Ixodes scapularis is the primary vector of Borrelia burgdorferi, the etiologic agent of Lyme disease, in the Eastern North America. The population genetics of I. scapularis has been examined at the broad geographic scale, but an effort has not been made to evaluate the genetic polymorphism of a large geographically clustered collection of this vector species. RAPDs have been difficult to score for this species and mtDNA reveals little variability at a fine geographic scale. A new set of 10 microsatellite loci for I. scapularis was evaluated on a large field collection of ticks from Baltimore County, Maryland. Polymorphism of the loci evaluated was variable, with some loci producing non-traditional banding patterns. However, the high polymorphism of select loci, provide great utility for population genetic studies of geographically clustered collections of ticks where other marker systems (i.e. mtDNA, cDNA) do not reveal adequate variability for genetic analysis.
Species 1: Parasitiformes Ixodidae Ixodes scapularis (Black-legged Tick)
Keywords: Lyme, vector
The ESA 2001 Annual Meeting - 2001: An Entomological Odyssey of ESA