A human-associated Spiroplasma ixodetis lineage responsible for infantile cataracts and adult febrile illness
Buysse, Marie Ballinger, Matthew J Bruley, Marjorie Amoros, Julien Grillet, Justine Farassat, Navid Serr, Annerose Lagrèze, Wolf Alexander Wennerås, Christine Grankvist, Anna
Buysse, Marie
Ballinger, Matthew J
Bruley, Marjorie
Amoros, Julien
Grillet, Justine
Farassat, Navid
Serr, Annerose
Lagrèze, Wolf Alexander
Wennerås, Christine
Grankvist, Anna
Series / Report no.
Open Access
Type
Journal Article
Article
Article
Language
en
Date of publication
2026-03-06
Year of publication
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
Title
A human-associated Spiroplasma ixodetis lineage responsible for infantile cataracts and adult febrile illness
Translated Title
Published in
iScience 2026; 29(4):115233
Abstract
Bacteria of the clade are well characterized as reproductive parasites and defensive endosymbionts of arthropods. Nevertheless, clinical evidence indicates that they can also infect humans, causing neonatal ocular disease and acute febrile illness in adults. Using metagenomic assembly and phylogenomic analyses of -related human infections (SiRHIs), combined with a systematic meta-analysis of public datasets, we identified 25 human cases across ten European countries. Despite the frequent detection of multiple . strains in ticks, our data provide no evidence implicating tick-associated strains in human infections. Instead, SiRHI constitute a distinct monophyletic lineage within the . clade, consistent with a shared evolutionary origin with arthropod-associated relatives. Notably, SiRHI genomes harbor horizontally acquired chaperone genes absent from most arthropod-associated , while retaining conserved effector genes typical of endosymbionts, suggesting the preservation of ancestral symbiotic traits alongside newly acquired molecular adaptations.