Abstract: 【Objective】 There are 899 species of ticks in the world, belonging to 18 genera and 3 families, and there are 117 species in China, belonging to 2 families, 10 genera. There are at least 45 species in Xinjiang, accounting for more than 1/3 of the national ticks, and its distribution is extremely wide. Ticks can directly harm and spread many kinds of pathogens, and some pathogens can propagate vertically through eggs, causing huge economic losses to animal husbandry, and seriously threatening public health security. Rhipicephalus is one of the common species and dominant species in the desert and semi-desert region of southern Xinjiang. It is of great significance to confirm whether Rhipicephalus turanicus and its eggs are carrying the Rickettsia in the southern Xinjiang of China, so as to prevent and control of Rhipicephalus turanicus and its transmission of Rickettsia. 【Method】 The satiated blood female Rhipicephalus were collected from a sheep farm in alar, southern Xinjiang, and oviposited eggs at a certain humidity and temperature. A random sample of 5 independent eggs and the corresponding 5 female Rhipicephalus were as the research object. The genomic DNA were extracted from the female Rhipicephalus and eggs, respectively. In this study, ticks 12S rRNA gene and Rickettsia 16S rRNA gene were amplified by conventional PCR, and the amplification products were sequenced and underwent sequence analysis by using BLAST online platform and multiple molecular biology software. 【Result】 The 12S rRNA gene PCR amplification of 5 female ticks were all positive, and 4 segment of 12S rRNA gene sequence obtained by sequencing were identical. The similarity of Rhipicephalus 12s rRNA gene sequence and GenBank Rhipicephalus 12s rRNA gene sequences in the database were more than 99% using Blast analysis, and the top five gene sequences of the high similarity were Rhipicephalus, including Rhipicephalus from Xinjiang sheep. In this study, the Rhipicephalus 12S rRNA gene sequence was submitted to the GenBank database and obtained the login number of MG744514. The phylogenetic tree from GenBank database Rhipicephalus turanicus, Rhipicephalus sanguineus, Boophilus microplus, Dermacentor marginatus, Dermacentor nuttalli, Haemaphysalis longicornis, Hyalomma anatolicum, Hyalomma asiaticum, Hyalomma detritum, Ixodes persulcatus and peripheral-dust mites 12S rRNA gene sequence display, the Rhipicephalus 12S rRNA gene sequence obtained in this study was closest with Rhipicephalus sanguineus in the evolutionary relationship and clustered in the same small branch. Rhipicephalus was identified as Rhipicephalus turanicus. PCR amplification of all eggs Rickettsia 16S rRNA gene and 5 oviposit female Rhipicephalus, 1 Rhipicephalus and its eggs samples were positive, and the tick carrying rate was 20%. The sequencing results of 16S rRNA in female Rhipicephalus turanicus and its eggs were identical. The similarity was more than 99% of the Rickettsia raoultii 16S rRNA gene sequences in the GenBank database using Blast analysis. The top five genes of high similarity were 4 Rickettsia raoultii and 1 Rickettsia sp, including the rickettsia of the Hyalomma asiaticum and Dermacentor nuttalli from Xinjiang in 2011. In this study, the Rickettsia 16S rRNA gene sequence was submitted to the GenBank database and obtained the login number of MG744513. Evolutionary tree of 37 Rickettsia 16S rRNA gene sequences belonging to 24 species from the GenBank database showed, the Rickettsia 16S rRNA gene sequence obtained in this study was closest with Rickettsia raoultii in the evolutionary relationship and clustered in the same small branch, belonging to the speckle thermal gro up rickettsia with the other 15 kinds of rickettsia. Rhipicephalus turanicus and its eggs carried Rickettsia raoultii of spotted fever group Rickettsia. 【Conclusion】 R. raoultii were first found in Rhipicephalus turanicus and its eggs.

Key words: Rickettsia raoultii, eggs, Rhipicephalus turanicus, Xinjiang