Population genetics of the wood tick Ixodes ricinus (Acari: Ixodidae): new insights into dispersal capacity and relation with host.

Ixodes ricinus is a hematophagous arthropod considered as one of the main vector of human infectious diseases in Europe. Higher minimum temperatures and earlier spring permit the tick and so tick-borne disease to expand towards higher altitude and latitude. Little is know about the genetics of this vector. In this research we are focusing on a little geographical area (province of Trento, northern Italy) in which questing and feeding ticks will be collected and then analysed using the RAD-seq technology and the classical population genetics inference. A better knowledge of genetic features of tick populations and the analysis of the relation between vector and different host-species, exploited to obtain the blood-meal, will allow us to improve the understanding and the design of ecological models of vector-parasite-host interactions. This research is supported by the European collaborative EDENext project.