Molecular characterization of spiroplasma endosymbionts in ticks on tortoises in Niğde province

The study was carried out to molecularly identify Spiroplasma endosymbionts in tortoise ticks in the Niğde province. For this purpose, a total of 88 tortoises were examined between June and September 2022, including 17 in June, 22 in July, 21 in August and 28 in September. The collected ticks were stored in 70% ethyl alcohol until examination and species identification. A total of 184 ticks were collected from the infested tortoise (167 males and 17 females) and all of these ticks were identified as Hyalomma aegyptium. 184 tick samples collected from tortoise were separated into male and female for each tortoise, and then a total of 68 tick pools were created. Genomic DNA (gDNA) was extracted from tick pools with a commercial kit. gDNA isolates were subjected to PCR analysis with primers specific for the Spiroplasma 16S rRNA (1000 bp) gene region. As a result of the study, Spiroplasma spp. positivity was detected in ticks collected from 4 of a total of 88 tortoise (4.5%). Spiroplasma positivity was determined as 3.2% (6 ticks) in 184 ticks collected. Positive ticks were detected in July and September and all of them were identified as male ticks. In conclusion, this study was the first molecular detection of Spiroplasma spp. in tortoise ticks in Niğde province. Keywords: Tortoise, Hyalomma aegyptium, Niğde, PCR, Spiroplasma