Multiplex PCR for differentiating Ornithodoros tick vectors in South Africa: Proof of concept

Onderstepoort Journal of Veterinary Research

 
 
Field Value
 
Title Multiplex PCR for differentiating Ornithodoros tick vectors in South Africa: Proof of concept
 
Creator West, Susan van Emmenes, Juanita Boshoff, Carin
 
Subject Science phylogeography; African swine fever; multiplex PCR; Ornithodoros; ticks.
Description African swine fever (ASF) is a severe viral haemorrhagic disease affecting domestic pigs, maintained by ASF virus within an ancient sylvatic cycle involving Ornithodoros ticks that inhabit warthog burrows. This study aimed to develop and optimise a multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay to differentiate three Ornithodoros species in South Africa – O. moubata, O. phacochoerus and O. waterbergensis, to enhance ASF vector identification and management. The final multiplex PCR effectively distinguished between species with specific amplicon sizes: 180 base pairs (bp) for O. moubata, 640 bp for O. phacochoerus and 1000 bp for O. waterbergensis.Contribution: This refined multiplex PCR method demonstrates proof of concept as a reliable and rapid tool for distinguishing Ornithodoros species and correlating them with their geographical origins. This assay, based on amplification size, provides crucial information about the distribution of these species, which could enhance ASF control efforts.
 
Publisher AOSIS
 
Contributor
Date 2025-10-27
 
Type info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion — Experimental development
Format text/html application/epub+zip text/xml application/pdf
Identifier 10.4102/ojvr.v92i1.2225
 
Source Onderstepoort Journal of Veterinary Research; Vol 92, No 1 (2025); 8 pages 2219-0635 0030-2465
 
Language eng
 
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The following web links (URLs) may trigger a file download or direct you to an alternative webpage to gain access to a publication file format of the published article:

https://ojvr.org/index.php/ojvr/article/view/2225/2758 https://ojvr.org/index.php/ojvr/article/view/2225/2759 https://ojvr.org/index.php/ojvr/article/view/2225/2760 https://ojvr.org/index.php/ojvr/article/view/2225/2761
 
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Rights Copyright (c) 2025 Susan West, Juanita van Emmenes, Carin Boshoff https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
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