Anstead Clare A, Chilton Neil B
Department of Biology, University of Saskatchewan, 112 Science Place, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.
J Vector Ecol. 2011 Dec;36(2):355-60. doi: 10.1111/j.1948-7134.2011.00176.x.
Morphological examination of ticks feeding on northern pocket gophers, Thomomys talpoides, near Clavet (Saskatchewan, Canada) revealed the presence of two genera, Ixodes and Dermacentor. All adult ticks collected were identified as I. kingi. Single strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) analyses and DNA sequencing of the mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene confirmed the species identity of most Ixodes immatures as I. kingi (two nymphs and 82 larvae), and the Dermacentor immatures as D. variabilis (one nymph and one larva) and D. andersoni (three larvae). Six Ixodes larvae feeding on three T. talpoides individuals were identified as four different 16S haplotypes of I. scapularis, which was unexpected because there are no known established populations of this species in Saskatchewan. However, flagging for questing ticks and further examination of the ticks feeding on T. talpoides in two subsequent years failed to detect the presence of I. scapularis near Clavet, suggesting that there is no established population of I. scapularis in this area. Nonetheless, since I. scapularis is a vector of pathogenic agents, passive and active surveillance needs to be conducted in Saskatchewan on an ongoing basis to determine if this tick species and its associated pathogens become established within the province.
对加拿大萨斯喀彻温省克拉维特附近以北方囊鼠（Thomomys talpoides）为宿主的蜱虫进行形态学检查，发现了硬蜱属（Ixodes）和革蜱属（Dermacentor）两个属。所有采集到的成年蜱虫均被鉴定为金氏硬蜱（I. kingi）。通过单链构象多态性（SSCP）分析和线粒体16S rRNA基因的DNA测序，确认了大多数未成熟硬蜱为金氏硬蜱（两只若虫和82只幼虫），未成熟革蜱为变异革蜱（一只若虫和一只幼虫）和安氏革蜱（三只幼虫）。以三只北方囊鼠个体为宿主的六只硬蜱幼虫被鉴定为肩突硬蜱（I. scapularis）的四种不同16S单倍型，这出乎意料，因为萨斯喀彻温省尚无该物种的已知定居种群。然而，在随后两年对北方囊鼠身上的蜱虫进行标记并进一步检查，未能在克拉维特附近检测到肩突硬蜱的存在，这表明该地区不存在肩突硬蜱的定居种群。尽管如此，由于肩突硬蜱是病原体的传播媒介，因此需要在萨斯喀彻温省持续开展被动和主动监测，以确定该蜱虫物种及其相关病原体是否会在该省内定居。
