Development of twenty-four microsatellite markers for Afrotropical Ornithodoros ticks

<p><strong>Background: </strong>Soft ticks of the genus <em>Ornithodoros</em> are responsible for the maintenance and transmission of the <em>African swine fever </em>(ASF)<em> virus</em> in the sylvatic and domestic viral cycles in Southern Africa. They are also the main vectors of <em>Borrelia</em> species causing relapsing fevers. Currently, no genetic markers are available for Afrotropical <em>Ornithodoros </em>ticks. As ASF spreads globally, such markers are needed to assess the role of ticks in the emergence of new outbreaks. The aim of this study was to design microsatellite markers that could be used for ticks of the <em>Ornithodoros moubata</em> complex, particularly <em>Ornithodoros phacochoerus</em>, to assess population structure and tick movements in ASF endemic areas.</p> <p><strong>Methods: </strong>One hundred and fifty-one markers were designed using the <em>O. moubata </em>and <em>O. porcinus</em> genomes after elimination of repeated sequences in the genomes. All designed markers were tested on <em>O. phacochoerus </em>and <em>O. porcinus </em>DNA to select the best markers.</p> <p><strong>Results:</strong> Twenty-four microsatellite markers were genotyped on two populations of <em>O. phacochoerus</em> and on few individuals from four other <em>Ornithodoros</em> species. Nineteen markers were selected to be as robust as possible for population genetic studies on <em>O. phacochoerus</em>.</p> <p><strong>Conclusions:</strong> The microsatellite markers developed here represent the first genetic tool to study nidicolous populations of Afrotropical <em>Ornithodoros</em>. This dataset contains the genotyping results obtained for all twenty-four markers tested.</p>