AUTHOR=Nassar Marcelly Bastos , Pavanelo Daniel B. , Labruna Marcelo B. , Daffre Sirlei , Esteves Eliane , Fogaça Andréa C. 

TITLE=The anal pore route is efficient to infect Amblyomma spp. ticks with Rickettsia rickettsii and allows the assessment of the role played by infection control targets

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology

VOLUME=13

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cellular-and-infection-microbiology/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2023.1260390

DOI=10.3389/fcimb.2023.1260390

ISSN=2235-2988

ABSTRACT=<p>Adult <italic>Amblyomma sculptum</italic> and <italic>Amblyomma aureolatum</italic> ticks are partially refractory to <italic>Rickettsia rickettsii</italic> when fed on infected hosts, hindering the functional characterization of potentially protective targets in the bacterial acquisition. In the current study, we used the anal pore route to infect adult <italic>A. sculptum</italic> and <italic>A. aureolatum</italic> ticks with <italic>R. rickettsii</italic> and to assess the effects of the knockdown of microplusin in infection control. The anal pore route was efficient to infect both species, resulting in a prevalence of around 100% of infected ticks. Higher loads of <italic>R. rickettsii</italic> were detected in microplusin-silenced <italic>A. aureolatum</italic> in relation to the control, as previously obtained when microplusin-silenced ticks were fed on <italic>R. rickettsii</italic>-infected rabbits. This is the first report showing <italic>R</italic>. <italic>rickettsii</italic> infection through the anal pore in <italic>Amblyomma</italic> ticks, highlighting this route as a powerful tool to assess the role played by additional targets in the control of pathogens.</p>