{
  "abstract": "Ixodes scapularis ticks transmit a number of pathogens important to human health, including Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto, the causative agent of Lyme disease. While I. scapularis is found across the Eastern United States, Lyme disease transmission is largely limited to the Northeast and Upper Midwest and is nearly absent in the South. This indicates that differences in northern versus southern clades of I. scapularis are associated with differences in Lyme disease transmission risk. Ixodes scapularis is undergoing range expansion, including into the Great Plains region of the United States. Determining where I. scapularis populations in the Great Plains originated can inform future risk of Lyme disease transmission in this region. In this study, we use a population genomics framework to characterize diversity, structure and B. burgdorferi infection rates of I. scapularis populations in the Great Plains region. We generated whole genome sequence data and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) datasets from I. scapularis ticks collected in Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska and South Dakota to compare to publicly available data from across the species' range. Our analysis of 200 I. scapularis SNP datasets indicated geographically well-defined populations that correspond to historical northern and southern ancestral clades of I. scapularis. Ticks from South Dakota, Iowa and northeastern Nebraska are genetically similar populations from the Upper Midwest, while ticks from Kansas are more genetically similar to ticks from the Southeast. Ticks collected in the east central region of Nebraska, however, represent an evenly admixed population of both northern and southern genomic backgrounds. Analysis of B. burgdorferi reads from genomic datasets shows ~50% infection rate in ticks from Iowa and northeastern Nebraska, whereas ticks from Kansas show no evidence of B. burgdorferi infection. Of note, evenly admixed ticks from the east central region of Nebraska also show no evidence of B. burgdorferi infection. These results provide further evidence that tick genomics may influence traits associated with B. burgdorferi infection status, and thus the potential for Lyme disease transmission. As the range of I. scapularis continues to expand, bringing historically isolated populations into contact, there is a clear need to understand the consequence of genomic admixture for B. burgdorferi transmission potential to inform future risk of Lyme disease in the United States.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Biology and Museum of Southwestern Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA.",
    "Department of Epidemiology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska, USA.",
    "Association of Public Health Laboratories, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.",
    "Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA.",
    "School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Nebraska Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA.",
    "Department of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska, USA.",
    "Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma, USA.",
    "Department of Veterinary Clinical Medicine, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, USA.",
    "Department of Entomology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA.",
    "Department of Plant Pathology, Entomology and Microbiology, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, USA."
  ],
  "article_type": "research support, non u.s. gov't",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 16,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Kaylee S Herzog",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-6777-6722"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        2
      ],
      "name": "Zach Pella"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Halie Smith",
      "orcid": "0009-0009-5283-4406"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Dayna McCormick"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Lily Nuss"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        5
      ],
      "name": "Amanda Brinkworth",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-3340-8494"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        5
      ],
      "name": "Sujata S Chaudhari",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-9609-152X"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        6
      ],
      "name": "Kathryn Duncan"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        6
      ],
      "name": "Kellee Sundstrom",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-8000-8445"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Sydney Stein",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-0259-4485"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        7
      ],
      "name": "Holly Black"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        8
      ],
      "name": "Jose E Pietri"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        9
      ],
      "name": "Ryan C Smith",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-0245-2265"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Jeff Hamik",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-9951-1577"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Roberto Cortiñas",
      "orcid": "0009-0005-5274-8330"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Joseph R Fauver",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-8099-2991"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/2kwd5j0b6nfrp.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1111/mec.70577",
  "fulltext_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13643498",
  "id": "2kwd5j0b6nfrp",
  "issns": [
    "0962-1083",
    "1365-294X"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42839832",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "2405|Vector-borne infectious diseases"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7220863236",
  "pdf_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13643498?pdf=render",
  "pmcid": "PMC13643498",
  "pmid": "42839832",
  "published": "2026-10-01",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/2kwd5j0b6nfrp.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:18:10Z",
      "native_id": "MED:42839832",
      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42839832"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "openalex:2405|Vector-borne infectious diseases",
      "subfield": "microbiology"
    }
  ],
  "title": "When Clades Collide: Genomic Admixture in Blacklegged Ticks (Ixodes scapularis) From the Great Plains.",
  "title_text": "When Clades Collide: Genomic Admixture in Blacklegged Ticks (Ixodes scapularis) From the Great Plains.",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:18:10Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/2kwd5j0b6nfrp",
  "venue": "Molecular ecology",
  "versions": []
}