Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

RNA viruses of Amblyomma variegatum and Rhipicephalus microplus and Cattle Susceptibility in the French Antilles

Version 1 : Received: 10 December 2019 / Approved: 12 December 2019 / Online: 12 December 2019 (12:29:36 CET)

A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.

Gondard, M.; Temmam, S.; Devillers, E.; Pinarello, V.; Bigot, T.; Chrétien, D.; Aprelon, R.; Vayssier-Taussat, M.; Albina, E.; Eloit, M.; Moutailler, S. RNA Viruses of Amblyomma variegatum and Rhipicephalus microplus and Cattle Susceptibility in the French Antilles. Viruses 2020, 12, 144. Gondard, M.; Temmam, S.; Devillers, E.; Pinarello, V.; Bigot, T.; Chrétien, D.; Aprelon, R.; Vayssier-Taussat, M.; Albina, E.; Eloit, M.; Moutailler, S. RNA Viruses of Amblyomma variegatum and Rhipicephalus microplus and Cattle Susceptibility in the French Antilles. Viruses 2020, 12, 144.

Abstract

Ticks transmit a wide variety of pathogens including bacteria, parasites and viruses. Over the last decade, numerous novel viruses have been described in arthropods, including ticks, and their characterization has provided new insights into RNA virus diversity and evolution. However, little is known about their ability to infect vertebrates. As very few studies have described the diversity of viruses present in ticks from the Caribbean, we implemented an RNA-sequencing approach on Amblyomma variegatum and Rhipicephalus microplus ticks collected from cattle in Guadeloupe and Martinique. Among the viral communities infecting Caribbean ticks, we selected four viruses belonging to the Chuviridae, Phenuiviridae and Flaviviridae families for further characterization and designing antibody screening tests. While viral prevalence in individual tick samples revealed high infection rates, suggesting a high level of exposure of Caribbean cattle to these viruses, no seropositive animals were detected. These results suggest that the Chuviridae- and Phenuiviridae-related viruses identified in the present study are more likely tick endosymbionts, raising the question of the epidemiological significance of their occurrence in ticks, especially regarding their possible impact on tick biology and vector capacity. The characterization of these viruses might open the door to new ways of preventing and controlling tick-borne diseases.

Keywords

ticks; cattle, rna viruses; next-generation sequencing; phylogeny; microfluidic real-time pcr technology; Caribbean; lips

Subject

Biology and Life Sciences, Virology

Comments (0)

We encourage comments and feedback from a broad range of readers. See criteria for comments and our Diversity statement.

Leave a public comment
Send a private comment to the author(s)
* All users must log in before leaving a comment
Views 0
Downloads 0
Comments 0
Metrics 0


×
Alerts
Notify me about updates to this article or when a peer-reviewed version is published.
We use cookies on our website to ensure you get the best experience.
Read more about our cookies here.