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Biology
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Tickborne Diseases and Their Vectors
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Tickborne Diseases and Their Vectors

A special issue of Biology (ISSN 2079-7737). This special issue belongs to the section "Infection Biology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2025 | Viewed by 695

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Moses Sibusiso Mtshali

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Guest Editor
School of Molecular and Life Sciences, University of Limpopo, Private Bag X1106, Sovenga, Polokwane 0727, South Africa
Interests: tickborne diseases; ticks; zoonotic diseases; veterinary parasitology; molecular parasitology; molecular diagnostics; proteomics and genomics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Ticks are a major group of arthropod vectors, characterized by the diversity of pathogens they transmit, their impact on human and animal health, and their socioeconomic implications, especially in countries in the Southern Hemisphere. They spread a variety of infective agents such as protozoans, viruses, and bacteria. Tick infestation and tickborne pathogens cause major challenges for farmers in villages. They account for huge global economic losses, estimated at USD 30 billion globally, including USD 160 million in Africa and USD 29 million in South Africa annually. Understanding ticks is of primary importance in animal and human health because of the role that they play in transmitting various disease-causing pathogens.

Tickborne diseases are common occurrences in both medical and veterinary clinical settings. In addition to constraints related to their diagnosis and clinical management, the control and prevention of these diseases is often difficult, because it requires the disruption of a complex transmission chain involving vertebrate hosts and ticks, which interact in a constantly changing environment. Ectoparasites and endoparasites of livestock are among the disease-causing agents with the highest negative impacts on the livelihoods of resource-poor farmers, and some are classified by their neglected zoonosis.

We request research studies on molecular taxonomy and the identification of ticks, molecular biology, genetic diversity, disease mapping and modelling, veterinary medicine, vector control, molecular diagnostics, host–parasite interactions, etc. Examples of themes that might be included are ticks, Anaplasma, Babesia, Theileria, Trypanosoma, Rickettsia, Ehrlichia, etc. Studies involving multidisciplinary approaches aiding the management of tick populations and tickborne diseases in an effective and environmentally acceptable manner are welcome.

I look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Moses Sibusiso Mtshali
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • ticks
  • tickborne pathogens
  • epidemiology of tickborne diseases
  • zoonotic diseases
  • molecular diagnosis
  • genetic diversity
  • immunology
  • vector control and mapping

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

23 pages, 4483 KiB  
Article
Comparative Analysis of Microbial Communities in Each Developmental Stage of Dermacentor nuttalli in Two Regions in Inner Mongolia, China
by Li Zhao, Xiao-Nan Dong, Hao Cui, Lian-Yang Sun, Ren Mu, Ming Nie, Jia-Mei Kang, Nan Bu, Yi-Shuai Zhang, Ze-Hao Qi, Zi-Xuan Li, Zi-Long Zhang, Xu-Yang Zhang, Yu-Lin Ding, Rui Wang, Yu Wang and Yong-Hong Liu
Biology 2025, 14(6), 613; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology14060613 (registering DOI) - 27 May 2025
Abstract
Dermacentor is the most widely distributed tick genus in China. Dermacentor nuttalli, a predominant tick species in Inner Mongolia, can carry and transmit pathogenic microorganisms. Here, D. nuttalli were collected from Ordos (O-D) and Hinggan League (H-D) in the Inner Mongolia. D. [...] Read more.
Dermacentor is the most widely distributed tick genus in China. Dermacentor nuttalli, a predominant tick species in Inner Mongolia, can carry and transmit pathogenic microorganisms. Here, D. nuttalli were collected from Ordos (O-D) and Hinggan League (H-D) in the Inner Mongolia. D. nuttalli specimens at different developmental stages were subsequently reared under identical laboratory conditions. Sample processing, nucleic acid extraction, high-throughput sequencing, and microbial community analyses were conducted. Bacterial communities in O-D and H-D were annotated to 8 phyla, 145 genera and 16 phyla, 141 genera, respectively, with Proteobacteria showing the highest relative abundance. Differences in dominant bacterial genera were observed across developmental stages between the two regions. The most abundant bacterial species were Arsenophonus_uncultured_bacterium in O-D and Rickettsia japonica in H-D. Viral communities were annotated to 4 orders, 25 families, 61 genera, and 126 species in O-D and 6 orders, 28 families, 49 genera, 135 species in H-D. Notable difference in the viral genera with >1% abundance were identified at different developmental stages in the two regions. To our knowledge, this is the first study to compare microbial community compositions of D. nuttalli across developmental stages in two Inner Mongolian regions under under identical rearing conditions and to report the presence of R. japonica, Tacheng Tick Virus-2, and bovine viral diarrhea virus in D. nuttalli. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Tickborne Diseases and Their Vectors)
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16 pages, 1876 KiB  
Article
Genetic Characterization and Phylogenetic Analysis of Babesia bigemina Isolates in Cattle from South Africa Based on BgRAP-1, BgAMA-1 and BgβTUB Genes
by Phillip Senzo Mtshali and Moses Sibusiso Mtshali
Biology 2025, 14(4), 355; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology14040355 - 28 Mar 2025
Viewed by 371
Abstract
Babesia bigemina is one of the most important etiological agents of bovine babesiosis, a tick-borne disease posing a major threat in the livestock industry globally, including South Africa. Despite the huge economic impact of cattle babesiosis in South Africa, antigenic variation observed among [...] Read more.
Babesia bigemina is one of the most important etiological agents of bovine babesiosis, a tick-borne disease posing a major threat in the livestock industry globally, including South Africa. Despite the huge economic impact of cattle babesiosis in South Africa, antigenic variation observed among B. bigemina strains worldwide has impeded the successful development of a single vaccine with the potential to eliminate the disease. As such, there is still a dearth of information regarding the conservation of B. bigemina genes encoding functionally important proteins that play a crucial role during the invasion of bovine erythrocytes by merozoites. Fifty blood samples previously collected from cattle in eight provinces of South Africa were genetically tested for the presence of B. bigemina DNA fragments using four nested PCR-based assays. The genes targeted coded for SpeI-AvaI restriction fragment, rhoptry-associated protein 1 (BgRAP-1), apical membrane antigen 1 (BgAMA-1) and β-tubulin (BgβTUB). PCR-generated fragments of randomly selected samples were sequenced. BLAST searches in GenBank were performed with newly determined sequences to search for homologous sequences. Neighbor-joining phylogenies were inferred from aligned, contiguous sequences of BgRAP-1, BgAMA-1 and BgβTUB genes. Nested PCR assays generated single fragments of 170 bp, 472 bp, 765 bp and 302 bp for SpeI-AvaI, BgRAP-1, BgAMA-1 and BgβTUB fragments, respectively. Of the 50 bovine samples tested by nested PCR, 82% (42/50; 95% CI = 69.2–90.2%), 68% (34/50; 95% CI = 54.2–79.2%), 50% (25/50; 95% CI = 36.6–63.4%) and 46% (23/50; 95% CI = 33.0–59.6%) possessed B. bigemina-specific SpeI-AvaI, BgRAP-1, BgAMA-1 and BgβTUB DNA fragments, respectively. The BgRAP-1, BgAMA-1 and BgβTUB sequences of South African B. bigemina isolates shared 98–100% similarity with previously reported sequences of strains originating from cattle in countries other than South Africa. The high genetic conservation observed among geographical isolates of B. bigemina suggests the conserved functional role of BgRAP-1 and BgAMA-1 proteins as potential candidates that could be incorporated in recombinant subunit vaccines. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Tickborne Diseases and Their Vectors)
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