Pork Business Not only is the Ornithodoros turicata tick a potential vector of the ASF virus, but it also carries human relapsing fever, a severe bacterial infection. Scientists at Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Baylor College of Medicine have mapped the DNA of a tick that can spread African swine fever (ASF), a deadly disease in pigs. Not only is the Ornithodoros turicata tick a potential vector of the ASF virus, but it also carries human relapsing fever — a severe bacterial infection.
Researchers say the sequenced genome will allow further study of chromosomes linked to specific biological functions. Co-author Pete Teel, AgriLife Research entomologist and Regents professor in the Texas A&M department of entomology, says this will create opportunities for researchers to develop novel tools to control the pest.
“Physiology, development and reproduction of these ticks is all based on their genetics, and this allows us to open the doors to those discoveries,” Teel says in a Texas A&M AgriLife release. “Those discoveries create opportunities for novel genetic tools we might use for surveillance and control measures against the tick and the pathogens it carries.”