Data from: Novel evidence suggests that a "Rickettsia felis-like" organism is an endosymbiont of the desert flea, Xenopsylla ramesis

Fleas are acknowledged vectors and reservoirs of various bacteria that
present a wide range of pathogenicity. In this study, fleas collected from
wild rodents from the Negev desert in southern Israel were tested for
RickettsiaDNA by targeting the 16S rRNA (rrs) gene. Thirty-eight
Xenopsylla ramesis, 91 Synosternus cleopatrae and 15 Leptopsylla flea
pools (a total of 568 fleas) were screened. RickettsiaDNA was detected in
100% of the X. ramesis and in one S. cleopatrae flea pools. None of L.
algira flea pools was found positive. All positive flea pools were further
characterized by sequencing of five additional genetic loci (gltA, ompB,
ompA, htrA and fusA). The molecular identification of the positive samples
showed all sequences to be closely related to the ‘Rickettsia felis-like’
organisms (99–100% similarities in the six loci). To further investigate
the association between ‘R. felis-like’ and X. ramesis fleas, ten
additional single X. ramesis adult fleas collected from the wild and five
laboratory-maintained X. ramesis imago, five larva pools (2–18 larvae per
pool) and two egg pools (18 eggs per pool) were tested for the presence of
‘R. felis-like’ DNA. All samples were found positive by a specific ompAPCR
assay, confirming the close association of this Rickettsia species with X.
ramesis in all its life stages. These results suggest a symbiotic
association between ‘Rickettsia felis-like’ and X. ramesis fleas.