Genome sequences of four Ixodes species expands understanding of tick evolution.

Background: Ticks, hematophagous Acari, pose a significant threat by transmitting various pathogens to their vertebrate hosts during feeding. Despite advances in tick genomics, high-quality genomes were lacking until recently, particularly in the genus Ixodes, which includes the main vectors of Lyme disease.

Results: Here, we present the genome sequences of four tick species, derived from a single female individual, with a particular focus on the European species Ixodes ricinus, achieving a chromosome-level assembly.

Analysis of antigen-antibody cross-reactivity among lineages and sublineages of Babesia microti parasites using human babesiosis specimens.

Background: Human babesiosis is caused mainly by Babesia microti and has recently become a public health concern due to an increase in transfusion-transmitted infection. Thus, the development of an antibody detection method with high specificity and sensitivity is a priority. Seroreactivity against B.

The Babesia divergens Asia Lineage Is Maintained through Enzootic Cycles between Ixodes persulcatus and Sika Deer in Hokkaido, Japan.

Parasites of the Asia lineage, which are closely related to in Europe and sp. strain MO1 in the United States, were recently reported in sika deer () in eastern Japan. To identify the tick vector(s) for this parasite, we conducted a field survey in Hokkaido, Japan, where the infection rate in sika deer is the highest in the country.

A relapsing fever group Borrelia sp. is widely distributed among wild deer in Japan.

A relapsing fever group Borrelia sp. was detected from the blood of wild deer (Cervus nippon) in Japan. The Borrelia sp.

Case Report: Clinical Features of a Case of Suspected Disease in Hokkaido, Japan.

We herein report a case of suspected disease in Hokkaido, Japan. The patient complained of lassitude, arthralgia, and high fever after a tick bite. Furthermore, at the time of consultation, the patient exhibited momentary loss of consciousness and low blood pressure.

Ixodes persulcatus Ticks as Vectors for the Babesia microti U.S. Lineage in Japan.

Unlabelled: The U.S. lineage, one of the major clades in the Babesia microti group, is known as a causal agent of human babesiosis mostly in the northeastern and upper midwestern United States.

Effect of weak acid hypochlorous solution on selected viruses and bacteria of laboratory rodents.

Weak acid hypochlorous solution (WAHS) is known to have efficacy for inactivating pathogens and to be relatively safe with respect to the live body. Based on these advantages, many animal facilities have recently been introducing WAHS for daily cleaning of animal houses. In this study, we determined the effect of WAHS in inactivating specific pathogens of laboratory rodents and pathogens of opportunistic infection.

Rapid accumulation of virulent rift valley Fever virus in mice from an attenuated virus carrying a single nucleotide substitution in the m RNA.

Background: Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV), a member of the genus Phlebovirus within the family Bunyaviridae, is a negative-stranded RNA virus with a tripartite genome. RVFV is transmitted by mosquitoes and causes fever and severe hemorrhagic illness among humans, while in livestock it causes fever and high abortion rates.

Methodology/principal Findings: Sequence analysis showed that a wild-type RVFV ZH501 preparation consisted of two major viral subpopulations, with a single nucleotide heterogeneity at nucleotide 847 of M segment (M847); one had a G residue at M847 encoding glycine in a major viral envelope Gn protein, while the other carried A residue encoding glutamic acid at the corresponding site.

Rift valley fever virus L protein forms a biologically active oligomer.

Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) (genus Phlebovirus, family Bunyaviridae) causes mosquito-borne epidemic diseases in humans and livestock. The virus carries three RNA segments, L, M, and S, of negative or ambisense polarity. L protein, an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase, encoded in the L segment, and N protein, encoded in the S segment, exert viral RNA replication and transcription.

Babesia microti-group parasites compared phylogenetically by complete sequencing of the CCTeta gene in 36 isolates.

Babesia microti, the erythroparasitic cause of human babesiosis, has long been taken to be a single species because classification by parasite morphology and host spectrum blurred distinctions between the parasites. Phylogenetic analyses of the 18S ribosomal RNA gene (18S rDNA) and, more recently, the beta-tubulin gene have suggested inter-group heterogeneity. Intra-group relationships, however, remain unknown.