Applying MALDI-TOF MS to Resolve Morphologic and Genetic Similarities Between Two Dermacentor Tick Species of Public Health Importance

Authors

• Maria F.B.M. Galletti, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Joy A. A. Hecht, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• John R. McQuiston, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Jarrett Gartin, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Jake Cochran, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Bessie H. Blocher, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Bryan N. Ayres, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Michelle E.J. Allerdice, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Lorenza Beati, Georgia Southern University
• William L. Nicholson, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Alyssa N. Snellgrove, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Christopher D. Paddock, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Ashley Kennedy, Delaware Mosquito Control Section
• Goudarz Molaei, Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station
• Paula Lado, The Ohio State University
• Janet Foley, University of California, Davis
• Jerome Goddard, Mississippi State University

ORCID

Goddard: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2617-7141

MSU Affiliation

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences; Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Entomology and Plant Pathology

Creation Date

2026-10-30

Abstract

Hard ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) have been historically identified by morphological methods which require highly specialized expertise and more recently by DNA-based molecular assays that involve high costs. Although both approaches provide complementary data for tick identification, each method has limitations which restrict their use on large-scale settings such as regional or national tick surveillance programs. To overcome those obstacles, the matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) has been introduced as a cost-efficient method for the identification of various organisms, as it balances performance, speed, and high data output. Here we describe the use of this technology to validate the distinction of two closely related Dermacentor tick species based on the development of the first nationwide MALDI-TOF MS reference database described to date. The dataset obtained from this protein-based approach confirms that tick specimens collected from United States regions west of the Rocky Mountains and identified previously as Dermacentor variabilis are the recently described species, Dermacentor similis. Therefore, we propose that this integrative taxonomic tool can facilitate vector and vector-borne pathogen surveillance programs in the United States and elsewhere.

Keywords

Dermacentor, MALDI-TOF, public health, reference database, tick

Publication Date

8-27-2024

Publication Title

Scientific Reports

Publisher

Nature Research

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Rights

This is a U.S. Government work and not under copyright protection in the US; foreign copyright protection may apply 2024

Recommended Citation

Galletti, M.F.B.M., Hecht, J.A., McQuiston, J.R. et al. Applying MALDI-TOF MS to resolve morphologic and genetic similarities between two Dermacentor tick species of public health importance. Sci Rep 14, 19834 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-69768-8