Novel Rickettsia spp. in two common overwintering North American songbirds

ABSTRACT

American robins and dark-eyed juncos migrate across North America and have been found to be competent hosts for some bacterial and viral pathogens, but their contributions to arthropod-borne diseases more broadly remain poorly characterized. Here, we sampled robins and juncos in multiple sites across North America for arthropod-borne bacterial pathogens of public health significance. We identified two novel Rickettsia spp. in one wintering migrant per bird species related to bellii, transitional, and spotted rickettsiae fever groups. Stable isotope analyses of feathers suggested spring migration of these common songbirds could disperse these novel rickettsiae hundreds-to-thousands of kilometers to host breeding grounds. Further work is needed to characterize zoonotic potential of these rickettsiae and host reservoir competence.

KEYWORDS:

• American robin
• dark-eyed junco
• rickettsiae
• borrelia
• bartonella
• hemoplasmas
• migration
• arthropod-borne disease
• stable isotopes

Acknowledgements

This work was supported in part by the Prepared for Environmental Change Grand Challenge Initiative at Indiana University, the Intelligence Community Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Program, the Virginia Society of Ornithology, the National Science Foundation (DEB-0808284, IOS-0820055, DBI-0939454), and the National Institutes of Health (T32 HD49336). We thank Janice Dispoto and Jason Weckstein for assistance with DNA extraction at Drexel University. We also thank members of the Becker Lab and three reviewers for their constructive comments.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Conflicts of interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.