Wulandhari Shobiechah Aldillah, Charoennitiwat Vachirapong, Samung Yudthana, Sonthayanon Piengchan, Kumlert Rawadee, Morand Serge, Chaisiri Kittipong, Chaiphongpachara Tanawat, Dujardin Jean-Pierre, Sumruayphol Suchada
Department of Medical Entomology, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand.
Malaria Consortium Asia, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand.
Heliyon. 2024 Jul 2;10(14):e33908. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e33908. eCollection 2024 Jul 30.
is one of the dominant chigger species in Southeast Asia and a potential carrier of scrub typhus, due in part to its cosmopolitan nature. This study explored the possible biological significance of the observed dimorphism in the shape of its scutum sensilla. Sensilla are specialized structures that are generally adapted to perform specific functions related to sensory capabilities, so their shape and sizes are expected to vary between taxa. We describe morphological variation of the sensilla of in Thailand. The sensilla had either a round or an ovoid, club-shaped form, which was not dependent on the particularly locality or host. Ignoring the precise function of the sensilla and their morphological variation, our study attempted to answer the following single question: Do the distinct forms of the sensilla indicate possible heterogeneity of the species? The two forms, named S1 and S2, were compared by genetic and morphometric techniques. The genetic analysis was based on the sequences, while the morphometric comparison used the scutum, an organ shown to be of taxonomic value for chigger mites. Neither morphometric nor genetic data revealed any evidence of a speciation process underlying the morphological variation in sensillum types.
是东南亚主要的恙螨种类之一，也是恙虫病的潜在传播媒介，这在一定程度上归因于其分布广泛的特性。本研究探讨了所观察到的其盾板感器形状二态性可能具有的生物学意义。感器是专门的结构，通常适应于执行与感官能力相关的特定功能，因此它们的形状和大小在不同分类群之间预计会有所不同。我们描述了泰国的 盾板感器的形态变化。这些感器呈圆形或卵形、棒状，这并不取决于特定的地点或宿主。忽略感器的确切功能及其形态变化，我们的研究试图回答以下单一问题：感器的不同形态是否表明 物种可能存在异质性？通过遗传和形态测量技术对命名为S1和S2的两种形态进行了比较。遗传分析基于 序列，而形态测量比较使用了盾板，盾板是一种对恙螨具有分类学价值的器官。形态测量和遗传数据均未揭示感器类型形态变化背后存在物种形成过程的任何证据。
