AUTHOR=Ali Abid , Khan Mehran , Ullah Zafar , Numan Muhammad , Tsai Kun-Hsien , Alouffi Abdulaziz , Almutairi Mashal M. , Tanaka Tetsuya 

TITLE=First record of Alectorobius coniceps (Ixodoidea: Argasidae) and Dermacentor sp. (Ixodoidea: Ixodidae) in Pakistan

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Veterinary Science

VOLUME=10

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/veterinary-science/articles/10.3389/fvets.2023.1326734

DOI=10.3389/fvets.2023.1326734

ISSN=2297-1769

ABSTRACT=<p><italic>Alectorobius</italic> species are soft ticks primarily infesting birds, such as swallows, while <italic>Dermacentor</italic> species are hard ticks mainly infesting mammals, such as small ruminants. This study for the first time reported on the morphological and molecular bases of two tick species, namely <italic>A. coniceps</italic> and a <italic>Dermacentor</italic> sp. in Pakistan. The former species was examined in swallows’ nests in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, while the latter species was examined in small ruminants in Balochistan province. In total, 25 ticks were collected, with 14 ticks morphologically identified as <italic>A. coniceps</italic> (males = 9 and females = 5) and 11 ticks identified as <italic>Dermacentor</italic> sp. (males = 7 and females = 4). Following morphological identification, molecular identification was gained by obtaining 16S rDNA and <italic>cox1</italic> sequences for these ticks. The BLAST results for the 16S rDNA and <italic>cox1</italic> sequences from <italic>A. coniceps</italic> shared a maximum identity of 97.46% and 96.49% with the same species from Malta. The BLAST analysis of the 16S rDNA and <italic>cox1</italic> sequences from <italic>Dermacentor</italic> sp. showed maximum identities of 98.42% and 97.45% with <italic>Dermacentor pavlovskyi</italic> from China. The phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rDNA and <italic>cox1</italic> of <italic>A. coniceps</italic> showed a close evolutionary relationship with the same species. The case of <italic>Dermacentor</italic> sp., based on 16S DNA and <italic>cox1</italic>, indicated a close evolutionary relationship with <italic>Dermacentor pavlovskyi</italic> from China.</p>