{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,28]],"date-time":"2026-02-28T20:45:48Z","timestamp":1772311548856,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":40,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"7","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,7,9]],"date-time":"2024-07-09T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1720483200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"GB Animal Exotic Disease research budget","award":["RDSC2003"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["RDSC2003"]}]},{"name":"GB Animal Exotic Disease research budget","award":["RC IZSSi 01\/2023"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["RC IZSSi 01\/2023"]}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100003196","name":"UK Government\u2019s Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (Defra)","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["RDSC2003"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["RDSC2003"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100003196","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100003196","name":"UK Government\u2019s Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (Defra)","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["RC IZSSi 01\/2023"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["RC IZSSi 01\/2023"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100003196","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Microorganisms"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Mycoplasma agalactiae (Ma) is considered the primary causative agent of contagious agalactia (CA) in sheep and goats, which causes severe losses to the small ruminant dairy industry. As early as 1816, it was thought that environmental factors played a role in pathogen maintenance in endemic areas. Specifically, recent studies hypothesized a vector role for arthropods in the epidemiology of disease. The aim of this study was to investigate the presence and anatomical localization of Ma in naturally infected Riphicephalus bursa ticks to better evaluate tick\u2013pathogen interactions. Salivary glands and ovaries of confirmed Ma-positive R. bursa were analyzed to look for the Ma antigen using immunohistochemistry (IHC). IHC showed strong positivity to Ma in the cytoplasm of salivary cells as well as in cells from the ovary. Our work demonstrated for the first time the crossing of the tick midgut barrier by Ma and the subsequent infection of organs capable of spreading the infection, and this result represents an absolute novelty in disease-related knowledge. Our preliminary results provide conclusive evidence of the potential vector role represented by hard ticks in the epidemiology of CA. Further field and laboratory investigations are necessary to confirm the tick role in the transmission of clinical CA.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/microorganisms12071390","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,7,9]],"date-time":"2024-07-09T11:17:09Z","timestamp":1720523829000},"page":"1390","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["First Description of Mycoplasma agalactiae Anatomical Localization in Naturally Infected Hard Ticks (Rhipicephalus bursa)"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"12","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6685-7109","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sergio","family":"Migliore","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Sicilia, Via Gino Marinuzzi 3, 90129 Palermo, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Lucia","family":"Condorelli","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Sicilia, Via Gino Marinuzzi 3, 90129 Palermo, Italy"},{"name":"Department of Biological, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Science and Technology (STEBICEF), University of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, 90128 Palermo, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1766-5327","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Paola","family":"Galluzzo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Sicilia, Via Gino Marinuzzi 3, 90129 Palermo, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Lucia","family":"Galuppo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Sicilia, Via Gino Marinuzzi 3, 90129 Palermo, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Angelica","family":"Corrente","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Sicilia, Via Gino Marinuzzi 3, 90129 Palermo, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8478-8154","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Elvio","family":"Lepri","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Perugia, 06126 Perugia, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Anne","family":"Ridley","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Bacteriology, OIE Reference Centre for Contagious Agalactia, Animal and Plant Health Agency, Addlestone KT15 3NB, UK"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Guido Ruggero","family":"Loria","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Sicilia, Via Gino Marinuzzi 3, 90129 Palermo, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3461-3353","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Roberto","family":"Puleio","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Sicilia, Via Gino Marinuzzi 3, 90129 Palermo, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,7,9]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Migliore, S., Puleio, R., Nicholas, R.A.J., and Loria, G.R. 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