DETECTION OF BRUCELLA IN DERMACENTOR MARGINATUS TICKS

Ticks are carriers of numerous pathogens, and their bacterial composition, abundance, diversity, and interaction affect both their growth and the efficiency of disease transmission. The emergence of next-generation metagenomic sequencing (NGS) technologies has expanded the possibilities for detecting and characterising microbial pathogens. Sequence data analysis can identify the presence of Brucella DNA in ticks and determine its genetic characteristics. In the spring of 2023, tick samples were collected in the Taskalinsky district of the West Kazakhstan Region. Sequencing of the 16S rRNA genes of bacteria in tick samples was performed using the Ion Torrent platform based on NGS technology. 

In D. marginatus_WKR_Taskala tick samples, metagenomic analysis identified Brucella suis bv. 3 (25%) and other Brucella species (75%). Analysis of the reads obtained as a result of metagenomic sequencing of the tick sample identified 3,973 reads, of which 2,966 were classified as Brucella spp. and 1,007 as Brucella suis bv. 3. The alpha diversity indices for the D. marginatus_WKR_Taskala sample were: Shannon = 0.797, Simpson 1−D = 0.473, Margalef = 0.241. Ticks are recognised as the main carriers of a wide range of diseases among domestic and wild animals compared to other arthropods. Despite numerous studies on the link between brucellosis transmission and ticks, the exact role of ticks in the transmission of this disease and the associated risks remain unclear.

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