The Genome of the American Dog Tick (<i>Dermacentor variabilis</i>).

ABSTRACT: The American dog tick (Dermacentor variabilis) is a vector of zoonotic pathogens in North America that poses emerging threats to public health. Despite its medical importance, genomic resources for D. variabilis remain scarce. Leveraging long-read nanopore sequencing, we generated a high-quality genome assembly for D. variabilis with a final size of 2.15 Gb, an N50 of 445 kb, and a BUSCO completeness score of 95.2%. Comparative BUSCO analyses revealed fewer duplicate genes in our assembly than in other Dermacentor genomes, indicating improved haplotype resolution. The mitochondrial genome, assembled as a single circular contig, clustered monophyletically with D. variabilis isolates from the Upper Midwest, corroborating regional phylogenetic relationships.

SUBMITTER: Cassens J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11952394 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature