Diagnostic nucleotide variation among Hyalomma (Acari: Ixodida) species, and intraspecific COI diversity of Hyalomma anatolicum from Iran and neighboring countries

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Research Center for Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases (RCTTD), University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

Abstract
Accurate discrimination of Hyalomma species is important for taxonomy and vector surveillance. Although mitochondrial COI has been widely used for tick identification, nucleotide variation relevant to species discrimination and regional genetic diversity remain insufficiently investigated. This study evaluated the discriminatory power of COI by identifying informative nucleotide positions among Hyalomma species and assessing the phylogeographic diversity of H. anatolicum at nucleotide as well as amino acid level. Because H. anatolicum provided the largest number of suitable sequences, 71 sequences from Iran, Iraq, Pakistan and Türkiye were selected for phylogenetic analysis, estimation of genetic diversity, neutrality tests and construction of a TCS haplotype network. The haplotype network showed patterns broadly consistent with genetic differentiation among the species examined, although it does not independently validate species boundaries. Within H. anatolicum, phylogenetic trees revealed no clear grouping by country of origin. Eleven haplotypes were detected, with moderate haplotype diversity (Hd = 0.648) and nucleotide diversity (π = 0.0709). A significantly negative Tajima’s D value (-2.444, P < 0.01) indicated departure from neutral expectations. The network also showed haplotype sharing among sequences from different countries, although interpretation of geographic structure was limited by the uneven geographic sampling. Overall, the results support the utility of COI for molecular identification of Hyalomma species and for population genetic studies of H. anatolicum. The candidate informative nucleotide positions may provide a reference for future validation and development of molecular assays for epidemiological and surveillance applications in Iran.

Keywords


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