Histological structures of the midguts of adult Rhipicephalus bursa and Rhipicephalus turanicus ticks (Acari: Ixodidae)

Abstract

Ticks play a role in the natural cycle of approximately 200 pathogens and are responsible for the transmission of various pathogens, such as Babesia, Theileria, Borrelia, Rickettsia and Anaplasma, to humans and animals. The midgut of ticks is the first organ to come into contact with tick-borne pathogens during the blood meal. When pathogens are acquired from infected hosts via the blood meal, they are trapped in the lumen of the midgut. The structure and function of the midgut of ticks are very important for understanding the ecology and transmission of tick-borne pathogens; therefore, a more detailed and comprehensive understanding of their biology is required. To this end, this study examined the histomorphology of the midgut of Rhipicephalus bursa Canestrini and Fanzago and R. turanicus Pomerantzev using histological methods, for the first time from Türkiye. In both species, the midgut was found to consist of a pseudostratified epithelium surrounded by a thin muscular layer. However, within their epithelium there are different digestive cells, one of which is a stem cell and the others have different characteristics, such as having more or less granules in their cytoplasm and with a clear cytoplasm.