Efficacy of Entomopathogenic Bacteria as a Biocontrol Agent against Ticks: Assessing Reproductive Inhibition and Mortality Rates.

is a persistent ectoparasite of cattle that causes bovine anaplasmosis and babesiosis, causing economic losses worldwide. Chemical treatment is the primary method for tick control, but the emergence of pesticide-resistant ticks is a major challenge. Alternative biocontrol strategies utilizing entomopathogenic microorganisms are being explored.

Identification of Virulence Factors in Entomopathogenic Isolated from Naturally Infected .

has been found to be an effective entomopathogenic fungus for various arthropods, including ticks. In particular, natural fungal infections in cattle ticks show promise for biocontrol of the () tick, which is a major ectoparasite affecting cattle worldwide. Our study aimed to elucidate the specific entomopathogenic virulence factors encoded in the genome of an strain isolated from naturally infected cattle ticks.

Complete genome sequence dataset of enthomopathogenic isolated from a natural infection of the cattle-tick .

As the most important bovine ectoparasite, the southern cattle tick transmits lethal cattle diseases such as babesiosis and anaplasmosis, costing the global livestock industry billions of dollars annually. To control cattle ticks, preventive treatment of cattle with pesticides is a common practice; however, after decades of chemical treatment, pesticide resistance has arisen in cattle ticks, rendering most formulations ineffective over time. Facing the perspective of running out of effective chemical treatments against , research on biocontrol alternatives is necessary.

Phylogenomics picks out the par excellence markers for species phylogeny in the genus .

Although genome sequencing has become a very promising approach to conduct microbial taxonomy, few labs have the resources to afford this especially when dealing with data sets of hundreds to thousands of isolates. The goal of this study was to identify the most adequate loci for inferring the phylogeny of the species within the genus ; with the idea that those who cannot afford whole genome sequencing can use these loci to carry out species assignation confidently. We retrieved 177 orthologous groups (OGs) by using a genome-based phylogeny and an average nucleotide identity analysis.