Identification of the prevalent species of spotted fever group Rickettsiae in Indiana ticks : [an honors thesis (HONRS 499)]

Abstract

In May 2000, Dennacentor variabilis ticks were collected in southern Indiana counties and pooled according to sex in groups of three. These pools were used to prepare DNA templates from which the identity of the prevalent species of spotted fever group (SFG) rickettsiae could be revealed. Twenty-eight samples proved to be positive for SFG rickettsiae. These positive samples were subjected to restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) in order to determine the species of SFG rickettsiae that the ticks harbored. Also, seventy-one ticks preserved in alcohol that had been previously determined to be positive for SFG rickettsiae from 1995-2001 using the Gimenez staining technique were surveyed. The mobility pattern from RFLP analysis of positive samples was compared to those published by Regnery et al. 1991, whose work is the basis for characterization of Rickettsiae.