Busselman Rachel E, Olson Mark F, Martinez Viridiana, Davila Edward, Briggs Cierra, Eldridge Devon S, Higgins Bailee, Bass Brittany, Cropper Thomas L, Casey Theresa M, Edwards Theresa, Teel Pete D, Hamer Sarah A, Hamer Gabriel L
Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States.
Department of Entomology, Texas A&M AgriLife Research, College Station, TX, United States.
Front Vet Sci. 2021 Feb 15;8:639400. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2021.639400. eCollection 2021.
Tick-host bloodmeal associations are important factors when characterizing risks of associated pathogen transmission and applying appropriate management strategies. Despite their biological importance, comparatively little is known about soft tick (Argasidae) host associations in the United States compared to hard ticks (Ixodidae). In this study, we evaluated a PCR and direct Sanger sequencing method for identifying the bloodmeal hosts of soft ticks. We collected 381 cave-associated near San Antonio, Texas, USA, and also utilized eight colony-reared specimens fed artificially on known host blood sources over 1.5 years ago. We correctly identified the vertebrate host bloodmeals of two colony-reared ticks (chicken and pig) up to 1,105 days post-feeding, and identified bloodmeal hosts from 19 out of 168 field-collected soft ticks, including raccoon (78.9%), black vulture (10.5%), Texas black rattlesnake (5.3%), and human (5.3%). Our results confirm the retention of vertebrate blood DNA in soft ticks and advance the knowledge of argasid host associations in cave-dwelling .
蜱虫与宿主的血餐关联是确定相关病原体传播风险以及应用适当管理策略时的重要因素。尽管其具有生物学重要性，但与硬蜱（蜱科）相比，美国对软蜱（argasidae）宿主关联的了解相对较少。在本研究中，我们评估了一种用于鉴定软蜱血餐宿主的PCR和直接桑格测序方法。我们在美国得克萨斯州圣安东尼奥附近收集了381只与洞穴相关的软蜱，还利用了1.5年前人工喂食已知宿主血源的8个群体饲养标本。我们在喂食后长达1105天正确鉴定了两只群体饲养蜱虫（鸡和猪）的脊椎动物宿主血餐，并从168只野外采集的软蜱中的19只鉴定出血餐宿主，包括浣熊（78.9%）、黑兀鹰（10.5%）、德州黑响尾蛇（5.3%）和人类（5.3%）。我们的结果证实了软蜱中脊椎动物血液DNA的留存，并推进了对洞穴栖息软蜱宿主关联的认识。
