Rickettsia peacockii str. Rustic

Rickettsiae are obligate intracellular Gram-negative bacteria mostly found in arthropods, some of which cause mild to severe diseases in humans. Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) was first recognized in the early 1900s as being due to R. rickettsii in Rocky Mountain wood ticks (Demacentor andersoni). Transmission to humans occurs principally through bites of infected ticks. Interestingly, in the Bitterroot Valley in western Montana almost all cases of RMSF are due to ticks collected on the west side; ticks on the east side of the valley, while infected with rickettsiae, do not cause disease in man. R. peacockii seems only to occur in ovarian tissues of D.andersoni; male ticks have not been seen to be infected. R.peacockii does not make a functional ompA, which may be a reason for its endosymbiotic nature in ticks (R.rickettsii is pathogenic in ticks). It is hypothesized that a high prevalence of R. peacockii in tick ovaries might interfere with maintenance and transmission of R. rickettsii. Strain Rustic (also known as DAE100R) was isolated from Rustic, Colorado (adapted from PubMed 9103635 and 15528527). (EBI Integr8)