Abstract
AbstractPiroplasms, which include the agents of cattle fever and human and dog babesiosis, are a diverse group of blood parasites of significant veterinary and medical importance. The invasive Asian longhorned tick,Haemaphysalis longicornis, is a known vector of piroplasms in its native range in east Asia and invasive range in Australasia. In the US state of Virginia,H. longicornishas been associated withTheileria orientalisIkeda outbreaks that caused cattle mortality. We examined 667H. longicorniscollected in 2021 from three sites in New Brunswick, New Jersey, the US state where established populations of this species were first detected in 2017. We used primers targeting the 18S small subunit rRNA and the cytochrome b oxidase loci and unveiled the presence of DNA from an unidentifiedTheileriaspecies (in 1 nymph) andTheileria cervitype F (1 adult, 5 nymphs). In addition, we sequenced a 130 bp fragment of the cytochrome oxidase b locus fromOdocoileus virginianus, the white-tailed deer, in a partially engorged questingH. longicornis, supporting the association of this tick species with deer. We also detected DNA from an undescribedBabesiasensu stricto (‘true’Babesia, 2 adults, 2 nymphs) as well asBabesiasp. Coco (1 adult, 1 nymph). Finally, we detected DNA fromBabesia microtiS837 (1 adult, 4 nymphs).Babesia microtiS837 has been sequenced from striped skunks,Mephitis mephitis, and is closely related to the human pathogenB. microtiUS-type. The five parasites we are associating withH. longicornisrepresent a diverse assemblage spanning three clades in the piroplasm phylogeny, two undescribed, raising concerns of transmission amplification of veterinary pathogens as well as spillover of pathogens from wildlife to humans.
Publisher
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory