Deodália Dias

Ticks are blood-sucking arthropods that can transmit pathogens to their host. As insular ecosystems can enhance tick-host interactions, this study aimed to understand tick diversity, pathogen presence, and their respective associations in the Azores and Madeira archipelagos. Unfed or partially engorged ticks (n = 120) were collected from 58 cats and dogs in the Azores (n = 41 specimens) and Madeira (n = 79 specimens) from November 2018 to March 2019. Vector identification was based on morphology and molecular criteria. For pathogen sequencing, 18S gene fragment for Babesia/Hepatozoon and gltA for Rickettsia were performed. Sequence data was explored using BLAST and BLAST and phylogenetic inference tools. In the Azores, Ixodes hexagonus, I. ventalloi, and Rhipicephalus sanguineus (n = 6; 14.6%, n = 6; 14.6%, and n = 29; 70.7% respectively) were found and in Madeira I. ricinus and R. sanguineus (n = 78, 98.7%; and n = 1, 1.3%; respectively) were identified. Tick COI markers confirmed species highlighting confirmation of R. sanguineus s.s. and genotype A of I. ventalloi. In the Azores Islands, the detected Rickettsia massiliae was linked to R. sanguineus (dogs and cats) and I. hexagonus (dogs), and in Madeira Island, R. monacensis (dogs) and Hepatozoon silvestris (cats) were found associated with I. ricinus. Further, I. ventalloi presence in the Azores expands west its known range, and Hepatozoon silvestris in Madeira may suggest that I. ricinus could have a role as a potential vector. Finally, as R. massiliae and R. monacensis presence underlines public health risks, surveillance by health authorities is crucial as pathogen-tick interactions may drive disease spread, therefore monitoring remains pivotal for disease prevention.

Rhipicephalus ticks are competent vectors of several pathogens, such as Spotted Fever Group Rickettsiae (SFGR) and many Babesia species. Within this genus, different R. sanguineus s.l. lineages show an unequal vector competence and resistance regarding some pathogenic strains. Current literature supports that tick endosymbionts may play an essential role in the transmission ability of a vector. Indeed, the microbial community of Rhipicephalus seems to be dominated by Coxiella-like endosymbionts (CLE). Still, their co-evolutionary associations with the complicated phylogeny of Rhipicephalus lineages and their transmissible pathogens remain unclear. We performed a phylogenetic congruence analysis to address whether divergent R. sanguineus s.l. lineages had a different symbiont composition. For that, we applied a PCR based approach to screen part of the microbial community present in 279 Rhipicephalus ticks from the Iberian Peninsula and Africa. Our analyses detected several qPCR-positive signals for both SFGR and Babesia species, of which we suggest R. sanguineus-tropical lineage as a natural vector of Babesia vogeli and R. sanguineus-temperate lineage of SFGR. The acquisition of 190 CLE sequences allowed to evaluate co-phylogenetic associations between the tick and the symbiont. With this data, we observed a strong but incomplete co-cladogenesis between CLE strains and their Rhipicephalus tick lineages hosts.

The Sarcophagidae family is one of the most important in forensic entomology. Its richest genus, Oxysarcodexia, is well-distributed in Brazil and Latin America and includes species that can be used in forensic investigations to estimate the Post Mortem Interval (PMI). In this communication, we present the mitochondrial genome (mtDNA) of four Oxysarcodexia species: O. avuncula (one specimen), O. terminalis (one specimen), O. thornax (three specimens), and O. varia (one specimen). These mitochondrial genomes (mtDNA) range from 14,998 to 15,613 bp and have 22 tRNA genes, 13 protein-coding genes (PCG), and 2 rRNAs distributed along both strands. The mitogenomes from Oxysarcodexia showed in the present work represents an important contribution to the knowledge regarding the Sarcophagidae phylogenetic structure and is an important source of information for the development of novel DNA markers for forensic identification.

Peckia is one of the most important genera in the Sarcophagidae family of flesh flies. This genus is distributed in Brazil and Latin America, and its species can be used to estimate the Post Mortem Interval (PMI) in forensic investigations. In this communication, we present four mitochondrial genomes (mtDNA) from three Peckia species: P. australis, P. collusor, and P. resona. These mtDNA range from 15,116 bp to 15,234 bp in length and have 22 tRNA genes, 13 protein-coding genes (PCG), and two rRNAs distributed along both the strands. These data expand the knowledge about the Sarcophagidae genomes and present, for the first time, four complete mtDNA sequences of the Peckia genus. We show novel complete mtDNA sequences of flesh fly species of forensic importance. Our data expand the knowledge on the molecular database for the identification of these species, and is an important step towards increasing the databases and can help on the identification of new species, particularly in the forensic context.

The Sarcophagidae family of fresh flies bears strong importance in the context of forensic entomology due to their application in the estimation of the Post Mortem Interval (PMI). Sarcophaga is the major genus in the Sarcophagidae family and includes cosmopolitan species, which are distributed worldwide. In this communication, we present the analysis of the complete mitochondrial genome (mtDNA) of two species from Portugal – S. melanura and S. dux – and one from Brazil – S. ruficornis. The mtDNA of these species range from 14,882 bp to 15,190 bp and have 22 tRNA genes, 13 protein-coding genes (PCG), and two rRNAs distributed along both strands. Our data include the first record of complete Sarcophaga mtDNA sequences from species collected in Portugal and in Brazil. These genomes represent an advance in the understanding about this group, expand the database, and can be used for the development of new markers for species identification.

In recent years great importance has been given to the adverse effects of particulate matter (PM) in health, and several epidemiological studies correlating the airborne particles with pulmonary injury have been carried out. The adverse effect of short- and long-term expositions to PM can, indeed, cause a variety of effects, from minor effects on the respiratory system to serious oncogenic effects that can lead to precocious death and are considered one of the top environmental public health concerns. Some cytogenetic techniques, as micronucleus assay, allow to detect chromosome breakage and loss by measuring the formation of micronuclei and proved to be a good tool in the evaluation of genotoxic damage induced by PM. Thus genotoxic effects can be evaluated by micronucleus test in order to identify a gradient of potential exposure and to assess environmental monitoring. However, cross investigations involving biomarkers of genotoxicity and electron microscopy PM-induced tracheal and lung damages in natural populations are not common.