First record of Ixodes keiransi (Acari: Ixodidae) ingestion by Peromyscus yucatanicus (Rodentia: Cricetidae)

This paper aims to report the ingestion of Ixodes keiransi by Peromyscus yucatanicus . Fragments of two ticks (larvae) were collected from the intestinal content of a P . yucatanicus captured in Yucatan, Mexico. DNA was obtained from both specimens, and a fragment of 400 bp of the 16S rRNA gene was amplified and sequenced. Bioinformatics analyses were performed, and a phylogenetic tree was constructed to determine the identity of the collected ticks. Peromyscus yucatanicus is a wild rodent endemic to the Yucatan Peninsula. It carries vector-borne pathogens and the arthropods that transmit them. Its diet consists of different elements, including arthropods. However, this is the first report of this rodent's ingestion of Ixodes keiransi . This tick is a biological vector of important public health pathogens, including Rickettsia and Borrelia . This finding opens questions and hypotheses about alternative enzootic transmission mechanisms of tick-borne pathogens through tick ingestion in endemic areas.