Adithya Sasi, Megha Andrews, Ajith Y, Athira K S, Ettel Anna-Maria, Sangeetha S Gireesh, Jacob Siju Susan, Tresamol P V
Teaching Veterinary Clinical Complex, College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (CVAS), Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (KVASU), Mannuthy, Thrissur, Kerala, 680651, India.
Department of Veterinary Clinical Medicine, Ethics and Jurisprudence, CVAS, KVASU, Thrissur, Kerala, 680651, India.
Mol Biol Rep. 2024 Dec 30;52(1):89. doi: 10.1007/s11033-024-10191-7.
Ticks are prominent vectors of numerous pathogens that adversely affect human and animal health. Monitoring tick population dynamics is key in developing ideal tick-borne disease surveillance systems and critical vector control programmes. This study aimed to conduct the morphological and molecular characterization of ticks infesting domesticated goats in Kerala, India.
A total of 30 goats presented to the small ruminant unit of the Teaching Veterinary Clinical Complex (TVCC), Mannuthy were randomly screened for tick infestation, with 22 (73.3%) found to be infested. Morphological identification of different life cycle stages and genera was conducted first, utilizing documented external characteristics such as body size, presence of eyes, and other key morphological traits. A total of 153 tick samples were collected from goats, and their identification revealed that they belonged to the genera Haemaphysalis and Rhipicephalus. This was followed by molecular analysis through sequencing a fragment of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COXI) gene, a standard marker for tick identification. The results from molecular and phylogenetic analyses confirmed the tick species as Haemaphysalis bispinosa, H. intermedia, Rhipicephalus haemaphysaloides, and R. sanguineus. The sequenced specimens were deposited in the NCBI GenBank contributing to the global understanding of tick distribution and diversity in goats. The GenBank accession no. (s) of the isolates are PQ433166 (H. bispinosa), PQ433290 (H. intermedia), PQ433525 (R. haemaphysaloides), and PQ433586 (R. sanguineus).
The findings of this study contribute to a better understanding of the tick fauna infesting goats in the region and emphasize the importance of developing research and monitoring plans to address the challenges posed by these ectoparasites. It also highlights a critical area for future study, targeting the vector potential of these arthropods in hemoparasitic diseases and zoonotic disease transmission.
蜱是众多病原体的主要传播媒介，对人类和动物健康产生不利影响。监测蜱虫种群动态是建立理想的蜱传疾病监测系统和关键病媒控制计划的关键。本研究旨在对印度喀拉拉邦感染家养山羊的蜱虫进行形态学和分子特征分析。
对送到曼努西教学兽医临床综合中心（TVCC）小型反刍动物单元的30只山羊进行蜱虫感染情况的随机筛查，发现22只（73.3%）感染了蜱虫。首先利用记录的外部特征，如体型、眼睛的有无和其他关键形态特征，对不同生命周期阶段和属进行形态学鉴定。从山羊身上共采集了153个蜱虫样本，鉴定结果表明它们属于血蜱属和璃眼蜱属。随后通过对细胞色素c氧化酶亚基I（COXI）基因片段进行测序进行分子分析，这是蜱虫鉴定的标准标记。分子分析和系统发育分析结果证实蜱虫种类为二棘血蜱、中间血蜱、血红扇头蜱和桑氏扇头蜱。测序标本保存在NCBI基因库中，有助于全球了解山羊蜱虫的分布和多样性。分离株的GenBank登录号分别为PQ433166（二棘血蜱）、PQ433290（中间血蜱）、PQ433525（血红扇头蜱）和PQ433586（桑氏扇头蜱）。
本研究结果有助于更好地了解该地区感染山羊的蜱虫动物群，并强调制定研究和监测计划以应对这些体外寄生虫带来的挑战的重要性。它还突出了未来研究的一个关键领域，即针对这些节肢动物在血液寄生虫病和人畜共患病传播中的病媒潜力。
