The complete mitochondrial genome of Ixodes vespertilionis (Acari: Ixodidae).
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Lu X
PROVIDER: S-EPMC8462910 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:Ixodes ovatus is referred to as an obligatory blood-sucking ectoparasite that is capable to infest both humans and animals. In the present study, the complete mitochondrial genome of I. ovatus was sequenced and analyzed using next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology. With a size of 14,520 bp, the entire mitogenome contains 37 genes including 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 transfer RNAs (tRNAs), 2 ribosomal RNAs (rRNAs), and 3 control regions (D-loops). Based on the 13 PCGs nucleotide sequences, the phylogenetic relationship of I. ovatus was analyzed using Maximum-likelihood. As suggested by the results of the obtained phylogenety, I. ovatus is most closely associated with Ixodes hexagonus. This study is expected to promote further studies on the evolution of Ixodidae.
| S-EPMC9665078 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Dermacentor (Indocentor) auratus Supino, 1897 is a prominent ixodid vector of numerous pathogens of public health and veterinary importance. Using long-range PCR of two overlapping regions sequenced on an Illumina MiSeq machine, the complete mitochondrial genome of D. auratus is reported here. The resulting contigs were able to be assembled into a complete and circularised genome which had the general organisation of the mitochondrial genomes of the Metastriates. It had a total length of 14,766 bp and contained 37 genes, including 13 protein-coding genes, 22 transfer RNA genes, and 2 ribosomal RNA genes, as well as 2 non-coding control regions and 3 tick-boxes. The phylogenetic analysis on the whole mitogenome confirmed the position of D. auratus within the Dermacentor clade.
| S-EPMC7814750 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundIxodes scapularis is a vector of several human pathogens in the United States, and there is geographical variation in the relative number of persons infected with these pathogens. Geographically isolated populations of I. scapularis have established or are in the process of establishing in southern Canada. Knowledge of the genetic variation within and among these populations may provide insight into their geographical origins in the United States and the potential risk of exposure of Canadians to the different pathogens carried by I. scapularis.MethodsPart of the mitochondrial (mt) 16S ribosomal (r) RNA gene was amplified by PCR from 582 ticks collected from southern Canada, and Minnesota and Rhode Island in the United States. Sequence variation was examined in relation to the predicted secondary structure of the gene. Genetic diversity among populations was also determined.ResultsDNA sequence analyses revealed 52 haplotypes. Most mutational alterations in DNA sequence occurred at unpaired sites or represented partial compensatory base pair changes that maintained the stability of the secondary structure. Significant genetic variation was detected within and among populations in different geographical regions. A greater proportion of the haplotypes of I. scapularis from the Canadian Prairie Provinces were found in the Midwest of the United States than in other regions, whereas more of the haplotypes of I. scapularis from the Canadian Central and Atlantic Provinces occurred in the Northeast of the United States. Nonetheless, 58% of I. scapularis were of a haplotype that occurs in the Midwest and Northeast of the United States; thus, their geographical origins could not be determined.ConclusionsThere is considerable genetic variation in the mt 16S rRNA gene of I. scapularis. There is some evidence to support the hypothesis that some lineages of I. scapularis in the Atlantic and Central Provinces of Canada may be derived from colonizing individuals originating in the Northeast of the United States, whereas those in the Prairie Provinces may be derived from individuals originating in the Midwest of the United States. However, additional genetic markers are needed to test hypotheses concerning the geographical origins of I. scapularis in Canada.
| S-EPMC4258262 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Haemaphysalis longicornis ticks are vectors or reservoirs of numerous infectious pathogens and cause a variety of human and animal diseases worldwide. However, there is limited knowledge on available genetic sequence. Herein, we extracted the complete mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) from enriched mitochondria of H. longicornis first time in ticks and gained its sequence with 14,718bp in length. The mitogenome consisted of 13 PCGs, 22 tRNA, 2 rRNA, and 2 noncoding regions. Also, the monophyletic phylogenetic position of H. longicornis is inferred based on 28 complete mitogenomes in total comprised of various species from Ixodida ticks in addition to the mitogenome of H. longicornis.
