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Direct isolation in cell-free medium of a spiroplasma fromHaemaphysalis leporispalustris (Acari: Ixodidae) in Maryland

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Abstract

A spiroplasma isolate, was obtained from rabbit ticks (Haemaphysalis leporispalustris) taken from cottontail rabbits in Maryland by inoculation of tick suspensions into SP-4 medium. The isolate was indistinguishable from an experimental vertebrate pathogen (suckling mouse cataract agent spiroplasma) when tested with other plant and tick spiroplasmas in growth inhibition, deformation, and metabolism inhibition tests. The isolated organism had a pathogenic profile for suckling rats and embryonated chicken eggs that differed significantly from that of other suckling mouse cataract agent strains. This is the first report of a direct spiroplasma isolation from ticks in cell-free medium, and confirms the specific association of spiroplasmas of the suckling mouse cataract agent serogroup with rabbit ticks.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Animal Parasitology Institute, Agricultural Research, Science and Education Administration, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 20705, Beltsville, Maryland, USA

    David Stiller

  2. Plant Protection Institute, Agricultural Research, Science and Education Administration, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 20705, Beltsville, Maryland, USA

    Robert F. Whitcomb & Michael E. Coan

  3. Laboratory of Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, 20205, Bethesda, Maryland, USA

    Joseph G. Tully

Authors
  1. David Stiller
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  2. Robert F. Whitcomb
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  3. Michael E. Coan
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  4. Joseph G. Tully
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Stiller, D., Whitcomb, R.F., Coan, M.E. et al. Direct isolation in cell-free medium of a spiroplasma fromHaemaphysalis leporispalustris (Acari: Ixodidae) in Maryland. Current Microbiology 5, 339–342 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01566745

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