Morphological and molecular studies on tick species in Ismailia Governorate in Egypt and Al Gabal Al Akhdar in Libya.

Background: Ticks are obligate blood-sucking ectoparasites of vertebrates that have an impact on both domestic and wild animals, especially in tropical and subtropical areas. Aim: The objective of this study is to compare the prevalence and the tick species in both Al Gabal Al Akhder regions in northeastern Libya and Ismailia, Egypt. Methods: Tick specimens collected from predilection sites on the hosts were identified by morphological (light microscopy) and molecular methods. Results: In Ismailia, Egypt, 23.9% of the 230 (examined cattle and buffaloes) were infested with one species of hard ticks, Rhipicephalus annulatus. In the Libyan province of Al Gabal Al Akhdar, the prevalence of tick infestation in cattle, sheep, and goats, was 47% and 59%, respectively. R. annulatus is the identified tick species for cattle, Hyalomma marginatum, and Rhipicephalus bursa, are the identified tick species of the infested sheep and goats. Conclusion: The 16S rDNA gene sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of sample species from Egypt and Libya proved instrumental in overcoming the difficulties associated with morphological identification techniques.

Comparison of Some Molecular Markers for Tick Species Identification.

BACKGROUND: Ticks are obligate blood-sucking ectoparasites of vertebrates. Since many tick identification studies are based on the analysis of 16S rDNA, 12S rDNA and ITS-1, 2 rDNA genes, we aimed to compare the performance of these molecular markers of common use for the identification of ticks, under a diagnostic laboratory environment. METHODS: Overall, 192 tick specimens were collected through the state of Texas from January 2014 to August 2015 and the species was determined by both morphology and molecular amplification using the 16S rDNA, 12S rDNA, ITS1 and ITS2. RESULTS: The species collected were identified by molecular techniques as Dermacentor albipictus, D. variabilis, Amblyomma americanum, Ixodes scapularis, A. cajennense, Rhipicephalus sanguineus and Carios capensis. ITS1 and ITS2 were not able to prove consistent amplification and therefore have been considered as potential markers for tick identification. CONCLUSION: The use of mitochondrial genes in tick identification showed to provide more consistent results in the diagnostic environment.