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Genetic analysis of Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato ticks, parasites of dogs in the Canary Islands, Cyprus, and Croatia, based on mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene sequences

  • Arthropods and Medical Entomology - Short Communication
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Abstract

The aim of this work was to perform an analysis based on mtDNA sequences of the 16S rRNA gene in order to determine the phylogenetic position of ticks belonging to the Rhipicephalus sanguineus group from the Canary Islands, Cyprus, and Croatia. All the haplotypes obtained from ticks collected in the Canary Islands and Croatia grouped with R. sanguineus sensu stricto from France, Portugal, Italy, Switzerland, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, and the USA. The sequences of R. sanguineus sensu lato from Cyprus formed a clade with R. sanguineus s.l. from Egypt, Turkey, and Romania, which belongs to the “Rhipicephalus sp. morphotype I” or “southeastern European lineage.” Ticks determined as R. turanicus s.l. from Cyprus clustered separately from the remaining clades of the R. sanguineus group, including R. turanicus s.s. The data show that R. sanguineus s.s. is present in the Canary Islands and Croatia, while R. sanguineus “southeastern lineage” is found in Cyprus.

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Acknowledgements

Dr. Richard G. Robbins, Walter Reed Biosystematics Unit, Department of Entomology, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, helpfully reviewed and commented on an earlier version of our manuscript.

Funding

Financial support to SN was provided by INTA, Asociación Cooperadora INTA Rafaela, and CONICET.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Bundeswehr Institute of Microbiology, Neuherbergstrasse 11, 80937, Munich, Germany

    Lidia Chitimia-Dobler & Ramona Rieß

  2. University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany

    Lidia Chitimia-Dobler, Lina Kurzrock & Ute Mackenstedt

  3. Surgeon General Office, Armed Forces of Slovak Republic, Gen. M. Vesela 23, Ružomberok, Slovakia

    Tomáš Molčányi

  4. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria, Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Rafaela, and Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, CC 22, CP 2300, Rafaela, Santa Fe, Argentina

    Santiago Nava

Authors
  1. Lidia Chitimia-Dobler
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  2. Lina Kurzrock
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  3. Tomáš Molčányi
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  4. Ramona Rieß
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  5. Ute Mackenstedt
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  6. Santiago Nava
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Correspondence to Lidia Chitimia-Dobler.

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Chitimia-Dobler, L., Kurzrock, L., Molčányi, T. et al. Genetic analysis of Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato ticks, parasites of dogs in the Canary Islands, Cyprus, and Croatia, based on mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene sequences. Parasitol Res 118, 1067–1071 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-019-06214-z

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