• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.693-698
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• 1996

Haemaphysalis longiscornis is the common cattle tick of great economic importance in Korea. Chemical control using dips or sprays has been the traditional method of attempting to kill these ticks during the infestation period. However, the presence of resistant forms to chemical, the rising costs of acaricides and environmental problems have made it almost impossible to use these chemicals on a regular basis according to the pest problem. For this reason, vaccination against ticks and breeding for host resistance against ticks are being studied. In order to determine the common proteins and antigens according to developmental stages, SDS-PAGE and western blotting were performed. In SDS-PAGE 103.3kD and 98.3kD proteins were observed as common proteins, and these proteins were observed as common antigens in western blotting. Unimmunized rabbits were infestated three times with H longicornis. The weight of the second and the third engorged ticks were 0.153g and 0.104g respectively. This weight is 69% and 47% of the first engorged ticks weight respectively. Immunized rabbits by adult ticks antigen and control were infested with H longicornis. The control taked 3-4 days to fully engorge, but the immunized rabbits taked about 7 days. So adult tick antigen may be effective to render the immunity to host.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.62 no.1
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• pp.117-130
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• 2024

Ticks host different pathogens as endosymbiont and nonpathogenic microorganisms and play an important role in reproductive fitness and nutrient provision. However, the bacterial microbiomes of white-tailed deer ticks have received minimal attention. This study aimed to examine the bacterial microbiome of ticks collected from Odocoileus virginianus on the Mexico-United States border to assess differences in microbiome diversity in ticks of different species, sexes, and localities. Five different tick species were collected: Rhipicephalus microplus, Dermacentor nitens, Otobius megnini, Amblyomma cajennense, and A. maculatum. The tick microbiomes were analyzed using next-generation sequencing. Among all tick species, the most predominant phylum was Proteobacteria, followed by Actinobacteria and Firmicutes. The ticks from Tamaulipas and Nuevo León presented the highest bacterial species diversity. Acinetobacter johnsonii and A. lwoffii were the common bacterial species in the microbiome of all ticks, Coxiella were present in R. microplus, and Dermacentor nitens also exhibited a Francisella-like endosymbiont. The microbiome of most females in D. nitens was less diverse than that of males, whereas R. microplus occurs in females, suggesting that microbiome diversity is influenced by sex. In the bacterial communities of A. maculatum and O. megnini, Candidatus Midichloria massiliensis, and Candidatus Endoecteinascidia fumentensis were the most predominant endosymbionts. These results constitute the initial report on these bacteria, and this is also the first study to characterize the microbiome of O. megnini.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.113-120
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• 1998

To investigate the distribution of Borrelia burgdorferi and human granulocytic ehrlichiosis (HGE) agent in ticks, adult ixodid ticks of Ixodes spp. and Haemaphysalis spp. were collected from the high mountain areas of Kangwon Province. Using DNAs extracted and purified in the collected ticks, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed to amplify the specific nucleotide sequences of both agents. Of the 516 ticks, a total of 68 (13.2%) ticks was positive for Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato with PCR analysis (2 for B. burgdorferi sensu stricto； 1 for B. afzelii；33 for B. garinii； 8 for B. tanukii；4 for B. turdae). However a little more than half of PCR-positive ticks (37/68) was found to be positive in the southern blot analysis with Bl6S oligonucleotide probe. One hundred and one (19.2%) ticks were positive for Ehrlichia spp. in PCR, and a quarter of them (25/101) was positive in southern blot with El6S oligonucleotide probe. But none of them was found to be the DNA of HGE agent. And 0.6% (3/516) ticks were positive for both of B. burgdorferi sensu late and Ehrlirhia spp. These findings might implicate the possibility of the outbreak of Iyme borreliosis and ehrlichiosis in Korea, and more extensive studies may be need for the diagnosis of multiple tick-borne diseases.

• Animal Systematics, Evolution and Diversity
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.23-26
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• 2018

Because of the potential negative influence on their hosts, ecto-parasites are of prime importance to numerous species. Ticks are among these, distributed worldwide, and potentially transmitting diseases while sucking blood of diverse hosts. The leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis euptilura Elliot, 1871) is the only felid left in the Republic of Korea following widespread anthropogenic disturbances that have resulted in the extinction of both Panthera species: the Siberian tiger(Panthera tigris altaica Temminck, 1844) and Amur leopard (P. pardus orientalis(Schlegel, 1857)). This study identifies ticks collected from a roadkill leopard cat retrieved in Seosan area in the Republic of Korea. Two ticks attached to the facial area of the carcass were identified as Japanese hard ticks, Ixodes nipponensis, based on mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I. The matching sample was from Japan with 99.7% similarities, and the only available sequence on GenBank. This study reconfirms that I. nipponensis parasitizes the endangered leopard cat P. bengalensis euptilura.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.59 no.5
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• pp.489-496
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• 2021

