Investigation of Rickettsia and Borrelia in ticks (Acari:Ixodida) collected from birds in Kızılırmak Delta

Ticks are members of the class Arachnida and are blood-feeding ectoparasites of various terrestrial mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibian species. In this study, the presence of Rickettsia and Borrelia bacteria was investigated in hard ticks collected from the birds of the Kızılırmak Delta. During the spring (March, April and May) and autumn (August, September, and October) migration seasons of 2016, 83 species, 51 genera, 34 families and 12 orders were caught with mist nets during bird ringing studies carried out at the Cernek bird ringing station in the Kızılırmak Delta. A total of 1229 (649 larvae, 536 nymphs, 40 females, 4 males) ticks were collected from 349 birds in 33 species belonging to 16 families in the order Passeriformes. Within the scope of the thesis study, individual genomic DNA was isolated from 103 tick samples taken from 76 different birds belonging to 19 species selected by considering the host and tick species among these samples. The genomic DNAs were screened for the presence of Rickettsia and Borrelia bacteria using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) targeting the citrate synthase (gltA= ~750 bp) and flagellin B (flaB= ~658 bp) genes, respectively, followed by sequencing analysis. The products of the PCR were run on 1% agarose gel electrophoresis to visualize positive DNA samples for the targeted genes of the Rickettsia and Borrelia bacteria. Positive PCR products were then subjected to DNA sequencing and the obtained sequences were compared with NCBI GenBank data. As a result of this study, Rickettsia aeschlimannii was detected in Hyalomma marginatum tick collected from a Saxicola rubetra bird, while Rickettsia helvetica was detected in Ixodes ricinus and Ixodes eldaricus ticks collected from Turdus merula and Turdus philemolos birds. In addition, Borrelia turdi was detected in Ixodes frontalis tick collected from T. merula bird. In this study, the presence of related pathogens was detected for the first time in ticks collected from the songbirds of our country. In addition, the presence of Borrelia turdi bacterium in our country was recorded for the first time within the scope of our thesis project.