Description of Rickettsia senegalensis sp. nov.: a new Rickettsia species detected worldwide

Rickettsia senegalensis is a novel Rickettsia species isolated from cat fleas, Ctenocephalides felis, in Senegal. Genomic analysis confirmed its status as a distinct species, placing it within the transitional Rickettsia group, within a R. felis cluster. Furthermore, rickettsial genes identical to those of Rickettsia senegalensis had been already identified in several hematophagous arthropods, including fleas and ticks parasitizing various hosts such as cats, dogs, opossums, and rodents in tropical and subtropical regions all over the world. It has also been detected in cat tissues, suggesting a potential host-pathogen association. Here we formally propose Rickettsia senegalensis sp. nov. as a new species. The type strain of this species is strain PU01-02T (= CSUR R184T = DSM 28250T). Strain PU01-02T grows aerobically in XTC-2, SF9, and LD652 cell lines at 28 {degrees}C in a CO2-free atmosphere. The genome of strain PU01-02T has a size of 1.62 Mb and a G+C content of 33.2%. RepositoriesThe genome sequence of Rickettsia senegalensis sp. nov. strain PU01-02T has been deposited in GenBank under accession number JBVYTQ000000000, and the rrs, gltA, ompB and sca4 gene sequences under accession numbers KF666476, KF666472, KF666470, KF666474, respectively. The plasmid accession numbers are PZ272915, PZ272916, and PZ272917, for pRS01, pRS02 and pRS03, respectively.