Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Ixodes ventalloi: morphological and molecular support for species integrity

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Parasitology Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Despite their medical and veterinary importance, some tick species are so poorly studied, that their role within pathogen vector transmission cycles is difficult to assess. The tick Ixodes ventalloi is one such species, and its biology and phylogenetic status remain an issue of debate. In the present study, specimens of adult I. ventalloi (n = 65 females; n = 31 males) infesting cats in the Lipari Island (Aeolian archipelago, Sicily, southern Italy) were characterized morphologically and molecularly, the latter based on mitochondrial 16S rRNA and cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (cox1) genes. The genetic data and phylogenetic analyses for both mitochondrial genes suggest the existence of two distinct genogroups. The ecological and epidemiological significance of the genetic structure within the I. ventalloi endemic population remains to be determined. The results highlight the need for further analysis of this tick species, including whole mitochondrial genome sequencing and crossbreeding studies, which will be pivotal to complement features of its status as a vector of pathogens.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Arthur DR (1963) British ticks. Butterworths, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Arthur DR (1965) Ticks of the genus Ixodes in Africa. Athlone Press, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Avise JC (1994) Molecular Markers, Natural History and Evolution. Chapman and Hall, New York

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Bailly-Choumara H, Morel P, Rageau J (1974) Premiere contribution au catalogue des tiques du Maroc (Acari, Ixodoidea). Bull Soc Sci Nat Phys Maroc 54:71–80

    Google Scholar 

  • Burger TD, Shao R, Barker SC (2014) Phylogenetic analysis of mitochondrial genome sequences indicates that the cattle tick, Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus, contains a cryptic species. Mol Phylogenet Evol 76:241–253

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chastel C, Main AJ, Couatarmanac’h A, Le Lay G, Knudson DL, Quillien MC, Beaucournu JC (1984) Isolation of Eyach virus (Reoviridae, Colorado tick fever group) from Ixodes ricinus and I. ventalloi ticks in France. Arch Virol 82:161–171

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chilton NB, Gasser RB, Beveridge I (1995) Differences in a ribosomal DNA sequence of morphologically indistinguishable species within the Hypodontus macropi complex (Nematoda: Strongyloidea). Int J Parasitol 25:647–651

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Contini C, Palmas C, Seu V, Stancampiano L, Usai F (2011) Redescription of the male of Ixodes festai Rondelli, 1926 (Ixodida: Ixodidae) on specimens from Sardinia (Italy). Parasite 18:235–240

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Dantas-Torres F, Chomel BB, Otranto D (2012) Ticks and tickborne diseases: a One Health perspective. Trends Parasitol 28:437–446

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dantas-Torres F (2015) Climate change, biodiversity, ticks and tick-borne diseases: the butterfly effect. Int J Parasitol Parasites Wild 4:452–461

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • de la Fuente J, Estrada-Peña A, Venzal JM, Kocan KM, Sonenshine DE (2008) Overview: ticks as vectors of pathogens that cause disease in humans and animals. Front Biosci 13:6938–6946

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Estrada-Peña A (2008) Climate, niche, ticks and models: what they are and how we should interpret them. Parasitol Res 103:S87–S95

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Estrada-Peña A, Nava S, Petney T (2014) Description of all the stages of Ixodes inopinatus n. sp. (Acari: Ixodidae). Ticks Tick Borne Dis 5:734–743

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gilot B, Pérez C (1978) Individualisation et caractérisation de deux Ixodes actuelement confondus: I. festai Rondelli, 1926, I. ventalloi Gil Collado, 1936 (Acarina, Ixodoidea). Rev Suiss Zool 85:143–149

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gilot B, Marjolet M (1982) Contribution à l’étude du parasitisme humain par les tiques (Ixodidae et Argasidae), plus particulièrement dans le sud-est de la France. Med Mal Infect 72:340–351

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gil Collado J (1936) Acaros Ixodoideos de Cataluna y Baleares. Mus Cien Nat, Barcelona

    Google Scholar 

  • Guglielmone AA, Robbins RG, Apanaskevich DA, Petney TN, Estrada-Peña A, Horak IG (2014). The Hard Ticks of the World (Acari: Ixodida: Ixodidae). Springer. Heidelberg

  • Hall TA (1999) BioEdit: a user-friendly biological sequence alignment editor and analysis program for windows 95/98/NT. Nucl Acids Symp Ser 41:95–98

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hubalek Z, Rudolf I (2012) Tick-borne viruses in Europe. Parasitol Res 111:9–36

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jameson LJ, Medlock JM (2011) Tick surveillance in Great Britain. Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis 11:403–412

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Krakowetz CN, Lindsay LR, Chilton NB (2011) Genetic diversity in Ixodes scapularis (Acari: Ixodidae) from six established populations in Canada. Ticks Tick Borne Dis 2:143–450

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kimura M (1980) A simple method for estimating evolutionary rate of base substitutions through comparative studies of nucleotide sequences. J Mol Evol 16:111–120

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Larkin MA, Blackshields G, Brown NP, Chenna R, McGettigan PA, McWilliam H, Valentin F, Wallace IM, Wilm A, Lopez R, Thompson JD, Gibson TJ, Higgins DG (2007) Clustal W and Clustal X version 2.0. Bioinformatics 23:2947–2948

