Background: Rhipicephalus microplus, an invasive tick species of Asian origin and the main vector of Babesia species, is considered one of the most widespread ectoparasites of livestock. The tick has spread from its native habitats on translocated livestock to large parts of the tropical world, where it has replaced some of the local populations of Rhipicephalus decoloratus ticks. Although the tick was reported in Uganda 70 years ago, it has not been found in any subsequent surveys. This study was carried out to update the national tick species distribution on livestock in Uganda as a basis for tick and tick-borne disease control, with particular reference to R. microplus. Methods: The study was carried out in Kadungulu, Serere district, southeastern Uganda, which is dominated by small scale livestock producers. All the ticks collected from 240 cattle from six villages were identified microscopically. Five R. microplus specimens were further processed for phylogenetic analysis and species confirmation. Results: The predominant tick species found on cattle was Rhipicephalus appendiculatus (86.9 %; n = 16,509). Other species found were Amblyomma variegatum (7.2 %; n = 1377), Rhipicephalus evertsi (2.3 %; n = 434) and R. microplus (3.6 %; n = 687). Phylogenetic analysis of the 12S rRNA, 16S rRNA and ITS2 gene sequences of R. microplus confirmed the morphological identification. Conclusions: It is concluded that R. microplus has replaced R. decoloratus in the sampled villages in Kadungulu subcounty, since the latter was not any longer found in this area. There is currently no livestock movement policy in force in Uganda, which could possibly limit the further spread of R. microplus ticks. Future surveys, but also retrospective surveys of museum specimens, will reveal the extent of distribution of R. microplus in Uganda and also for how long this tick has been present on livestock without being noticed.

BackgroundNagana (African Animal Trypanosomiasis-AAT) and tick-borne diseases (TBDs) constrain livestock production in most parts of sub-Saharan Africa. To this realisation, Uganda government set up an African trypanosomiasis (AT) control unit, which among other activities generates national tsetse control priority maps using apparent tsetse density data. Such maps underestimate mechanically transmitted AAT and thus ought to be refined using actual AT prevalence data. We therefore set out to generate up-to-date cattle and donkey trypanosomiasis prevalence data as well as find out the constraints to livestock production in Karamoja region in a bid to re-define AT control priority in this region.ResultsLivestock keepers and animal health workers indicated that TBDs and AAT were the most important livestock diseases in Karamoja region. The prevalence of Trypanosoma spp. in cattle and donkeys was 16.3% (95% CI: 12.4–21.1%) and 32.4% (95% CI; 20.2–47.6%) respectively. Trypanosoma vivax (12.1%) and Trypanosoma congolense savannah (29.6%) were the most prevalent Trypanosoma spp. in cattle and donkeys respectively. Majority of the cattle (85.7%) and more than half of the donkey (57.1%) herds were positive for Trypanosoma spp.ConclusionsAfrican animal trypanosomiasis and TBDs are the most important constraints to livestock production in Karamoja region. In order to improve livestock production and hence Karamajong livelihoods, government of Uganda and her development partners will need to invest in livestock health programs particularly targeting tsetse and TBD control.

