The post-mortem production of infective conidia on fungus-killed individuals eventually declined during the drier season (when external development and sporulation of the fungus on the infected ticks was prevented by the decrease of moisture), and ticks were less exposed to infection due to both the reduced quantity of infective inoculum and to ambient 3-MA concentration relative humidities that become too low to support the germination and cuticular penetration required for new fungal infections. The reduction of pathogenic

fungal titers in soils collected in pastures appears to be related to vegetation and abiotic factors (especially sunlight and moisture) since Rocha et al. (2009) isolated M. anisopliae, P. lilacinum, Fusarium sp and Pochonia chlamydosporia from soils and slurries collected in a nearby tropical gallery forest and baited with R. microplus (10.3%) in the same manner used in this study. selleck inhibitor The effectiveness of M. anisopliae and B. bassiana under laboratory conditions is well established for R. sanguineus but only very few studies have demonstrated their activities against A. cajennense ( Reis et al., 2004, Samish et al., 2004, Fernandes and Bittencourt, 2008 and Lopes et al., 2007). R. sanguineus seemed to be more susceptible to infection by P. lilacinum than A. cajennense. Previous findings about the susceptibility

of diverse ticks to fungal entomopathogens were corroborated by the demonstrations of high susceptibility in laboratory conditions of A. cajennense and R. sanguineus in the present study to isolates tested here and of their abilities to recycle by sporulating on fungus-killed ticks. All three fungal species studied here probably act as natural antagonists of A. cajennense populations in the tested area, and particularly during the rainy season. Further investigations will explore the potential of these pathogens for development as the principal active ingredients of mycoacaricides for the control of the vectors of Rocky Mountain spotted fever and other important tick pests. The authors thank the National Council

of Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq, Brazil) for financial support, Jeremias Lunardelli for kindly permitting to collect fungi at Santa Branca below Farm, and Durval R. Ferreira for technical assistance. “
“Babesia species are tick-transmitted apicomplexa parasites that infect a wide range of vertebrate hosts and cause severe diseases in wild and domestic animals ( Kuttler, 1988). Babesia canis and Babesia gibsoni are recognized as the two species that cause canine babesiosis, a clinically significant hemolytic disease of dogs ( Yamane et al., 1993 and Lobetti, 1998). Three subspecies of B. canis have been proposed ( Uilenberg et al., 1989): B. canis rossi, transmitted by the tick Haemaphysalis leachi in South Africa and causing a usually fatal infection in domestic dogs even after treatment; B.