Ticks can transmit pathogenic bacteria, protozoa, and viruses to humans and animals. In this study, we investigated the microbiomes of Haemaphysalis longicornis according to sex and life stages. The Shannon index was significantly higher for nymphs than adult ticks. Principal coordinates analysis showed that the microbiome composition of female adult and male adult ticks were different. Notably, Coxiella-like bacterium (AB001519), known as a tick symbiont, was found in all nymphs and female adult ticks, but only one out of 4 male adult ticks had Coxiella-like bacterium (AB001519). In addition, Rickettsia rickettsii, Coxiella burnetii, and Anaplasma bovis were detected in this study.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.52 no.2
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• pp.221-224
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• 2014

Larvae, nymphs, and adult stages of 3 species of ixodid ticks were collected by tick drag methods in Seoul during June-October 2013, and their infection status with severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) virus was examined using RT-PCR. During the period, 732 Haemaphysalis longicornis, 62 Haemaphysalis flava, and 2 Ixodes nipponensis specimens were collected. Among the specimens of H. longicornis, the number of female adults, male adults, nymphs, and larvae were 53, 11, 240, and 446, respectively. Ticks were grouped into 63 pools according to the collection site, species, and developmental stage, and assayed for SFTS virus. None of the pools of ticks were found to be positive for SFTS virus gene.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.8 no.6
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• pp.647-650
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• 1995

The study on the sex ratios of natural population of Ixodid ticks in pasture was conducted in the Bangladesh Agricultural University Campus, Mymensingh, from 1988 to June 1990. The samples were collected from the five grazing fields consisting of five different vegetations. Dragging methods were used for the collection of samples. In 24 months of observations a total of 1113 ticks of two different species, Boophilus microplus (670), Haemaphysalis bispinosa (443) were collected and their sex ratio was determined. Females were recorded higher in both B. microplus and H. bispinosa.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.25-27
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• 1962

It was previously reported that aqueous extracts of Radix Jingyu and Fructus ponciri, and also Lycaconitine, an alkaloid of Radix Jingyu, exhibit excellent effects as cattle tick repellent. The repost deals with the field teats carried out with these three drugs for their repellent effects against Korean goat ticks, nearly 99 per cent of which are composed of Haemaphysalis bispinosum and the rest of Boophilus microplus. The study revealed that Korean goat ticks are as susceptible to all three drugs tested as korean cattle ticks.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.59 no.1
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• pp.103-108
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• 2021

To date, there is no report on the genetic diversity of ticks in these regions. A total of 370 representative ticks from the south and east regions of Kazakhstan (SERK) and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR) were selected for molecular comparison. A fragment of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (cox1) gene, ranging from 631 bp to 889 bp, was used to analyze genetic diversity among these ticks. Phylogenetic analyses indicated 7 tick species including Hyalomma asiaticum, Hyalomma detritum, Hyalomma anatolicum, Dermacentor marginatus, Rhipicephalus sanguineus, Rhipicephalus turanicus and Haemaphysalis erinacei from the SERK clustered together with conspecific ticks from the XUAR. The network diagram of haplotypes showed that i) Hy. asiaticum from Almaty and Kyzylorda Oblasts together with that from Yuli County of XUAR constituted haplogroup H-2, and the lineage from Chimkent City of South Kazakhstan was newly evolved; and ii) the R. turanicus ticks sampled in Israel, Almaty, South Kazakhstan, Usu City, Ulugqat and Baicheng Counties of XUAR were derivated from an old lineage in Alataw City of XUAR. These findings indicate that: i) Hy. asiaticum, R. turanicus and Ha. erinacei shared genetic similarities between the SERK and XUAR; and ii) Hy. marginatum and D. reticulatus show differences in their evolution.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.54 no.1
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• pp.87-91
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• 2016

Deer serve as reservoirs of tick-borne pathogens that impact on medical and veterinary health worldwide. In the Republic of Korea, the population of Korean water deer (KWD, Hydropotes inermis argyropus) has greatly increased from 1982 to 2011, in part, as a result of reforestation programs established following the Korean War when much of the land was barren of trees. Eighty seven Haemaphysalis flava, 228 Haemaphysalis longicornis, 8 Ixodes nipponensis, and 40 Ixodes persulcatus (21 larvae, 114 nymphs, and 228 adults) were collected from 27 out of 70 KWD. A total of 89/363 ticks (266 pools, 24.5% minimum infection rate) and 5 (1.4%) fed ticks were positive for Anaplasma phagocytophilum using nested PCR targeting the 16S rRNA and groEL genes, respectively. The 16S rRNA gene fragment sequences of 88/89 (98.9%) of positive samples for A. phagocytophilum corresponded to previously described gene sequences from KWD spleen tissues. The 16S rRNA gene fragment sequences of 20/363 (5.5%) of the ticks were positive for A. bovis and were identical to previously reported sequences. Using the ITS specific nested PCR, 11/363 (3.0%) of the ticks were positive for Bartonella spp. This is the first report of Anaplasma and Bartonella spp. detected in ticks collected from KWD, suggesting that ticks are vectors of Anaplasma and Bartonella spp. between reservoir hosts in natural surroundings.