Development of twenty-four microsatellite markers for Afrotropical Ornithodoros ticks

Background: Soft ticks of the genus Ornithodoros are responsible for the maintenance and transmission of the African swine fever (ASF) virus in the sylvatic and domestic viral cycles in Southern Africa. They are also the main vectors of Borrelia species causing relapsing fevers. Currently, no genetic markers are available for Afrotropical Ornithodoros ticks. As ASF spreads globally, such markers are needed to assess the role of ticks in the emergence of new outbreaks. The aim of this study was to design microsatellite markers that could be used for ticks of the Ornithodoros moubata complex, particularly Ornithodoros phacochoerus, to assess population structure and tick movements in ASF endemic areas.
Methods: One hundred and fifty-one markers were designed using the O. moubata and O. porcinus genomes after elimination of repeated sequences in the genomes. All designed markers were tested on O. phacochoerus and O. porcinus DNA to select the best markers.
Results: Twenty-four microsatelli..., This dataset results from genotyping of twenty-four microsatellite loci on Ornithodoros phacochoerus ticks and on four other Ornithodoros species.
Fluorescent-labeled forward primers (FAM, VIC, NED or PET) were used for the 24 microsatellite loci. Touchdown PCRs were performed in six multiplexes of four microsatellite loci each.
The amplification mix consisted in 2 μL of DNA template, 10 μL of 2x Type-it Microsatellite PCR Kit (Qiagen, Courtaboeuf, France), adjusted volume of fluorescence-labeled forward primer, and reverse primer for microsatellite loci, in a final volume of 20 μL. The touchdown PCR program was set as follows: 95°C for 3 min, then 10 cycles of 95°C for 20 sec, 60°C -0.5°C/cycle, for 30 sec, and 72°C for 1 min, then 30 cycles of 95°C for 20 sec, 55°C for 30 sec, and 72°C for 1 min, followed by a final extension step at 72°C for 7 min.
Formamide for denaturation and GeneScan-600 (LIZ) Size Standard Kit for ladder were added to the PCR products before genotyping by capill..., , # Development of twenty-four microsatellite markers for Afrotropical Ornithodoros ticks

### Summary

The three datasheets made available here result from the genotyping of twenty-four microsatellite loci on five *Ornithodoros* species.\
These datasheets can be transformed (using CREATE for instance) to be used in any population genetics software (Fstat, Genepop, Micro-Checker...).

This dataset was used to test the robustness of twenty-four microsatellite loci for the species *Ornithodoros phacochoerus*. The microsatellite loci were also tested on four other *Ornithodoros* species (*O. moubata*, *O. porcinus*, *O. maritimus*, and *O. erraticus*) to assess specificity.

## Description of the data and file structure

This dataset contains three different datasheets of genotyping results. Two of the datasheets present genotyping data from the species *O. phacochoerus*. *Ornithodoros phacochoerus* ticks came from two different sites: Coutada9 Game Reserve (pop 69) and Gorongosa National Pa...