Transcriptome-based phylogeny of ticks of the genus Ixodes
Ticks (Ixodes canisuga) were sampled in 2016, in the region of Nantes, France. A first batch of individuals (unengorged nymphs and unengorged adult females) were sampled on the ground of a cave frequented by red foxes, whereas additional ticks (engorged adult females and ungorged adult males) were sampled on the dead body of a badger (Meles meles) -accidental road-kill found at the same period and in the same region, by Drs Albert Agoulon and Olivier Plantard.  RNA extraction was performed in 2016, independently for four conditions (engorged adult females, non-engorged  nymphs, non-engorged adult males, non-engorged adult females). An equimolar mix was used to produce a single final sample.  For all conditions, RNA was  extracted using a NucleoSpin RNA XS column (Macherey-Nagel, Dren, Germany) including a DNase and was stored in RNAsin (Promega, Madison, USA). The library was prepared using the Truseq Stranded kit (v4), and was sequenced on one lane of Illumina HiSeq 2500 along with other tick samples (different species of the genus Ixodes).