Hymenopteran Parasitoids of Hard Ticks in Western Africa and the Russian Far East

Mapenda Gaye (1, 2) , Nadia Amanzougaghene (2, 1) , Younes Laidoudi (1, 2) , El Hadji Amadou Niang (3, 2) , Zuzana Sekeyova (4) , Maureen Laroche (5, 1) , Jean-Michel Berenger (5, 1) , Didier Raoult (2, 1) , Maria Kazimirova (4) , Florence Fenollar (5, 1) , Oleg Mediannikov (2, 1)

1 IHU Marseille - Institut Hospitalier Universitaire Méditerranée Infection
2 MEPHI - Microbes évolution phylogénie et infections
3 ESP - École Supérieure Polytechnique de Dakar
4 SAS - Slovak Academy of Sciences
5 VITROME - Vecteurs - Infections tropicales et méditerranéennes

Some parasitoids of the genus Ixodiphagus (Hymenoptera, Chalcidoidea: Encyrtidae) are well-known natural enemies of ticks. In this study, we investigate the occurrence of parasitoid wasps in adult hard ticks from Western Africa (Cote d'Ivoire and Senegal) and Far Eastern Europe (Russia) using molecular methods. The morphological identification allowed the classification of 785 collected specimens of six species of ticks: Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus (41%), Ixodes persulcatus (33%), Dermacentor silvarum (11%), Haemaphysalis concinna (7%), Amblyomma variegatum (5%), and Haemaphysalis japonica (3%). The newly developed MALDI-TOF MS protocol identified tick species in spite of their different storage (dried or in 70% ethanol) conditions for a long period. Molecular screening of ticks by a new standard PCR system developed in this study revealed the presence of parasitoid wasp DNA in 3% (28/785) of analyzed ticks. Ixodiphagus hookeri was detected in 86% (24/28) of infested ticks, including 13 I. persulcatus, 9 R (B) microplus, and one H. concinna and D. silvarum. While an unidentified parasitoid wasp species from the subfamily Aphidiinae and Braconidae family was detected in the remaining 14% (4/28) infested ticks. These infested ticks were identified as I. persulcatus. Our findings highlight the need for further studies to clarify the species diversity of parasitoid infesting ticks by combining molecular and morphological features. The novel molecular and MALDI-TOF MS protocols could be effective tools for the surveillance and characterization of these potential bio-control agents of ticks.

Mots clés: parasitoid wasps; ticks; Western Africa; Russia

Domaines: Sciences du Vivant [q-bio]

Mapenda Gaye, Nadia Amanzougaghene, Younes Laidoudi, El Hadji Amadou Niang, Zuzana Sekeyova, et al.. Hymenopteran Parasitoids of Hard Ticks in Western Africa and the Russian Far East. Microorganisms, 2020, 8 (12), ⟨10.3390/microorganisms8121992⟩. ⟨hal-03149238⟩