shapes the population structure of a tick-borne bacterial pathogen.

Birds are hosts for several zoonotic pathogens. Because of their high mobility, especially of longdistance migrants, birds can disperse these pathogens, affecting their distribution and phylogeography. We focused on Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, which includes the causative agents of Lyme borreliosis, as an example for tick-borne pathogens, to address the role of birds as propagation hosts of zoonotic agents at a large geographical scale.

Directly Sequenced Genomes of Contemporary Strains of Syphilis Reveal Recombination-Driven Diversity in Genes Encoding Predicted Surface-Exposed Antigens.

Syphilis, caused by subsp. (TPA), remains an important public health problem with an increasing worldwide prevalence. Despite recent advances in cultivation, genetic variability of this pathogen during infection is poorly understood.

Neglected aspects of tick-borne rickettsioses.

Rickettsioses are among the oldest known infectious diseases. In spite of this, and of the extensive research carried out, many aspects of the biology and epidemiology of tick-borne rickettsiae are far from being completely understood. Their association with arthropod vectors, the importance of vertebrates as reservoirs, the rarity of clinical signs in animals, or the interactions of pathogenic species with rickettsial endosymbionts and with the host intracellular environment, are only some examples.

Isolated populations of Ixodes lividus ticks in the Czech Republic and Belgium host genetically homogeneous Rickettsia vini.

In the last two decades, the advent of molecular methods has revealed a remarkable diversity of rickettsiae (Rickettsiales: Rickettsiaceae) in invertebrates. Several species of these obligate intracellular bacteria are known to cause human infections, hence more attention has been directed towards human-biting ectoparasites. A spotted fever group Rickettsia sp.

The historical disturbance regime of mountain Norway spruce forests in the Western Carpathians and its influence on current forest structure and composition.

In order to gauge ongoing and future changes to disturbance regimes, it is necessary to establish a solid baseline of historic disturbance patterns against which to evaluate these changes. Further, understanding how forest structure and composition respond to variation in past disturbances may provide insight into future resilience to climate-driven alterations of disturbance regimes. We established 184 plots (mostly 1000 m) in 14 primary mountain Norway spruce forests in the Western Carpathians.

Guidelines for the Detection of Rickettsia spp.

The genus Rickettsia (Rickettsiales: Rickettsiaceae) includes Gram-negative, small, obligate intracellular, nonmotile, pleomorphic coccobacilli bacteria transmitted by arthropods. Some of them cause human and probably also animal disease (life threatening in some patients). In these guidelines, we give clinical practice advices (microscopy, serology, molecular tools, and culture) for the microbiological study of these microorganisms in clinical samples.

Rickettsia vini n. sp. (Rickettsiaceae) infecting the tick Ixodes arboricola (Acari: Ixodidae).

Background: Recently, a new rickettsia named 'Candidatus Rickettsia vini' belonging to the spotted fever group has been molecularly detected in Ixodes arboricola ticks in Spain, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Turkey, with prevalence reaching up to 100 %. The aim of this study was to isolate this rickettsia in pure culture, and to describe it as a new Rickettsia species.

Methods: A total of 148 ornitophilic nidicolous ticks Ixodes arboricola were collected in a forest near Breclav (Czech Republic) and examined for rickettsiae.

'Candidatus Rickettsia mendelii', a novel basal group rickettsia detected in Ixodes ricinus ticks in the Czech Republic.

A novel rickettsial sequence in the citrate synthase gltA gene indicating a novel Rickettsia species has been detected in 7 out of 4524 Ixodes ricinus ticks examined within several surveys performed in the Czech Republic from 2005 to 2009. This new Candidatus Rickettsia sp. sequence has been found in 2 nymphs feeding on wild birds (Luscinia megarhynchos and Erithacus rubecula), in a male tick from vegetation, and 4 ticks feeding on a dog (3 males, 1 female tick).

Ticks and tick-borne pathogens in wild birds in Greece.

Wild birds are common hosts of ticks and can transport them for long distances, contributing to the spreading of tick-borne pathogens. The information about ticks on birds and tick-borne pathogens in Greece is limited. The present study aimed to evaluate the prevalence and species of ticks infesting wild resident birds (mostly small passerines) in Greece, and to assess Borrelia and Rickettsia infection in the collected ticks.

Chromatin association of the SMC5/6 complex is dependent on binding of its NSE3 subunit to DNA.

SMC5/6 is a highly conserved protein complex related to cohesin and condensin, which are the key components of higher-order chromatin structures. The SMC5/6 complex is essential for proliferation in yeast and is involved in replication fork stability and processing. However, the precise mechanism of action of SMC5/6 is not known.

Rickettsial infections in ticks from reptiles, birds and humans in Honduras.

Ticks were collected from captive reptiles, wild birds, and incidentally from humans at two locations in Honduras and part of these were tested for the presence of Rickettsia using polymerase chain reaction. The following species of ticks were found: Amblyomma dissimile on Iguanidae reptiles, Amblyomma longirostre and Amblyomma nodosum on birds, and Amblyomma mixtum (Amblyomma cajennense complex) on humans. A.

Ticks on passerines from the Archipelago of the Azores as hosts of borreliae and rickettsiae.

We examined the presence of borreliae and rickettsiae bacteria in ticks from wild passerine birds on three islands of the Archipelago of the Azores, the westernmost region of Palearctic. A total of 266 birds belonging to eight species from seven families were examined on São Miguel, Santa Maria and Graciosa islands in 2013. Ticks collected from these birds consisted of 55 Ixodes frontalis (22 larvae, 32 nymphs, 1 adult female) and 16 Haemaphysalis punctata nymphs.

Molecular characterization of 'Candidatus Rickettsia vini' in Ixodes arboricola from the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

The aim of this study was to analyze the prevalence of rickettsiae in the tree-hole tick Ixodes arboricola in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. During May to September of 2009 and 2013, bird boxes belonging to three different areas were screened for ticks. In total, 454 nestlings and 109 nests of 10 hole-breeding bird species were examined.