Abstract
Despite the economic and animal welfare importance of the Poultry Red Mite Dermanyssus gallinae, its genetic structure has been studied in a scattered way so far. The prophylaxis and control of such a globally distributed ectoparasite can be significantly improved by understanding its genetic population structure (composition in species and intraspecific variants). The present study aims to establish a rigorous framework for characterizing the neutral genetic structure of D. gallinae based on a literature review combined with an integrative analysis of the data available in GenBank on population-level nucleotide sequence diversity supplemented by a new dataset. The integrative analysis was conducted on sequence data extracted from GenBank coupled with new sequences of two fragments of the mitochondrial gene encoding Cytochrome Oxidase I (CO1) as well as of an intron of the nuclear gene encoding Tropomyosin (Tpm) from several PRM populations sampled from European poultry farms. Emphasis was placed on using the mitochondrial gene encoding CO1 on which the main universal region of DNA barcoding in animals is located. The species D. gallinae sensu lato is a species complex, encompassing at least two cryptic species, i.e., not distinguishable by morphological characters: D. gallinae sensu stricto and D. gallinae L1. Only D. gallinae s.s. has been recorded among the populations sampled in poultry farms worldwide. Current knowledge suggests they are structured in three mitochondrial groups (haplogroups A, B, and C). Haplogroup A is cosmopolitan, and the other two present slightly contrasted distributions (B rather in the northern part of Europe, C most frequently found in the southern part). Recent data indicate that a dynamic geographic expansion of haplogroup C is underway in Europe. Our results also show that NUMT (nuclear mitochondrial DNA) pseudogenes have generated artifactual groups (haplogroups E and F). It is important to exclude these artifact groups from future analyses to avoid confusion. We provide an operational framework that will promote consistency in the analysis of subsequent results using the CO1 fragment and recommendations for future analyses.
Highlights
A good understanding of the genetic structure of the populations of any parasite is a crucial prerequisite to optimize its prophylaxis and control
The three typical haplogroups show recurrent signs of expansion: several star patterns in haplotype networks are formed by multiple rare variants very closely related (1–2 mutations) to a strongly represented central haplotype [in particular haplotypes respectively named ‘Co1,’ ‘Co17,’ ‘Co18’ in [2, 4] and Figure 3B]
This is consistent with large populations that develop rapidly from a small number of individuals after undergoing a drastic reduction or after a small number of individuals have colonized a new area, growing from only a few haplotypes if not a single one
Summary
A good understanding of the genetic structure of the populations of any parasite is a crucial prerequisite to optimize its prophylaxis and control. Is PRM one of the understudied parasites of economic importance, but the few published molecular studies of PRM come from the work of research teams belonging to different disciplinary fields (veterinary and medical parasitology and microbiology, pharmacology, evolutionary biology, taxonomy etc.,). They are published in journals from various disciplinary fields, which makes the pooling of results delicate. The need to establish a standardized framework allowing an optimized and harmonized approach to analyze future molecular data on PRM guides the present study This will improve our understanding of the problems associated with PRM infestations as it will allow more data to be compared across specific studies
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
