Ecology and genetic variation of Amblyomma tonelliae in Argentina.
The ecology of Amblyomma tonelliae (Ixodida: Ixodidae), including its seasonal distribution and the development periods of each stage, was investigated during a study carried out over two consecutive years in northwestern Argentina. In addition, the genetic variation of this tick was studied through analyses of 16S rDNA sequences. Amblyomma tonelliae has a 1-year lifecycle characterized by a long pre-moult period in larvae with no development of morphogenetic diapause. Larvae peak in abundance during late autumn and early winter; nymphs peak in abundance in spring, and adults do so from late spring to early summer. Amblyomma tonelliae shows a marked ecological preference for the driest areas of the Chaco ecoregion. In analyses of 16S rDNA sequences in genes from different populations of A. tonelliae, values for nucleotide diversity and the average number of nucleotide differences showed genetic diversity within this species to be low. No significant differences were found in comparisons among populations.
Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria, Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Rafaela, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Rafaela, Santa Fe, Argentina.|Cátedra de Parasitología y Enfermedades Parasitarias, Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, Universidad Nacional del Litoral, Esperanza, Santa Fe, Argentina.
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Tarragona
Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria, Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Rafaela, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Rafaela, Santa Fe, Argentina.
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Mangold
Cátedra de Parasitología y Enfermedades Parasitarias, Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, Universidad Nacional del Litoral, Esperanza, Santa Fe, Argentina.
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Mastropaolo
Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria, Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Rafaela, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Rafaela, Santa Fe, Argentina.
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Guglielmone
Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria, Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Rafaela, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Rafaela, Santa Fe, Argentina.
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Nava
D000818:Animals; D001118:Argentina; D017753:Ecosystem; D005260:Female; D014644:Genetic Variation; D026863:Ixodidae / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D007814:Larva / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009758:Nymph / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology; D010802:Phylogeny; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S
Amblyomma tonelliae; biology; lifecycle; population ecology