Diverse XXXX strains in a bird-tick cryptic cycle.

@entity1 @entity3001 @entity2069 @entity95 @entity3966 @entity281
The @entity3966 @entity3966 is the primary vector of the most prevalent vector-borne zoonosis in North America, @entity3001 ( @entity3001 ). Enzootic maintenance of the pathogen @entity2069 by @entity3966 and small mammals is well documented, whereas its "cryptic" maintenance by other specialist ticks and wildlife hosts remains largely unexplored because these ticks rarely bite @entity1 . We quantified @entity2069 @entity281 in a cryptic bird- @entity95 -tick cycle. Furthermore, we explored the role of birds in maintaining and moving @entity2069 strains by comparing their genetic diversity in this cryptic cycle to that found in cycles vectored by @entity3966 . We examined birds, @entity95 , and small mammals for ticks and @entity281 over a 4-year period at a focal site in Michigan, 90 km east of a zone of @entity3966 invasion. We mist netted 19,631 birds that yielded 12,301 ticks, of which 86% were I. dentatus, a bird- @entity95 specialist. No resident wildlife harbored @entity3966 , and yet 3.5% of bird-derived ticks, 3.6% of @entity95 -derived ticks, and 20% of @entity95 ear biopsy specimens were infected with @entity2069 . We identified 25 closely related @entity2069 strains using an rRNA gene intergenic spacer marker, the majority (68%) of which had not been reported previously. The presence of strains common to both cryptic and endemic cycles strongly implies bird-mediated dispersal. Given continued large-scale expansion of @entity3966 populations, we predict that its invasion into zones of cryptic transmission will allow for bridging of novel pathogen strains to @entity1 and animals.
