Real-time quaking induced conversion assay data from artificial membrane feeding assays of ticks and of engorged tick, ear tissue and lymph node samples from hunter harvested white-tailed deer heads from Wisconsin that were harvested during the 2021 hunting season.

A tabular dataset providing tick survey results around the Jackson Wyoming area between the dates of Oct 25 2021 and Nov 6 2021. The data compares a dog surveyor to a human surveyor in both transect and survey plots, recording detection events, total number of tick larvae found, and how long the survey took, and the cost of the survey. A second tabular dataset outlining the associated costs for each survey.

A tabular dataset providing tick survey results around the Jackson Wyoming area between the dates of Oct 25 2021 and Nov 6 2021. The data compares a dog surveyor to a human surveyor in both transect and survey plots, recording detection events, total number of tick larvae found, and how long the survey took, and the cost of the survey. A second tabular dataset outlining the associated costs for each survey.

,Deer keds are blood-feeding flies from which several human and animal pathogens have been detected, including the causative agent of Lyme Disease (Borrelia burgdorferi). Cervids, which are the primary hosts of deer keds, are not natural reservoirs of B. burgdorferi, and it has been suggested that deer keds may acquire bacterial pathogens by co-feeding near ticks that are infected with the bacteria. We tested this hypothesis by using a molecular assay to screen for presence of Anaplasma spp., Bartonella spp., Borrelia spp., and Rickettsia spp. in specimens of European deer keds (n=306) and blacklegged ticks (n=315) collected from 38 individual white-tailed deer in Pennsylvania. There was limited similarity in the bacterial DNA detected between these ectoparasites per host, suggesting that co-feeding may not be a mechanism by which deer keds acquire these bacteria. We discuss these results in relation to deer ked feeding biology, life history, and collection timepoints. In addition, we screened specimens of European deer keds (n=410), Neotropical deer keds (n=13), Western American deer keds (n=10), and Pacific deer keds (n=14) for these same bacterial pathogens.,,

,The diagnostic performance of a standardized RT-QuIC protocol using two sources of assay substrate was studied for detecting chronic wasting disease (CWD) in mock rectal mucosa biopsy samples from farmed white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus).,The entire collection of reaction data used to determine the diagnostic performance of a standardized RT-QuIC protocol (DOI: dx.doi.org/10.17504/protocols.io.yxmvmn2y6g3p/v1). The variables (columns) in the dataset include the name of the substrate source, the plate reader ID, plate well position, assay time in fractional hours, the ThT signal measured in relative fluorescence units, and also the following animal information for the sample tested: an anonymized white-tailed deer ID, sex, age in years, PRNP genotype at codons 95 and 96, and stage of infection. The animal's stage of infection was determined by immunohistochemistry for CWD-associated prion protein accumulation in the medial retropharyngeal lymph nodes (MRPLN) and the obex. All deer were from farms on which infected deer had been previously detected; thus, all deer were considered exposed. Based on the results of CWD-IHC, deer were classified for CWD as infection not detected in these tissues (ND), as early preclinical when CWD-IHC positive in only the MRPLN, and as late preclinical when CWD-IHC positive in both the MRPLN and obex. None of the deer were reported to be clinical at the time of sample collection.,A series of 26 PNG files representing the reaction data from RTQuIC_reactions.xlsx.,Each PNG file plots the ThT data acquired from a 96-well plate over time. Each file includes a header identifying the substrate source, plate ID (1-13 for each substrate source), and plate reader ID. Each plot indicates the white-tailed deer ID being tested and shows the quadruplicate reactions recorded. Also included are the quadruplicate reaction data for the plate negative control (a sample from an ND deer) and positive control (a late preclinical deer).,Gross purity of recombinant prion protein substrates. After the initial performance testing of the standardized RT-QuIC assay protocol, the gross purities of the independently produced recombinant truncated hamster prion protein (rPrP Ha90) substrates were compared by denaturing gel electrophoresis and Coomassie staining. A subsequent production run of the commercial source (MNPROtein) and laboratory source rPrPs were obtained and routinely prepared in RT-QuIC reaction buffer at a working concentration of 0.1 mg/mL before processing for electrophoresis (NuPAGETM; Invitrogen). An image of the resultant gel is shown in which Precision Plus Protein WesternC (BioRad) markers were loaded into lanes 1 and 4, and the processed RT-QuIC reaction buffers containing MNPROtein or laboratory produced rPrP Ha90 substrates were respectively loaded into lanes 2 and 3. The molecular mass and amount of each production source of rPrP substrate in RT-QuIC reaction buffer appear equivalent and without gross evidence of impurities.,

,The longhorned tick, Haemaphysalis longicornis, feeds upon a wide range of bird and mammalian hosts. Mammalian hosts include cattle, deer, sheep, goats, humans, and horses. This tick is known to transmit a number of pathogens causing tick-borne diseases, and was the vector of a recent serious outbreak of oriental theileriosis in New Zealand. A New Zealand-USA consortium was established to sequence, assemble, and annotate the genome of this tick, using ticks obtained from New Zealand's North Island. In New Zealand, the tick is considered exclusively parthenogenetic and this trait was deemed useful for genome assembly. Very high molecular weight genomic DNA was sequenced on the Illumina HiSeq4000 and the long-read Pac Bio Sequel platforms. Twenty-eight SMRT cells produced a total of 21.3 million reads which were assembled with Canu on a reserved supercomputer node with access to 12 TB of RAM, running continuously for over 24 days. The final assembly dataset consisted of 34,211 contigs with an average contig length of 215,205 bp. The quality of the annotated genome was assessed by BUSCO analysis, an approach that provides quantitative measures for the quality of an assembled genome. Over 95% of the BUSCO gene set was found in the assembled genome. Only 48 of the 1066 BUSCO genes were missing and only 9 were present in a fragmented condition. The raw sequencing reads and the assembled contigs/scaffolds are archived at the National Center for Biotechnology Information.,Funded by USDA-ARS Knipling-Bushland US Livestock Insects Research Laboratory CRIS project 3094-32000-036-00,,

,This study produced reference quality genomes of two cattle ticks Rhipicephalus microplus and Rhipicephalus annulatus, which can be used to identify drug targets with acaricidal activity and refine anti-tick vaccine approaches.,,