Genome resequencing reveals population divergence and local adaptation of blacklegged ticks in the United States.
Mol Ecol
; 33(15): e17460, 2024 Aug.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38963031
ABSTRACT
Tick vectors and tick-borne disease are increasingly impacting human populations globally. An important challenge is to understand tick movement patterns, as this information can be used to improve management and predictive modelling of tick population dynamics. Evolutionary analysis of genetic divergence, gene flow and local adaptation provides insight on movement patterns at large spatiotemporal scales. We develop low coverage, whole genome resequencing data for 92 blacklegged ticks, Ixodes scapularis, representing range-wide variation across the United States. Through analysis of population genomic data, we find that tick populations are structured geographically, with gradual isolation by distance separating three population clusters in the northern United States, southeastern United States and a unique cluster represented by a sample from Tennessee. Populations in the northern United States underwent population contractions during the last glacial period and diverged from southern populations at least 50 thousand years ago. Genome scans of selection provide strong evidence of local adaptation at genes responding to host defences, blood-feeding and environmental variation. In addition, we explore the potential of low coverage genome sequencing of whole-tick samples for documenting the diversity of microbial pathogens and recover important tick-borne pathogens such as Borrelia burgdorferi. The combination of isolation by distance and local adaptation in blacklegged ticks demonstrates that gene flow, including recent expansion, is limited to geographical scales of a few hundred kilometres.
Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Ixodes
/
Flujo Génico
/
Genética de Población
Límite:
Animals
País/Región como asunto:
America do norte
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Mol Ecol
/
Mol. ecol
/
Molecular ecology
Asunto de la revista:
BIOLOGIA MOLECULAR
/
SAUDE AMBIENTAL
Año:
2024
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Estados Unidos