{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,9]],"date-time":"2026-09-09T06:28:42Z","timestamp":1788935322969,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":45,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,6]],"date-time":"2025-03-06T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1741219200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001809","name":"National Natural Science Foundation of China","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001809","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100004317","name":"Shihezi University","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100004317","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Vet. Sci."],"abstract":"<jats:p>Long-tailed ground squirrels (LTGRs, <jats:italic>Spermophilus undulatus<\/jats:italic>) are known as reservoirs of multiple arthropod-borne pathogens, such as <jats:italic>Yersinia pestis<\/jats:italic> and <jats:italic>Bartonella rochalimae<\/jats:italic>. However, data on the prevalence of spotted fever group rickettsiae (SFGR) and <jats:italic>Coxiella burnetii<\/jats:italic> in LTGRs and its ectoparasites are limited. In two alpine regions of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR, northwestern China), a total of 346 samples were collected from 142 LTGRs, including 142 livers and 204 pooled ectoparasites (<jats:italic>Citellophilus tesquorum dzetysuensis<\/jats:italic>: 120 pools of 484 fleas; <jats:italic>Frontopsylla elatoides elatoides<\/jats:italic>: 19 pools of 71 fleas; <jats:italic>Neopsylla mana<\/jats:italic>: 1 pool of 4 fleas; and <jats:italic>Linognathoides urocitelli<\/jats:italic>: 64 pools of 865 lice). From these samples, the DNA was extracted, followed by PCR amplification of different genetic markers. Particularly, genes encoding the outer membrane protein A and B (<jats:italic>ompA<\/jats:italic>, <jats:italic>ompB<\/jats:italic>), citrate synthase (<jats:italic>gltA<\/jats:italic>), and surface cell antigen 1 (<jats:italic>sca1<\/jats:italic>) were used to identify the SFGR. Additionly, the capsular outer membrane protein (<jats:italic>Com1<\/jats:italic>) gene and insertion sequence (<jats:italic>IS1111<\/jats:italic>) genes were used to detect <jats:italic>Coxiella<\/jats:italic>. <jats:italic>Rickettsia sibirica<\/jats:italic> subsp. <jats:italic>sibirica<\/jats:italic>, <jats:italic>Rickettsia felis<\/jats:italic>, and <jats:italic>C. burnetii<\/jats:italic> were detected in LTGRs, as well as in flea and louse pools. <jats:italic>Rickettsia raoultii<\/jats:italic> was found in LTGRs and flea pools. Furthermore, <jats:italic>Rickettsia slovaca<\/jats:italic> was also identified in the flea pools. This study provides molecular evidence for the occurrence of SFGR and <jats:italic>C. burnetii<\/jats:italic> in LTGRs and their ectoparasites. These findings suggest that <jats:italic>R. sibirica<\/jats:italic>, <jats:italic>R. slovaca<\/jats:italic>, <jats:italic>R. raoultii<\/jats:italic>, <jats:italic>R. felis<\/jats:italic> and <jats:italic>C. burnetii<\/jats:italic> are transmitted between LTGRs (as potential reservoirs) and their fleas and lice (as potential vectors).<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fvets.2025.1553152","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,6]],"date-time":"2025-03-06T11:29:19Z","timestamp":1741260559000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":6,"title":["Detection of spotted fever group rickettsiae and Coxiella burnetii in long-tailed ground squirrels (Spermophilus undulatus) and their ectoparasites"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"12","author":[{"given":"Xiaoshuang","family":"Han","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ziheng","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zhixian","family":"Jiang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shanshan","family":"Zhao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"S\u00e1ndor","family":"Hornok","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Meihua","family":"Yang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Gang","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yuanzhi","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,6]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e2020056","DOI":"10.4084\/MJHID.2020.056","article-title":"Epidemiology, 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