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Reproductive incompatibility between Amblyomma maculatum (Acari: Ixodidae) group ticks from two disjunct geographical regions within the USA

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Abstract

The Amblyomma maculatum Koch group of ixodid ticks consists of three species: A. maculatum, A. triste, and A. tigrinum. However, since Koch described this group in 1844, the systematics of its members has been the subject of ongoing debate. This is especially true of A. maculatum and A. triste; recent molecular analyses reveal insufficient genetic divergence to separate these as distinct species. Further confounding this issue is the discovery in 2014 of A. maculatum group ticks in southern Arizona (AZ), USA, that share morphological characteristics with both A. triste and A. maculatum. To biologically evaluate the identity of A. maculatum group ticks from southern Arizona, we analyzed the reproductive compatibility between specimens of A. maculatum group ticks collected from Georgia (GA), USA, and southern Arizona. Female ticks from both Arizona and Georgia were mated with males from both the Georgia and Arizona Amblyomma populations, creating two homologous and two heterologous F1 cohorts of ticks: GA ♀/GA ♂, AZ ♀/AZ ♂, GA ♀/AZ ♂, and AZ ♀/GA ♂. Each cohort was maintained separately into the F2 generation with F1 females mating only with F1 males from their same cohort. Survival and fecundity parameters were measured for all developmental stages. The observed survival parameters for heterologous cohorts were comparable to those of the homologous cohorts through the F1 generation. However, the F1 heterologous females produced F2 egg clutches that did not hatch, thus indicating that the Arizona and Georgia populations of A. maculatum group ticks tested here represent different biological species.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the Animal Resources Branch and veterinary staff at CDC for their care of the experimental animals. We would also like to acknowledge Luke Allerdice of Allerdice Photography for processing the images in Fig. 1 and Lorenza Beati for discussions and input on crossmating. The findings and conclusions of this study are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Funding

Funding for this study was provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. No outside funding was received.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, Rickettsial Zoonoses Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Michelle E. J. Allerdice, Alyssa N. Snellgrove, Joy A. Hecht, Kris Hartzer, Shelby L. Ford, Sandor E. Karpathy, Michael L. Levin & Christopher D. Paddock

  2. Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Entomology, and Plant Pathology, Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS, USA

    Michelle E. J. Allerdice & Jerome Goddard

  3. Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, Office of the Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, CO, USA

    Emma S. Jones & Brad J. Biggerstaff

  4. Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, Bacterial Diseases Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, CO, USA

    Shelby L. Ford

  5. Departamento de Anatomía Patológica, Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico, Mexico

    Jesus Delgado-de la Mora & David Delgado-de la Mora

  6. Hospital de Pediatría Centro Médico Nacional Siglo XXI, Mexico, Mexico

    Jesus D. Licona-Enriquez

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  1. Michelle E. J. Allerdice
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  2. Alyssa N. Snellgrove
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  3. Joy A. Hecht
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Correspondence to Michelle E. J. Allerdice.

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All animal studies were performed according to the protocol 2904LEVRABC approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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Allerdice, M.E.J., Snellgrove, A.N., Hecht, J.A. et al. Reproductive incompatibility between Amblyomma maculatum (Acari: Ixodidae) group ticks from two disjunct geographical regions within the USA. Exp Appl Acarol 82, 543–557 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10493-020-00557-4

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