Exploring the dynamic ticks-camel-pathogens interaction

Abstract

The ability of ticks to interact and adapt to different ecologies and hosts determines their vectorial competence for various pathogens, however ticks-livestock-pathogens interaction studies are limited. With our ticks-hosts-pathogens interface studies, we found 14 species of ticks feeding on various livestock. Ticks showed a strong preference for one-humped camels (Camelus dromedarius). The camel nostril was the most preferred predilection site. The most prevalent tick species on camels was Hyalomma rufipes. We found two novel Amblyomma gemma variants which are distinct both morphologically and genetically from previously described Amblyomma gemma. The signature odors from camel breath and body were attractive to H. rufipes; demonstrating ticks utilize camel-derived metabolites to find their host. Our research shows that H. rufipes and camel hosts have unique and shared pathogens showing H. rufipes’ vector and camel’s reservoir host qualities. Our study unravels the dynamic interactions between ticks, pathogens, and camels that all influence the likelihood of pathogen adaptation and transmission dynamics.