Genetic characterization of flea-derived Bartonella species from native animals in Australia suggests host-parasite co-evolution

Gunn Kaewmongkol*, Sarawan Kaewmongkol, Linda M. McInnes, Halina Burmej, Mark D. Bennett, Peter J. Adams, Una Ryan, Peter J. Irwin, Stanley G. Fenwick

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticle (Academic Journal)peer-review

17 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Fleas are important arthropod vectors for a variety of diseases in veterinary and human medicine, and bacteria belonging to the genus Bartonella are among the organisms most commonly transmitted by these ectoparasites. Recently, a number of novel Bartonella species and novel species candidates have been reported in marsupial fleas in Australia. In the present study the genetic diversity of marsupial fleas was investigated; 10 species of fleas were collected from seven different marsupial and placental mammal hosts in Western Australia including woylies (Bettongia penicillata), western barred bandicoots (Perameles bougainville), mardos (Antechinus flavipes), bush rats (Rattus fuscipes), red foxes (Vulpes vulpes), feral cats (Felis catus) and rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus). PCR and sequence analysis of the cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) and the 18S rRNA genes from these fleas was performed. Concatenated phylogenetic analysis of the COI and 18S rRNA genes revealed a close genetic relationship between marsupial fleas, with Pygiopsylla hilli from woylies, Pygiopsylla tunneyi from western barred bandicoots and Acanthopsylla jordani from mardos, forming a separate cluster from fleas collected from the placental mammals in the same geographical area. The clustering of Bartonella species with their marsupial flea hosts suggests co-evolution of marsupial hosts, marsupial fleas and Bartonella species in Australia.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1868-1872
Number of pages5
JournalInfection, Genetics and Evolution
Volume11
Issue number8
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Dec 2011

Keywords

  • Australia
  • Bartonella species
  • Co-evolution
  • Fleas
  • Native animals

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Genetic characterization of flea-derived Bartonella species from native animals in Australia suggests host-parasite co-evolution'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this