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Latrofa MS, Dantas-Torres F, Annoscia G, Cantacessi C, Otranto D (2013) Comparative analyses of mitochondrial and nuclear genetic markers for the molecular identification of Rhipicephalus spp. Infect Genet Evol 20:422–447

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Manilla G (1998) Fauna d’Italia, Acari-Ixodida. Calderini (Edizioni), Bologna, Italy, pp 77–82

  • Mangold AJ, Bargues MD, Mas-Coma S (1998) Mitochondrial 16S rRNA sequences and phylogenetic relationships of Rhipicephalus and other tick genera among Metastriata (Acari: Ixodidae). Parasitol Res 84:478–484

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Marquez FJ (2008) Spotted fever group Rickettsia in ticks from southeastern Spain natural parks. Exp Appl Acarol 45:185–194

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mori E, Sforzi A, Menchetti M, Mazza G, Lovari S, Pisanu B (2015) Ectoparasite load in the crested porcupine Hystrix cristata Linnaeus, 1758 in Central Italy. Parasitol Res 114:2223–2229

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Murrell A, Campbell NJ, Barker SC (2000) Phylogenetic analyses of the rhipicephaline ticks indicate that the genus Rhipicephalus is paraphyletic. Mol Phylogenet Evol 16:1–7

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Otranto D, Dantas-Torres F, Giannelli A, Latrofa MS, Cascio A, Cazzin S, Ravagnan S, Montarsi F, Zanzani SA, Manfredi MT, Capelli G (2014) Ticks infesting humans in Italy and associated pathogens. Parasit Vectors 7:328

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Pennisi MG, Persichetti MF, Serrano L, Altet L, Reale S, Gulotta L, Solano-Gallego L (2015) Ticks and associated pathogens collected from cats in Sicily and Calabria (Italy). Parasit Vectors 8:512

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Petney TN, Beichel E, Maiwald M, Hassler D (1996) Ixodes ventalloi: a new tick record for Germany. Appl Parasitol 37:96–98

    Google Scholar 

  • Santos Dias JAT, Santos-Reis M (1989) A carrac¸a Ixodes ventalloi Gil Collado, 1936 como principal ectoparasitade uma populacao de doninhas (Mustela nivalis Linnaeus, 1766) em Portugal. Garcia de Orta, Serie de Zoologia 14:35–50

    Google Scholar 

  • Santos-Silva MM, Sousa R, Santos AS, Melo P, Encarnação V, Bacellar F (2006) Ticks parasitizing wild birds in Portugal: detection of Rickettsia aeschlimannii, R. helvetica and R. massiliae. Exp Appl Acarol 39:331–338

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Santos-Silva MM, Beati L, Santos AS, De Sousa R, Núncio MS, Melo P, Santos-Reis M, Fonseca C, Formosinho P, Vilela C, Bacellar F (2011) The hard-tick fauna of mainland Portugal (Acari: Ixodidae): an update on geographical distribution and known associations with hosts and pathogens. Exp Appl Acarol 55:85–121

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tamura K, Battistuzzi FU, Billing-Ross P, Murillo O, Filipski A, Kumar S (2012) Estimating divergence times in large molecular phylogenies. PNAS 109:19333–19338

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Tamura K, Stecher G, Peterson D, Filipski A, Kumar S (2013) MEGA6: Molecular Evolutionary Genetics Analysis version 6.0. Mol Bio Evol 30:2725–2729

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Dr. Viviana Domenica Tarallo (University of Bari) for the I. ventalloi drawing in Fig. 2.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Bari, 70010, Valenzano, Bari, Italy

    Maria Stefania Latrofa, Alessio Giannelli, Filipe Dantas-Torres & Domenico Otranto

  2. Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Sicilia, 90129, Palermo, Italy

    Maria Flaminia Persichetti

  3. Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Messina, Polo Universitario Annunziata, 98168, Messina, Italy

    Maria Grazia Pennisi & Emanuele Brianti

  4. Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, Autonomous University of Barcelona, 08193, Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain

    Laia Solano-Gallego

  5. Istituto Zooprofilattico della Puglia e della Basilicata, 70017, Putignano, Bari, Italy

    Antonio Parisi

  6. University of Bristol, School of Biological Sciences, BS8 1TQ, Bristol, UK

    Richard Wall

  7. Aggeu Magalhães Research Centre, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Recife, Pernambuco, 50670-420, Brazil

    Filipe Dantas-Torres

Authors
  1. Maria Stefania Latrofa
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Alessio Giannelli
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Maria Flaminia Persichetti
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Maria Grazia Pennisi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Laia Solano-Gallego
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Emanuele Brianti
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Antonio Parisi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Richard Wall
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. Filipe Dantas-Torres
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  10. Domenico Otranto
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Domenico Otranto.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Latrofa, M.S., Giannelli, A., Persichetti, M.F. et al. Ixodes ventalloi: morphological and molecular support for species integrity. Parasitol Res 116, 251–258 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-016-5286-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-016-5286-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation