Med. Weter. 82 (3), 135-141, 2026
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| KUN ZHOU, LIU ZHANG, WEI LI, QIAN FENG, WEI ZHAO, WEI HE, LU SUN, XING ZHANG, YIQI DAI, XIAOQING ZHAO, JUNYUAN WU |
| Metagenomic sequencing of epidemic pathogens in Ornithodoros lahorensis from southern Xinjiang |
| Tick-borne diseases have continually remained a significant public health concern and represent a critical frontier in the prevention of zoonotic diseases. Ornithodoros lahorensis (O. lahorensis) belonging to the Argasidae family, primarily feeds by biting livestock directly and can transmit disease. However, the current understanding of pathogens carried and transmitted by soft ticks, particularly O. lahorensis remains limited. The samples in this study were collected from Qiemo County, Shache County, Shaya County, and Bachu County in Xinjiang, and then underwent DNA extraction and metagenomic sequencing. The study indicates that O. lahorensis from four regions in Xinjiang carries a total of 157 species of microorganisms belonging to 87 genera from 13 phyla. Notably, Coxiella burnetii exhibit higher prevalence and greater pathogenicity among ticks in these regions. Concurrently, Jaagsiekte sheep retrovirus (JSRV), a virus of significant concern to sheep, was detected. This study is the first to conduct metagenomic sequencing of O. lahorensis, providing direction for the prevention and control of tick-borne diseases in the Xinjiang region and offering scientific data for the academic community to study the pathogenicity of soft ticks. |
| Keywords: metagenomic sequencing, Ornithodoros lahorensis, soft tick, Xinjiang |