Automatic barcode gap discovery reveals diverse clades of Rhipicephalus spp. and Haemaphysalis spp. ticks from small mammals in 'Asir, Saudi Arabia.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The ixodid tick genera Rhipicephalus and Haemaphysalis contain several species of medical and/or veterinary importance, but their diversity in some regions of the world remains under-explored. For instance, very few modern studies have been performed on the taxonomy of these genera on the Arabian Peninsula.

Methods

In this study, we trapped small mammals in the 'Asir Mountains of south-western Saudi Arabia and collected tick specimens for morphological examination and molecular barcoding, targeting three mitochondrial loci: cox1, 16S rRNA and 12S rRNA.

Results

We obtained a total of 733 ticks (608 Haemaphysalis spp. and 125 Rhipicephalus spp.) from 75 small mammal hosts belonging to six species. All tick specimens were immature except for nine adults recove

SUBMITTER: Alghamdi SQ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8527726 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature