Phylogeography of the blacklegged tick (Ixodes scapularis) throughout the USA identifies candidate loci for differences in vectorial capacity

Julia C Frederick¹, Alec T Thompson^{2

3}, Prisha Sharma¹, Guha Dharmarajan^{4

5}, Isobel Ronai⁶, Risa Pesapane^{7

8}, Ryan C Smith⁹, Kellee D Sundstrom¹⁰, Jean I Tsao¹¹, Holly C Tuten¹², Michael J Yabsley^{2

3

13}, Travis C Glenn^{1

14}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Environmental Health Science, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, 30602, USA.
² Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, Department of Population Health, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, 30602, USA.
³ Center for the Ecology of Infectious Diseases, Odom School of Ecology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, 30602, USA.
⁴ Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, University of Georgia, Aiken, South Carolina, 29808, USA.
⁵ Division of Sciences, School of Interwoven Arts and Sciences, Krea University, Sri City, Andhra Pradesh, India.
⁶ Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02138, USA.
⁷ Department of Veterinary Preventive Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, 43210, USA.
⁸ School of Environment and Natural Resources, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, 43210, USA.
⁹ Department of Plant Pathology, Entomology, and Microbiology, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, 50011, USA.
¹⁰ Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma, 74078, USA.
¹¹ Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, 48824, USA.
¹² Illinois Natural History Survey, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois, 61820, USA.
¹³ Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, 30602, USA.
¹⁴ Institute of Bioinformatics, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, 30602, USA.

PMID: 36912202
DOI: 10.1111/mec.16921

Phylogeography of the blacklegged tick (Ixodes scapularis) throughout the USA identifies candidate loci for differences in vectorial capacity

Julia C Frederick et al. Mol Ecol. 2023 Jun.

. 2023 Jun;32(12):3133-3149.

doi: 10.1111/mec.16921. Epub 2023 Apr 6.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Environmental Health Science, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, 30602, USA.
² Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, Department of Population Health, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, 30602, USA.
³ Center for the Ecology of Infectious Diseases, Odom School of Ecology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, 30602, USA.
⁴ Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, University of Georgia, Aiken, South Carolina, 29808, USA.
⁵ Division of Sciences, School of Interwoven Arts and Sciences, Krea University, Sri City, Andhra Pradesh, India.
⁶ Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02138, USA.
⁷ Department of Veterinary Preventive Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, 43210, USA.
⁸ School of Environment and Natural Resources, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, 43210, USA.
⁹ Department of Plant Pathology, Entomology, and Microbiology, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, 50011, USA.
¹⁰ Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma, 74078, USA.
¹¹ Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, 48824, USA.
¹² Illinois Natural History Survey, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois, 61820, USA.
¹³ Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, 30602, USA.
¹⁴ Institute of Bioinformatics, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, 30602, USA.

PMID: 36912202
DOI: 10.1111/mec.16921

Abstract

The blacklegged tick (Ixodes scapularis (Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, 1821, 2, 59)) is a vector of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto (s.s.) (International Journal of Systematic Bacteriology, 1984, 34, 496), the causative bacterial agent of Lyme disease, part of a slow-moving epidemic of Lyme borreliosis spreading across the northern hemisphere. Well-known geographical differences in the vectorial capacity of these ticks are associated with genetic variation. Despite the need for detailed genetic information in this disease system, previous phylogeographical studies of these ticks have been restricted to relatively few populations or few genetic loci. Here we present the most comprehensive phylogeographical study of genome-wide markers in I. scapularis, conducted by using 3RAD (triple-enzyme restriction-site associated sequencing) and surveying 353 ticks from 33 counties throughout the species' range. We found limited genetic variation among populations from the Northeast and Upper Midwest, where Lyme disease is most common, and higher genetic variation among populations from the South. We identify five spatially associated genetic clusters of I. scapularis. In regions where Lyme disease is increasing in frequency, the I. scapularis populations genetically group with ticks from historically highly Lyme-endemic regions. Finally, we identify 10 variable DNA sites that contribute the most to population differentiation. These variable sites cluster on one of the chromosome-scale scaffolds for I. scapularis and are within identified genes. Our findings illuminate the need for additional research to identify loci causing variation in the vectorial capacity of I. scapularis and where additional tick sampling would be most valuable to further understand disease trends caused by pathogens transmitted by I. scapularis.

Keywords: Borrelia; 3RAD; Illumina; Ixodidae; RADseq; population genetics.

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References

REFERENCES

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Phylogeography of the blacklegged tick (Ixodes scapularis) throughout the USA identifies candidate loci for differences in vectorial capacity

Affiliations

Phylogeography of the blacklegged tick (Ixodes scapularis) throughout the USA identifies candidate loci for differences in vectorial capacity

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

References

REFERENCES

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources

Medical