| S-EPMC7800405 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Salp15, a 15-kDa tick salivary gland protein, is both essential for ticks to successfully obtain host blood and also facilitates transmission of Lyme borreliosis. To determine whether the Salp15 gene is expressed in Ixodes persulcatus and Ixodes sinensis, principle vectors of Lyme borreliosis in China, we studied transcriptions of this gene in semi-engorged larvae, nymph and adults of these two species. A total of eight Salp15 homologues, five in I. persulcatus and three in I. sinensis, were identified by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Interestingly, the intra-species similarity of Salp15 is approximately equal to its interspecies similarity and more than one Salp15 protein is expressed in a certain tick developmental stage. Comparison of DNA and proteins with other available tick Salp15 homologues suggests that the Salp15 superfamily is genetically conserved and diverse in the Ixodes ricinus complex. These findings indicate that Salp15 proteins in the I. ricinus complex may play an essential role in interacting with the host immune system and transmission of Borrelia genospecies.
| S-EPMC3979764 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The two internal transcribed spacers (ITS1 and ITS2) of rDNA of three members of the Ixodes ricinus "complex" (Acari: Ixodidae) were sequenced. Sequence variation was assessed for the North American species I. scapularis, I. dammini, and I. pacificus at three levels: within individual/population, between individuals of different geographic origin within a species, and between species. Both spacers are highly variable, particularly with regard to small deletions and additions which may arise via replication slippage. Homogenization of rDNA multigene arrays for particular sequence variants appears to occur at a relatively rapid rate, since I. pacificus sequences differ from the others at numerous invariant sites, facilitating the use of these sequences to assess sibling species relationships. Based on maximum parsimony and two distance methods (unweighted pair-group with arithmetic means and neighbor-joining), sequence variation in ITS1 and ITS2 suggests that I. scapularis and I. dammini are not distinct species and that even individuals from geographically isolated locations are very similar. Individuals from geographically separated populations of I. pacificus appear to be relatively less closely related to each other but distinct from those of I. scapularis/dammini. In I. scapularis/dammini, diversity within and between individuals from geographic populations contributed equally to total sequence diversity.
| S-EPMC47746 | biostudies-other
Project description:Ixodes (Ixodes) mojavensis, n. sp. (Acari: Ixodidae), is described from all parasitic stages collected from the endangered vole Microtus californicus scirpensis Bailey, 1900 (Rodentia: Cricetidae), Mus musculus L. 1758 (Rodentia: Muridae), and Reithrodontomys megalotis (Baird; 1857) (Rodentia: Cricetidae) in the Amargosa Valley of California. When first collected in 2014, this tick was tentatively identified as Ixodes minor Neumann, 1902 because the nucleotide similarity between its 16S rDNA sequence and a homologous GenBank sequence from an I. minor from the eastern U.S. was 99.51%. Nevertheless, adults of I. mojavensis differ morphologically from I. minor by hypostomal dentition, absence of a spur on palpal segment I, and punctation patterns; nymphs by the shapes of basis capituli, auriculae, cervical grooves and external files of hypostomal denticles; and larvae by the length of idiosomal setae and hypostomal dentition. DNA sequencing of fragments of 4 different genes, 12S rDNA, 16S rDNA, cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI), and intergenic transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) of I. mojavensis and of closely related species of Ixodes shows that the mitochondrial gene sequences of the new tick species are almost identical to the I. minor homologous genes. Phylogenetically, the two species do not cluster in mutually exclusive monophyletic clades. However, ITS2 sequences of I. mojavensis and I. minor diverge deeply (≥ 5.74% maximum likelihood divergence) and are as different as homologous genes from other recognized species. The discrepancy between the two sets of genes is suggestive of past mitochondrial introgression or incomplete mitochondrial lineage sorting.
