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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, February 1999, p. 773-778, Vol. 65, No. 2
0099-2240/99/$00.00+0

Lethal Effect of Rickettsia rickettsii on Its Tick Vector (Dermacentor andersoni)

Mark L. Niebylski, Mort G. Peacock, and Tom G. Schwan*

Laboratory of Microbial Structure and Function, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, Montana 59840

Received 10 September 1998/Accepted 3 November 1998

Rickettsia rickettsii, the causative agent of Rocky Mountain spotted fever, was lethal for the majority of experimentally and transovarially infected Rocky Mountain wood ticks (Dermacentor andersoni). Overall, 94.1% of nymphs infected as larvae by feeding on rickettsemic guinea pigs died during the molt into adults and 88.3% of adult female ticks infected as nymphs died prior to feeding. In contrast, only 2.8% of uninfected larvae failed to develop into adults over two generations. Infected female ticks incubated at 4°C had a lower mortality (80.9%) than did those held at 21°C (96.8%). Rickettsiae were vertically transmitted to 39.0% of offspring, and significantly fewer larvae developed from infected ticks. The lethal effect of R. rickettsii may explain the low prevalence of infected ticks in nature and affect its enzootic maintenance.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Rocky Mountain Laboratories, 903 S. Fourth St., Hamilton, MT 59840. Phone: (406) 363-9250. Fax: (406) 363-9371. E-mail: tom_schwan{at}nih.gov.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, February 1999, p. 773-778, Vol. 65, No. 2
0099-2240/99/$00.00+0


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