![]() The geographic range and distribution of the ticks varied from species to species (Supplementary Tables 1– 4). We analysed 31 tick species from six genera ( Ixodes, Amblyomma, Haemaphysalis, Hyalomma, Dermacentor and Rhipicephalus) in the Ixodidae family and two genera ( Ornithodoros and Argas) in the Argasidae family, which were sampled from 148 sites in 30 provinces, metropolises or autonomous regions of mainland China (Fig. ![]() ![]() Our analyses provide resources for research into arbovirus transmission from ticks to humans or animals. Here we carried out a large-scale meta-transcriptomic study of 31 tick species from mainland China to characterize the tick virome, identify factors shaping viral composition and investigate the evolutionary history of tick-associated viruses. The evolutionary and ecological characteristics of tick-associated viruses, either as multiple-host generalists or single-host specialists, remain unclear. Both types of transmission have shaped the evolutionary trajectory of arboviruses 14, 15, 16. Notably, arboviruses are transmitted horizontally by blood-feeding invertebrate vectors but can also be transmitted vertically from an infected female tick to its offspring. Although the viromes of several tick species have been reported 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, the complement of the tick virome remains to be reported. Tick-borne viruses are a global health concern due to the increasing prevalence and geographical coverage of ticks, and the potential for them to vector emerging and re-emerging viruses 3, 4. Compared with other haematophagous arthropods, ticks maintain and transmit the widest array of human and animal pathogens 2. Ticks ( Acari: Ixodida) are obligate blood-feeding vectors and an ideal model for studying arbovirus transmission owing to their three life stages (larvae, nymphs and adults), blood-feeding of each life stage on various animal hosts, and adaptation to diverse ecological environments. The arboviral transmission cycle always involves the intricate interactions among viruses, arthropod vectors and animal hosts, inherently shaping the evolution and diversification of the viruses. Similar content being viewed by othersĪrthropods, such as ticks, mosquitos and fleas, are among the most abundant animals on Earth and can transmit a variety of viruses (arbovirus) to humans and animals 1. We hope that our virome dataset will enable much-needed research on vertebrate-pathogenic tick-associated viruses. We hypothesize that tick viruses can exhibit both ‘specialist’ and ‘generalist’ evolutionary trends. Tick-specific viruses are often associated with only a few tick species, whereas virus clades that can infect vertebrates are found in a wider range of tick species. We examined the phylogenies of different virus families to investigate virome evolution and found that the most diverse tick-associated viruses are positive-strand RNA virus families that demonstrate more ancient divergence than other arboviruses. A total of 1,801 assembled and complete or nearly complete viral genomes revealed an extensive diversity of genome architectures of tick-associated viruses, highlighting ticks as a reservoir of RNA viruses. We sequenced the meta-transcriptomes of 31 different tick species in the Ixodidae and Argasidae families from across mainland China, and identified 724 RNA viruses with distinctive virome compositions among genera. ![]() The increasing prevalence and expanding distribution of tick-borne viruses globally have raised health concerns, but the full repertoire of the tick virome has not been assessed. Nature Microbiology volume 8, pages 162–173 ( 2023) Cite this article Tick Genome and Microbiome Consortium (TIGMIC),.Metavirome of 31 tick species provides a compendium of 1,801 RNA virus genomes ![]()
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