Samuel Kelava- PhD
- JSPS Fellow at Hokkaido University
Samuel Kelava
- PhD
- JSPS Fellow at Hokkaido University
Genetics and evolution of parasites, focusing on ticks.
About
29
Publications
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Introduction
My research focuses on the genetics and evolution of parasitic organisms, particularly ticks, which are significant vectors of diseases affecting humans and animals. By employing molecular genetics and bioinformatics, I investigate the phylogenetic relationships, evolutionary dynamics, and genetic diversity of these parasites. My work aims to uncover the underlying genetic mechanisms driving parasite adaptation and host interactions.
Current institution
Publications
Publications (29)
The evolution and phylogenetic relationships of the ticks at both the family and genus levels are contested. The genus Amblyomma and its subgenera are in a state of flux; moreover, the relationships among the three tick families are controversial due to conflicting phylogenetic support for different arrangements of the three families of living tick...
Hoogstraal and Kim (1985) proposed from morphology, three groups of Haemaphysalis subgenera: (i) the “structurally advanced”; (ii) the “structurally intermediate”; and (iii) the “structurally primitive” subgenera. Nuclear gene phylogenies, however, did not indicate monophyly of these morphological groups but alas, only two mitochondrial (mt) genome...
We used entire mitochondrial (mt) genome sequences (14.5–15 kbp) to resolve the phylogeny of the four main lineages of the Haematobothrion ticks: Alloceraea, Archaeocroton, Bothriocroton and Haemaphysalis. In our phylogenetic trees, Alloceraea was the sister to Archaeocroton sphenodonti, a tick of an archetypal reptile, the tuatara, from New Zealan...
Background: Amblyomma is the third most diversified genus of Ixodidae that is distributed across the Indomalayan, Afrotropical, Australasian (IAA), Nearctic, and Neotropical biogeographic ecoregions, reaching the Neotropic its highest diversity. There have been hints in previously published phylogenetic trees from mitochondrial genome, nuclear rRNA...
We describe a new genus Cryptocroton n. gen. for Amblyomma papuanum Hirst, 1914, a tick of North Queensland, Australia, and Papua New Guinea.
The Rhipicephalus sanguineus group, the brown dog ticks, are cosmopolitan and doubtless the most important ticks of domestic dogs, clinically and economically. Despite four decades of taxonomic enquiry with nucleotide sequences and morphology, the taxonomy of the R. sanguineus group is confused, even chaotic. We provide 13 new mitochondrial (mt) ge...
Margaropus Karsch, 1879 and Boophilus Curtice, 1891 have been thought to be sister-taxa for over 75 years since these ticks share features like circular spiracles, no festoons, no distinct grooves behind the anus and one-host life cycles. We inferred the first phylogeny with Margaropus from 4,218 bp of mitochondrial (cox 1, 12S) and nuclear DNA (IT...
Revealing interactions between ticks and wild animals is vital for gaining insights into the dynamics of tick-borne pathogens in the natural environment. We aimed to elucidate the factors that determine tick infestation in wild animals by investigating ticks on invasive raccoons (Procyon lotor) in Hokkaido, Japan. We first examined thecomposition,...
Background
Amblyomma is the second most diversified genus of Ixodidae that is distributed across the Indomalayan, Afrotropical, Australasian (IAA), Nearctic, and Neotropical biogeographic ecoregions, reaching in the Neotropic its higher diversity. There have been hints in previously published phylogenetic trees from mitochondrial (mt) genome, nucle...
A new subgenus, Australixodes n. subgen., is described for the kiwi tick, Ixodes anatis Chilton, 1904. The subgenus Coxixodes Schulze, 1941 is validated for the platypus tick, Ixodes (Coxixodes) ornithorhynchi Lucas, 1846, sister group of the subgenus Endopalpiger Schulze, 1935. A phylogeny from mitochondrial genomes of 16 of the 22 subgenera of Ix...
Mitochondrial genomes have been remarkably instructive about the evolutionary-history (phylogeny), population-genetics and phylogeography of Acari, particularly the ticks. At present we have entire mt genomes for 125 of the 896+ species of ticks (316 mt genomes in total), and for 146 of the thousands of other species of Acari (296 mt genomes in tot...
