Novel and emerging pathogens detected in ticks from wolves in the Iberian Peninsula, Western Europe

Ticks pose an increasing public and veterinary health concern. Despite the importance of wildlife in the enzootic cycle of tick-borne diseases, the knowledge about ticks from wolves is scarce. The Iberian wolf is a highly valuable model species in this regard due to its unique combination of ecological and epidemiological traits. In this study, we aimed to investigate the ticks and associated microorganisms collected from Iberian wolves ( Canis lupus signatus ) in the north of Spain. Over a seven-year period, we collected 392 ticks from 72 wolves and identified five species: Ixodes ricinus (66.58%), Dermacentor reticulatus (21.68%), Haemaphysalis concinna (5.87%), Ixodes hexagonus (4.08%) and Rhipicephalus bursa (1.79%). The ticks were pooled and screened for viral, bacterial and protozoan microorganisms using molecular approaches. Among the microorganisms found, we describe three novel tick phenuiviruses ( Ixovirus , Hudivirus and Uukuvirus spp.) and the first circulation of the human pathogen Uukuvirus tachengense , the species Mivirus boleense , Ixovirus norvergiae and Rickettsia kotlanii , and the genus Allocryptoplasma in the Iberian Peninsula, Western Europe. Our work also expands the known geographical distribution of tick-borne pathogens and underscores the role of the wolf as a sentinel species for ecosystem health.