The Mitochondrial genomes of Nuttalliella namaqua (Ixodoidea: Nuttalliellidae) and Argas africolumbae (Ixodoidae: Argasidae) : estimation of divergence dates for the major tick lineages and reconstruction of ancestral blood-feeding characters

dc.contributor.authorMans, Ben J. (Barend Johannes)
dc.contributor.authorDe Klerk, Daniel G.
dc.contributor.authorPienaar, Ronel
dc.contributor.authorDe Castro, M.H. (Minique Hilda)
dc.contributor.authorLatif, Abdalla A.
dc.date.accessioned2013-02-08T06:46:43Z
dc.date.available2013-02-08T06:46:43Z
dc.date.issued2012-11-08
dc.description.abstractIxodida are composed of hard (Ixodidae), soft (Argasidae) and the monotypic Nuttalliellidae (Nuttalliella namaqua) tick families. Nuclear 18S rRNA analysis suggested that N. namaqua was the closest extant relative to the last common ancestral tick lineage. The mitochondrial genomes of N. namaqua and Argas africolumbae were determined using next generation sequencing and de novo assembly to investigate this further. The latter was included since previous estimates on the divergence times of argasids lacked data for this major genus. Mitochondrial gene order for both was identical to that of the Argasidae and Prostriata. Bayesian analysis of the COI, Cytb, ND1, ND2 and ND4 genes confirmed the monophyly of ticks, the basal position of N. namaqua to the other tick families and the accepted systematic relationships of the other tick genera. Molecular clock estimates were derived for the divergence of the major tick lineages and supported previous estimates on the origins of ticks in the Carboniferous. N. namaqua larvae fed successfully on lizards and mice in a prolonged manner similar to many argasids and all ixodids. Excess blood meal-derived water was secreted via the salivary glands, similar to ixodids. We propose that this prolonged larval feeding style eventually gave rise to the long feeding periods that typify the single larval, nymphal and adult stages of ixodid ticks and the associated secretion of water via the salivary glands. Ancestral reconstruction of characters involved in blood-feeding indicates that most of the characteristics unique to either hard or soft tick families were present in the ancestral tick lineage.en
dc.description.librarianam2013en
dc.description.librarianab2013
dc.description.sponsorshipThe Joy Liebenberg Trust (21/19/JT02) allocated to BM and a South African National Research Foundation grant allocated to AL (NRF-Spain).en
dc.description.urihttp://www.plosone.orgen
dc.identifier.citationMans BJ, de Klerk D, Pienaar R, de Castro MH, Latif AA (2012) The Mitochondrial Genomes of Nuttalliella namaqua (Ixodoidea: Nuttalliellidae) and Argas africolumbae (Ixodoidae: Argasidae): Estimation of Divergence Dates for the Major Tick Lineages and Reconstruction of Ancestral Blood-Feeding Characters. PLoS ONE 7(11): e49461. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0049461en
dc.identifier.issn1932-6203
dc.identifier.other10.1371/journal.pone.0049461
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/20978
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherPublic Library of Scienceen
dc.relation.requiresAdobe Acrobat Readeren
dc.rights© 2012 Mans et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licenseen
dc.subjectNuttalliella namaquaen
dc.subjectTick lineageen
dc.subjectSoft ticksen
dc.subjectHard ticksen
dc.subject.lcshIxodidaeen
dc.subject.lcshArgasidaeen
dc.subject.lcshMitochondrial DNAen
dc.titleThe Mitochondrial genomes of Nuttalliella namaqua (Ixodoidea: Nuttalliellidae) and Argas africolumbae (Ixodoidae: Argasidae) : estimation of divergence dates for the major tick lineages and reconstruction of ancestral blood-feeding charactersen
dc.typeArticleen

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