The life cycle of from the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau under laboratory conditions and detection of spotted fever group spp.

has been a focus of study because tick-borne pathogens have been widely identified in this tick from northern and southwestern China. The aim of this study was to characterize the life cycle of under laboratory conditions and to detect spotted fever group (SFG) in the midgut and salivary glands of both field-collected and first laboratory generation adults. ticks were collected in the field on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau from March to April 2021 and their life cycle was studied under laboratory conditions. Tick identify was molecularly confirmed, and SFG were detected in the midgut and salivary glands of males and females by PCR targeting different rickettsial genes. The results showed that the life cycle of under laboratory conditions was completed in an average of 86.1 days. High positivity of spp. was detected in the midgut and salivary glands of both males (92.0%) and females (93.0%) of field-collected ticks. However, a relatively lower positivity (4.0-6.0%) was detected in first laboratory generation adults. Furthermore, sequencing analysis showed that the sequences obtained in this study shared 98.6 to 100% nucleotide identity with and isolated from spp. in China. Phylogenetic analysis of spp. based on the and genes revealed that the sequences obtained could be classified as belonging to and clades. This study described for the first time the life cycle of from the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau under laboratory conditions. Two species of SFG were detected in the midgut and salivary glands of males and females in both field-collected and first laboratory-generation adults of . Our study provides new insights into pathogen detection in ticks in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and the relationships among hosts, ticks, and pathogens.