Detection and genetic characterization of Uukuvirus lihanense (Uukuvirus, Phenuiviridae) in hard ticks from the Colombian Caribbean.

Ticks are arthropod vectors that transmit pathogens important to human and animal health. The objective of this work was to identify Uukuvirus lihanense in the metatranscriptome of hard ticks. Between October 2022 and June 2023, ticks were collected from rural areas of the Colombian Caribbean area of the departments of Córdoba and Cesar. High-throughput sequencing (next-generation sequencing) was performed using MGI's DNBSEQ-G50RS. Bioinformatics analyses were performed in Galaxy, diamond and IQ-TREE2. A total of 766 ticks were collected; 87.33% (669/766) were Rhipicephalus microplus, 5.4% (42/766) Dermacentor nitens, 4.2% (32/766) Rhipicephalus sanguineus and 3.0% (23/766) Amblyomma dissimile. Complete and partial L and S segments of Uukuvirus lihanense (LITV) were detected in the metatranscriptome of A. dissimile, D. nitens and R. microplus. The LITV sequences found are phylogenetically related to those detected in R. sanguineus and A. variegatum from the French Antilles, in R. microplus from Trinidad and Tobago and R. microplus from Brazil. LITV was identified in D. nitens and R. microplus; the first report was in A. dissimile. Although LITV is not considered necessary in public health, the virus belongs to the Phenuiviridae family, which includes viruses of public health importance, such as Dabie banda-virus and Bandavirus heartlandense.