Background
Ixodes barkeri , a tick with a distinctive ventrolateral horn-like projection on palpal segment 1, was described in 2019 from two male ticks from the Wet Tropics of Far North Queensland, Australia. However, females lie at the core of the taxonomy and subgenus classification of Ixodes ; hence, we sought specimens of female ticks, successf...
We: (i) report the rediscovery of Ixodes (Sternalixodes) confusus Roberts, 1960 in Australia; (ii) redescribe the male and female of I. confusus; (iii) describe the mitochondrial (mt) genome of I. confusus from five ticks from four localities in Far North Queensland; and (iv) present the first substantial phylogeny of the subgenera of the Ixodes. T...
We: (i) report the rediscovery of Ixodes (Sternalixodes) confusus Roberts, 1960 in Australia; (ii) redescribe the male and female of I. confusus; (iii) describe the mitochondrial (mt) genome of I. confusus from five ticks from four localities in Far North Queensland; and (iv) present the first substantial phylogeny of the subgenera of the Ixodes. T...
Background
Ixodes barkeri, a tick with a distinctive ventrolateral horn-like projection on palpal segment 1, was described in 2019 from two male ticks from the Wet Tropics of Far North Queensland, Australia. However, females lie at the core of the taxonomy and subgenus classification of Ixodes, hence we sought specimens of female ticks, successfull...
High-throughput sequencing (HTS) technology has profoundly been involved in sequencing whole genomes of several organisms in a fast and cost-effective manner. Although HTS provides an alternative biomonitoring method to the time-consuming and taxonomy-expertise dependent morphological approach, still we cannot rule out the possibility of the impedi...
The southern paralysis tick, Ixodes cornuatus, is a tick of veterinary and medical importance in Australia. We use two methods, CLIMEX, and an envelope-model approach which we name the ‘climatic-range method’ to study the climatic requirements of I. cornuatus and thus to attempt to account for the geographic distribution of I. cornuatus. CLIMEX and...
Argasid systematics remains controversial with widespread adherence to the Hoogstraal (1985) classification scheme, even though it does not reflect evolutionary relationships and results in paraphyly for the main genera of soft ticks (Argasidae), namely Argas and Ornithodoros. The alternative classification scheme, proposed by Klompen and Oliver (1...
The eastern paralysis tick, Ixodes holocyclus, is an ectoparasite of medical and veterinary importance in Australia. The feeding of I. holocyclus is associated with an ascending flaccid paralysis which kills many dogs and cats each year, with the development of mammalian meat allergy in some humans, and with the transmission of Rickettsia australis...
Background:
In 2014, a novel tick-borne virus of the Flaviviridae family was first reported in the Mogiana region of Brazil and named the Mogiana tick virus (MGTV). Thereafter, the Jingmen tick virus (JMTV), Kindia tick virus (KITV), and Guangxi tick virus (GXTV)-evolutionarily related to MGTV-were reported.
Results:
In the present study, we use...
Background:
In the present study, we used long-PCR amplification coupled with Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) to obtain complete mitochondrial (mt) genomes of individual ticks and unprecedently performed precise annotation of these mt genomes. We aimed to: (1) develop a simple, cost-effective and accurate method for the study of extremely high AT...
In 2014, A novel tick-borne virus of the genus Flavivirus was first reported from the Mogiana region in Brazil. This virus was named the Mogiana tick virus (MGTV). Later, MGTV was also named as Jingmen tick virus (JMTV), Kindia tick virus (KDTV), Guangxi tick virus (GXTV) etc. In the present study, we used small RNA sequencing (sRNA-seq) to detect...
Background: In the present study, we used long-PCR amplification coupled with Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) to obtain complete mitochondrial (mt) genomes of individual ticks and unprecedently performed precise annotation of these mt genomes. We aimed to: (1) to develop a simple, cost-effective and accurate method for the study of extremely high...
Background: Annotation of mitochondrial (mt) genomes is indispensable for fundamental research in many fields, including mt biochemistry, physiology, and the molecular phylogenetics and evolution of animals. Moreover, high-resolution annotation of animal mt genomes can be used to investigate RNA processing, maturation, degradation, and even the reg...
