{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,16]],"date-time":"2026-09-16T17:04:36Z","timestamp":1789578276005,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":29,"publisher":"EDP Sciences","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,18]],"date-time":"2025-09-18T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1758153600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":260,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100004410","name":"TUBITAK","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","award":["222O123"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["222O123"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100004410","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]},{"name":"Comprehensive Research Project (VF.24.30) from the Scientific Research Project, Firat University","award":["VF.24.30"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["VF.24.30"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Parasite"],"accepted":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,1]]},"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2025]]},"abstract":"<jats:p><jats:italic>Babesia ovis<\/jats:italic> is a tick-transmitted intraerythrocytic apicomplexan parasite that causes ovine babesiosis, a disease with high economic impact in endemic regions. Although <jats:italic>Rhipicephalus bursa<\/jats:italic> is a known biological vector of <jats:italic>B. ovis<\/jats:italic>, the dynamics of vertical (transovarial) transmission are poorly understood. In the present study, the transovarial transmission of <jats:italic>B. ovis<\/jats:italic> was investigated experimentally in four continuous generations of <jats:italic>R. bursa<\/jats:italic> under laboratory controlled conditions. A total of 11 sheep were used during the study. An initial stabilate co-infected with <jats:italic>B. ovis<\/jats:italic> and <jats:italic>Theileria ovis<\/jats:italic> was inoculated into a splenectomized sheep, followed by an infestation with <jats:italic>Babesia-<\/jats:italic>free adult <jats:italic>R. bursa<\/jats:italic>. Study of dead tick bodies and larval pools by molecular methodology confirmed the elimination of <jats:italic>T. ovis<\/jats:italic> and the vertical transmission <jats:italic>B. ovis<\/jats:italic>. <jats:italic>Rhipicephalus bursa<\/jats:italic> ticks derived vertically from F<jats:sub>1<\/jats:sub> to F<jats:sub>4<\/jats:sub> generations kept high levels of infection (98% in F<jats:sub>3<\/jats:sub> adults), and consistently led to severe clinical babesiosis in both immunosuppressed and immunocompetent sheep. Although all feeding stages became infected while feeding on their hosts, only adult ticks were able to transmit the parasite to vertebrate hosts. Our findings demonstrate that <jats:italic>B. ovis<\/jats:italic> can be transmitted vertically through several tick generations, while preserving its ability to cause severe disease, even without selective pressure. The virulent, mono-infected <jats:italic>B. ovis<\/jats:italic> strain developed in this study will provide an infectious challenge model for future vaccine and pathogenesis studies under field-relevant conditions.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1051\/parasite\/2025055","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,18]],"date-time":"2025-09-18T07:59:18Z","timestamp":1758182358000},"page":"60","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Transovarial transmission of <i>Babesia ovis<\/i> in <i>Rhipicephalus bursa<\/i>, confirmed by multi-generational experiments"],"prefix":"10.1051","volume":"32","author":[{"given":"Sezayi","family":"Ozubek","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mehmet Can","family":"Ulucesme","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Munir","family":"Aktas","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"250","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,18]]},"reference":[{"key":"R1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"277","DOI":"10.1016\/j.vetpar.2005.05.057","volume":"133","author":"Aktas","year":"2005","journal-title":"Veterinary Parasitology"},{"key":"R2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"797","DOI":"10.1007\/s00436-006-0345-2","volume":"100","author":"Aktas","year":"2007","journal-title":"Parasitology Research"},{"key":"R3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"10","DOI":"10.1016\/j.trstmh.2009.07.025","volume":"104","author":"Aktas","year":"2010","journal-title":"Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene"},{"key":"R4","first-page":"57994","volume":"(140)","author":"Almaz\u00e1n","year":"2018","journal-title":"Journal of Visualized Experiments: Jove"},{"key":"R5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"116","DOI":"10.1016\/j.rvsc.2007.08.002","volume":"85","author":"Altay","year":"2008","journal-title":"Research in Veterinary Science"},{"key":"R6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"65","DOI":"10.1007\/s00436-014-4160-x","volume":"114","author":"Aydin","year":"2015","journal-title":"Parasitology Research"},{"key":"R7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"223","DOI":"10.1016\/S0378-1135(02)00179-7","volume":"89","author":"Bekker","year":"2002","journal-title":"Veterinary Microbiology"},{"key":"R8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"331","DOI":"10.1007\/BF00539454","volume":"74","author":"B\u00fcscher","year":"1988","journal-title":"Parasitology Research"},{"key":"R9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"231","DOI":"10.3390\/pathogens10020231","volume":"10","author":"Ceylan","year":"2021","journal-title":"Pathogens"},{"key":"R10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"13","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ttbdis.2015.07.017","volume":"7","author":"Erster","year":"2016","journal-title":"Ticks and Tick-Borne Diseases"},{"key":"R11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1428719","DOI":"10.3389\/fcimb.2024.1428719","volume":"14","author":"Firat","year":"2024","journal-title":"Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology"},{"key":"R12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"273","DOI":"10.1016\/S0304-4017(01)00488-5","volume":"99","author":"Georges","year":"2001","journal-title":"Veterinary Parasitology"},{"key":"R13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2114","DOI":"10.1182\/blood.2025028446","volume":"145","author":"Jajosky","year":"2025","journal-title":"Blood"},{"key":"R14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1102","DOI":"10.1128\/AEM.72.2.1102-1109.2006","volume":"72","author":"Kawahara","year":"2006","journal-title":"Applied and Environmental Microbiology"},{"key":"R15","first-page":"27","volume":"38","author":"Markov","year":"1970","journal-title":"Trudy Vsesoyuznogo Instituta Eksperimental\u2019noy Veterinarii"},{"key":"R16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2247","DOI":"10.1128\/JCM.00167-08","volume":"46","author":"Oosthuizen","year":"2008","journal-title":"Journal of Clinical Microbiology"},{"key":"R17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1016\/j.vetpar.2016.11.016","volume":"233","author":"Ozubek","year":"2017","journal-title":"Veterinary Parasitology"},{"key":"R18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"212","DOI":"10.1093\/jme\/tjw134","volume":"54","author":"Ozubek","year":"2017","journal-title":"Journal of Medical Entomology"},{"key":"R19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Ozubek S, Aktas M, Suarez CE, Bastos RG. 2025. 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