Multiplex PCR assay for identifying five species of chigger mites in the Republic of Korea

Chigger mites (Trombiculidae), which are known vectors of Orientia tsutsugamushi, have significantly fewer molecular data available than other known species, with a focus on morphological species identification rather than molecular species identification. However, chigger mites are easily damaged because of small size. In addition, natural variation and adult similarity would interrupt accurate classification and identification. Therefore, in this study, a multiple polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method using the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of five frequently occurring species (Euschoengastia koreaensis, Leptotrombidium orientale, Leptotrombidium pallidum, Leptotrombidium palpale, and Leptotrombidium scutellare) among eight species known to mediate the spread of is presented. This is the first report using molecular species identification for the classification method of chigger mites, which was only possible with morphological species identification, and is expected to be used as basic data for vector surveillance.