Background: Rhipicephalus microplus, an invasive tick species of Asian origin and the main vector of Babesia species, is considered one of the most widespread ectoparasites of livestock. The tick has spread from its native habitats on translocated livestock to large parts of the tropical world, where it has replaced some of the local populations of Rhipicephalus decoloratus ticks. Although the tick was reported in Uganda 70 years ago, it has not been found in any subsequent surveys. This study was carried out to update the national tick species distribution on livestock in Uganda as a basis for tick and tick-borne disease control, with particular reference to R. microplus. Methods:The study was carried out in Kadungulu, Serere district, south-eastern Uganda, which is dominated by small scale livestock producers. All the ticks collected from 240 cattle from six villages were identified microscopically. Five R. microplus specimens were further processed for phylogenetic analysis and species confirmation. Results:The predominant tick species found on cattle was Rhipicephalus appendiculatus (86.9 %; n = 16,509). Other species found were Amblyomma variegatum (7.2 %; n = 1377), Rhipicephalus evertsi (2.3 %; n = 434) and R. microplus (3.6 %; n = 687). Phylogenetic analysis of the 12S rRNA, 16S rRNA and ITS2 gene sequences of R. microplus confirmed the morphological identification. Conclusions:It is concluded that R. microplus has replaced R. decoloratus in the sampled villages in Kadungulu sub-county, since the latter was not any longer found in this area. There is currently no livestock movement policy in force in Uganda, which could possibly limit the further spread of R. microplus ticks. Future surveys, but also retrospective surveys of museum specimens, will reveal the extent of distribution of R. microplus in Uganda and also for how long this tick has been present on livestock without being noticed. BackgroundThe Asian blue tick, Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus (Canestrini, 1888), is one of the most important tick species infesting livestock in many parts of the world [1]. Rhipicephalus microplus has extended its distribution through the translocation of tick-infested cattle. In some regions in Africa, R. microplus has successfully competed and replaced the close related African blue tick, RhipicephalusThe authors wish to acknowledge the District Veterinary Officer of Serere District, Dr Amonya Collins for his help during tick collection. We also acknowledge the cattle owners and local council leaders of the six villages where this study was carried out for offering their cattle and helping with their restraint in this study. We are very grateful to for their help during tick collection and field tick identification to genus level. Ethics approval and consent to participateWritten informed consent was obtained from cattle owners. Cattle restraint, tick collection, 11 preservation, morphological and molecular analyses followed highest veterinary care and scientific standards as approved (SBLS/REC/16/136) by the

Ticks are arthropod vectors of pathogens of both Veterinary and Public health importance. Acaricide application, which is currently the mainstay of tick control, is hampered by high cost, the need for regular application and a selection of multi-acaricide resistant tick populations. In light of this, future tick control approaches are poised to rely on the integration of rational acaricide application and other methods, such as vaccination. To contribute to systematic research-guided efforts to produce anti-tick vaccines, we carried out an in-silico analysis of tick aquaporin-1 (AQP1) protein in order to identify tick-specific AQP1 peptide motifs that can be used in future peptide anti-tick vaccine development. We carried out multiple sequence alignment (MSA), motif analysis, homology modeling, and structural analysis to identify tick-specific AQP1 peptide motifs. BepiPred, Chou and Fasman-Turn, Karplus and Schulz Flexibility, and Parker-Hydrophilicity prediction models were used to predict these motifs' potential to induce B cell mediated immune responses. The tick AQP1 (GenBankID: QDO67142.1) protein was largely similar to the bovine AQP1 (PDB:1J4N) (23 % sequence similarity; Structural superimposition of the homology model and 14JN homotetramers gave an RMSD = 3.269 while superimposition of a single chain gave an RMSD = 1.475). Tick and bovine AQP1 transmembrane domains were largely similar while their extracellular and cytoplasmic domain loops showed variation. Two tick-specific AQP1 peptide motifs; M7 (residues 106–125, p = 5.4e-25), and M8 (residues 85–104, p = 3.3e-24) were identified. These two motifs are located on the extra-cellular AQP1 domain. Motifs; M7 and M8 showed the highest Parker-Hydrophilicity prediction immunogenicity scores of 1.784 and 1.536, respectively. These two motifs can be a good starting point for the development of potential tick AQP1 peptide-based anti-tick vaccines. Further analyses such as molecular dynamics, in vitro assays, and in vivo immunization assays are required to validate these findings.

Structural variants (SV) have been linked to important bovine disease phenotypes, but due to the difficulty of their accurate detection with standard sequencing approaches, their role in shaping important traits across cattle breeds is largely unexplored. Optical mapping is an alternative approach for mapping SVs that has been shown to have higher sensitivity than DNA sequencing approaches. The aim of this project was to use optical mapping to develop a high-quality database of structural variation across cattle breeds from different geographical regions, to enable further study of SVs in cattle. To do this we generated 100X Bionano optical mapping data for 18 cattle of nine different ancestries, three continents and both cattle sub-species. In total we identified 13,457 SVs, of which 1,200 putatively overlap coding regions. This resource provides a high-quality set of optical mapping-based SV calls that can be used across studies, from validating DNA sequencing-based SV calls to prioritising candidate functional variants in genetic association studies and expanding our understanding of the role of SVs in cattle evolution.