Genetic Diversity of Species Detected in Natural Populations of Ticks in Northern Poland.

In Europe, tick is the vector of Lyme disease spirochetes and their relatives ( genus) and . However, a newly described tick with similar biological features and separated from may act as a vector for different species. To date, eleven species were detected in the natural populations of . Recently, two North American species have been detected in ticks parasitizing bats and red foxes in Europe, i.e., and pointing to the necessity for searching for them in natural tick populations. In this study, using the molecular marker only was identified in field-collected ticks with the exception of individual specimens of . Using the gene and - intergenic spacer as molecular markers 14 species have been detected with various frequencies in different parts of northern Poland. Among infected ticks, the most frequent were () (29.4%) and (20.0%), followed by , , , , , , , , , , and . Three of the above-mentioned species, i.e., , and were detected in this study for the first time in the natural ixodid tick population in Europe. The existence of the newly detected spirochetes increases their total diversity in Europe and points to the necessity of careful identification and establishment of the actual distribution of all species transmitted by .