Rickettsia vini n. sp. (Rickettsiaceae) infecting the tick Ixodes arboricola (Acari: Ixodidae).

Our results suggest that R. vini n. sp. is possibly a tick endosymbiont, not pathogenic for guinea pigs and chickens. Regarding specific phenotypic characters and significant differences of DNA sequences in comparison to the most closely related species (R. japonica and R. heilongjiangensis), we propose to classify the isolate as a new species, Rickettsia vini.