| S-EPMC10917073 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundCases of Mediterranean Spotted Fever like rickettsioses, caused by Rickettsia monacensis, have become more common in the last 10 years. In China, natural infection of R. monacensis in various tick species has been confirmed but the vector(s) of R. monacensis have not been recorded.MethodsThe prevalence of R. monacensis in >1500 Ixodidae ticks from central and southern China was determined using centrifugation-shell vial culture and polymerase chain reaction techniques. The predominant species, Ixodes sinensis, harbored a natural infection of R. monacensis and was assumed to be a vector candidate of R. monacensis. Experimental transmissions were initialized by infecting Rickettsia-free tick colonies with R. monacensis using capillary tube feeding (CTF) or immersion techniques. Transstadial and transovarial transmissions, and transmission from ticks to mice, were conducted under laboratory conditions.ResultsR. monacensis was isolated and identified from hemolymph of Ixodes sinensis using molecular techniques. Transovarial transmission of R. monacensis from infected ♀I. sinensis to offspring was documented and infected offspring successfully passed Rickettsia to mice. Transstadial transmission rates were 58% in larva to nymph and 56% in nymph to adult stages. Infected nymphs and adults were also able to infect mice.ConclusionsI. sinensis is a competence vector for R. monacensis as demonstrated by natural infection and transmission studies.
| S-EPMC4237728 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundRecently, a new rickettsia named 'Candidatus Rickettsia vini' belonging to the spotted fever group has been molecularly detected in Ixodes arboricola ticks in Spain, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Turkey, with prevalence reaching up to 100 %. The aim of this study was to isolate this rickettsia in pure culture, and to describe it as a new Rickettsia species.MethodsA total of 148 ornitophilic nidicolous ticks Ixodes arboricola were collected in a forest near Breclav (Czech Republic) and examined for rickettsiae. Shell vial technique was applied to isolate rickettsiae in Vero cells. Rickettsial isolation was confirmed by optical microscopy and sequencing of partial sequences of the rickettsial genes gltA, ompA, ompB, and htrA. Laboratory guinea pigs and chickens were used for experimental infestations and infections. Animal blood sera were tested by immunofluorescence assay employing crude antigens of various rickettsiae.ResultsRickettsia vini n. sp. was successfully isolated from three males of I. arboricola. Phylogenetic analysis of fragments of 1092, 590, 800, and 497 nucleotides of the gltA, ompA, ompB, and htrA genes, respectively, showed closest proximity of R. vini n. sp. to Rickettsia japonica and Rickettsia heilongjiangensis belonging to the spotted fever group. Experimental infection of guinea pigs and chickens with R. vini led to various levels of cross-reactions of R. vini-homologous antibodies with Rickettsia rickettsii, Rickettsia parkeri, 'Candidatus Rickettsia amblyommii', Rickettsia rhipicephali, Rickettsia bellii, and Rickettsia felis. Laboratory infestations by R. vini-infected I. arboricola larvae on chickens led to no seroconversion to R. vini n. sp., nor cross-reactions with R. rickettsii, R. parkeri, 'Ca. R. amblyommii', R. rhipicephali, R. bellii or R. felis.ConclusionsOur 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.
| S-EPMC5000463 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The incidence and geographic range of tick-borne illness associated with Ixodes scapularis and Ixodes pacificus have dramatically increased in recent decades. Anaplasmosis, babesiosis, and Borrelia spirochete infections, including Lyme borreliosis, account for tens of thousands of reported cases of tick-borne disease every year. Assays that reliably detect pathogens in ticks allow investigators and public health agencies to estimate the geographic distribution of human pathogens, assess geographic variation in their prevalence, and evaluate the effectiveness of prevention strategies. As investigators continue to describe new species within the Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato complex and to recognize some Ixodes-borne Borrelia species as human pathogens, assays are needed to detect and differentiate these species. Here we describe an algorithm to detect and differentiate pathogens in unfed I. scapularis and I. pacificus nymphs including Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Babesia microti, Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto, Borrelia mayonii, and Borrelia miyamotoi. The algorithm comprises 5 TaqMan real-time polymerase chain reaction assays and 3 sequencing protocols. It employs multiple targets for each pathogen to optimize specificity, a gene target for I. scapularis and I. pacificus to verify tick-derived DNA quality, and a pan-Borrelia target to detect Borrelia species that may emerge as human disease agents in the future. We assess the algorithm's sensitivity, specificity, and performance on field-collected ticks.
| S-EPMC6452875 | biostudies-literature